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The Power of Gratitude: Part1

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The Power of Gratitude: Part1

Why We Thank Allah

In his magnificent, spacious palace, Harun al-Rasheed was sitting with Ibn al-Sammak, one of the most pious scholars of his time. Suddenly, Harun felt thirsty and asked one of his servants to bring him a cup of water. As Harun was about to drink, Ibn al-Sammak wanted to use this opportunity as a teaching moment. 

 “May I ask you a question?” Ibn al-Sammak interrupted Harun. 

“Definitely,” answered Harun. 

 “Imagine if you cannot find this water anywhere, how much money would you pay to get it?” asked Ibn al-Sammak.

“Half of my wealth,” answered Harun al-Rasheed. 

 “Drink it. May Allah make it healthy for you!” Ibn al-Sammak sincerely prayed.

 “May I ask one more question?” asked Ibn al-Sammak as Harun finished drinking. 

 “Definitely!” replied Harun. 

 “How much money would you pay if this water could not be released from your body?” asked Ibn al-Sammak. 

 “I would pay all my wealth!” answered Harun without any hesitation. 

 Upon this, Ibn al-Sammak took this incident as an opportunity to advise Harun: “Do not rejoice much for your kingdom that is not worth a cup of water!” 

       Some of us may not pay attention to the fact that we are blessed in many areas, and thus, we feel sorry for what we miss rather than feel grateful for what we have. This is why the Quran describes the grateful as “few.” The Quran reads: “And few among my servants are truly thankful” (Quran 34:13). One day, Umar heard a man praying: “My Lord, make me among the few.” “What do you mean?” asked Umar. The man replied: “O Commander of the Believers, Allah said [about Noah]: “None believed him except few” (Quran 11:40). And Allah said: “And few among my servants are truly thankful” (Quran 34:13). And Allah said: “Except for those who believe and do good deeds—and how few they are!” (Quran 38:24).

How does the Quran view gratitude?

         Did you know that Allah grouped people into two categories: the grateful and the ungrateful? “We showed man the right Way to be either grateful or ungrateful” (Quran 76:3). Did you know that we will be questioned about God’s blessings? Allah says: “Then you shall be questioned about the delights [you enjoyed in this life]” (Quran 102:8). Did you know that one of the reasons why Allah created day and night is for us to recognize His power and give thanks to Him? Allah said: “And it is He [Allah] who has made the day and night successive for whoever wants to remember [Allah’s power] and to be thankful [to Allah]” (Quran 25: 62). Did you know that giving thanks to Allah is one of the reasons why He created us? Allah highlights the value of gratitude as a demonstrating act of worship. “O ye who believe, eat from the good that Allah provided for you and give thanks to Him if you truly worship Him alone” (Quran 2:172). 

          Imam ibn al-Qayyim adds: “Allah, the Most Exalted, mentions that gratitude is the goal of Creation and Decree. Moreover, it is the task Allah created us for. Allah said: “And Allah has brought you forth from the bellies of your mothers [while] you knew nothing. And He made for you the [senses of] hearing, sight, and understanding, so that you may give thanks” (Quran 16:78). Furthermore, Allah mentions that “giving thanks” is the goal of sending the prophets. Allah says: “As we sent for you a messenger [Muhammad] from your selves, reciting our verses unto you, purifying you, teaching you the Book and Wisdom, and teaching you what you did not know before. So, remember me, and I shall remember you and be thankful to me and do not be ungrateful” (Quran 2:151-152). When Satan knew the importance of gratitude, he committed himself to turn people ungrateful. The Quran reveals Satan’s plan to spare no effort to mislead people into ungratefulness: “Then I shall come to them from before and from behind, from their right, and left, and you will not find the greater part of them thankful” (Quran 7:17). 

Why do we have to thank Allah regularly?

      The simple answer to this question is that we would not exist without Allah, and without Allah, we would not survive. In other words, we owe Allah both our existence and our sustenance. Even though they are countless, Allah’s blessings can be grouped under three main categories: the blessing of creation, the blessing of sustenance, and the blessing of faith. 

Regarding the first category, the Quran reminds us: “Has there not been for man a long period, when he was nothing – (not even) mentioned?” (Quran 76:1). As we remember the beginning of our life through the biological process we know, one must demonstrate humility before God. The Quran records one’s rebellion against God as something unexpected, especially when one considers the creation process: “He [God] created man from a sperm-drop; then suddenly, he is a clear adversary” (Quran 16:4). Instead of surrendering to God and worshipping Him humbly, some rebel, and others go further to deny Him! Thinking about the first moments and years of life is enough to motivate us to recognize our essential needs and weaknesses. When Allah perfects our senses as we age, we should be more grateful as a deeply felt inner truth, not be ungrateful due to unjustified arrogance or heedlessness. 

Reflecting on how God supports our survival leads us to the second category of the divine blessings on us. Try to rethink the following examples of basic divine blessings. Did you know that the average adult at rest inhales and exhales 11,000 liters of air a day which requires 550 liters of pure oxygen per day? What about the eyes? Bakr ibn Abdullah said: “If you want to know how much Allah blessed you, close your eyes.” Now I am not asking you to close your eyes for a day or an hour. Do it for one minute, and you will realize how great this blessing is.  Have you ever considered the water you drink? Have you ever considered the blessing of the day and night? These are quranic questions. 

Have you considered the water which you drink?

Is it you that sends it down from the clouds, or are We the senders?

If We pleased, We would have made it salty; why do you not then give thanks? (Quran 56-68:70).

Say, “Have you considered: if Allah should make for you the night continuous until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you light? Then will you Say, “Have you considered: if Allah should make for you the day continuous until the Day of Resurrection, what deity other than Allah could bring you a night in which you may rest? Then will you not see?” And out of His mercy, He made for you the night and the day that you may rest therein and [by day] seek from His bounty and [that] perhaps you will be grateful (Quran 28:71-73).

        Considering these fundamental blessings, why would many people turn ungrateful or forget to thank God regularly even though they will not trade God’s blessings, such as sight, for anything? One of the answers Imam al-Ghazali provides is that people think that countless people enjoy such divine benefits, and thereby they do not feel special! To counter this sign of heedlessness, we need to recognize that every blessing we enjoy is unique for each of us. Do not wait till you lose the blessing and then wish to gain it back and feel grateful. 

           The blessings of Allah reach their climax with the blessing of faith and guidance. This is the only way of making sense of life itself. Humans are not machines, as atheists argue. Since we can think and recognize immaterial values like love, beauty, truth—we must have something beyond the material. To believe that we are only a material product is self-contradictory, simply because if we can think, then we must have something immaterial as thinking is an intangible activity. 

          Through faith, believers lead a balanced, meaningful life as they meet their souls’ needs by communicating with God and receive answers to the essential questions on life: from where, why, and to where? How would any person lead a stable life without knowing the answers to these questions? To us, the Quran answers the three questions in one short verse: “And why should I not worship He who created me and to whom you will be returned? (Quran 36:22).

the quran counts islam as a divine favor: “this day i have perfected for you your religion and completed my favor upon you and have approved for you islam as religion” (quran 5:3). imam ibn al-qayyim notes: “lay-people thank god for the blessings of food, drinks, and health; yet, the special people extend their gratitude to focus on the blessings of monotheism, faith and food of the heart!” 

Such were a few examples of blessings without which our life would be impossible, challenging, and meaningless. Imagine if you helped someone survive for a month or two; yet, instead of giving you credit for their survival, they are ungrateful. Would that be normal or expected? Accordingly, it is human to thank anyone for whatever good they do for us. God is beyond all comparison, but since we owe Him our existence and our survival, we express our gratitude to Him in the form of worship. 

Imagine there was no afterlife taught by the prophets,

And that the burning coals were not inflamed,

Would it not be a solemn duty

For the servants to praise the Bestower?

هب البعث لم تأتنا رسله … وجاحمة النار لم تضرم

 أليس من الواجب المستحق … ثناء العباد على المنعم

 

WE ASK ALLAH TO MAKE OUR HEARTS FULL OF GRATITUDE AND HOPE. AMEEN.

 

By Sheikh Ahmed Arafat

 

Beauty as Revelation

 

BEAUTY DEFIES ATHEISM AND IGNITES FAITH

“Who created the heavens and the earth and sent down, for you, from the sky, water with which We grow gardens of joyous beauty which you could not [otherwise] have grown their trees? Is there another god besides God? No! But they are people who ascribe equals to God” (Quran 27:60). 

 

I

Every idea has a consequence. It is illogical to believe in “A” while denying “B” if “B”  naturally and necessarily follows from “A.” Practically speaking, in the atheistic worldview that allows no room for God or any supernatural power behind this world, everything that exists is reduced to a combination of molecules and some chemical reactions between atoms. This dangerous idea leads to many disasters, the darkest, scariest, and most depressing of which there is no meaning or purpose in life. Meaning, purpose, or value is not ascribed. To atheists, the beautiful stars you see are random blobs of burning gases, and the handsome atheists are accidental blobs of dying chemicals that evolved in a mysterious and purposeless way.

The philosophical and logical problem in this way of thinking is that it is self-defeating. To argue that there is no meaning, there first has to be meaning to argue for or against your statement; otherwise, the atheistic worldview has to be meaningless too as it belongs to this meaningless world. Richard Dawkins, a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and author, admits: “In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at the bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” [1]

Ironically, Dawkins’ is a deluded logic. How would he complain that some get hurt and others lucky if no good or evil exists? If there is no meaning, no design, and no purpose, why does he try to convince us that his atheistic worldview is ‘meaningful’ while asserting there is no such a thing? Judged by the atheistic worldview, many terms are problematic, such as “the selfish gene” Dawkins likes to refer to; yet, he fails to tell us where the idea of ‘selfishness‘ comes from, or if it has meaning at all! Basically, any idea an atheist zealously tries to convince us of is basically and unconsciously a violation of their worldview, simply because any discussion becomes as meaningless and purposeless as the world in its atheistic view. Take Prof. William Provine’s summary of the consequences of his orthodox evolutionary theory: “There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and no free will for humans, either.” [2]

Again, how can we trust this statement if it results from meaninglessness and no free will?

Much worse still is that if our thinking and perceptions are upshots of a purposeless evolutionary process in a meaningless cosmos, trusting our minds and critical abilities becomes an illusion. Darwin himself was aware of this problem as he admits: “But then with me, the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would anyone trust in the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?” [3]

Suppose there is no designer for our brains to think. In that case, our thinking is reduced to chemical reactions that have no meaning, and thereby all thinking, including atheistic thoughts and scientific inferences, is discredited. Furthermore, our own will becomes an illusion, as Sam Harris argues. Therefore, if God is dead, man is dead too! If God is an illusion, man is an illusion also!

We need to differentiate between science and the interpretation of science; science and scientism. Here is a Quranic warning against failing to embrace common sense:

Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers.

In the creation of you, in the creatures God scattered on earth, there are signs for people of sure faith;

And in the alternation of night and day, and the provision (rain) that Allah sends down from the sky, and revives therewith the earth after its death, and in the turning about of the winds are signs for people who understand.

These are the verses of Allah, which We recite to you in truth. Then, in what statement, after Allah and His verses, will they believe?” (Quran 45:3-6)

There is nothing worth believing if this whole universe is reduced to depressing atheistic views. When I say nothing, I mean nothing, including science itself! In this way, faith is the only thing that saves science and gives meaning to life. That is why Haldane had to admit: “It seems to me immensely unlikely that mind is a mere by-product of matter. For if my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true. They may be sound chemically, but that does not make them sound logical. And hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.” [4]

The good news is that we are hardwired to believe that there is meaning, purpose, and will, and we behave accordingly. Any court system affirms this inescapable truth. This hardwired faith immunizes against atheism and alerts us to the metaphysical component in us. The Quran calls this unavoidable faith “Fitrah” (natural human disposition to believe in God), a word derived from the same root for the word ‘creation.’  

We are all aware that we exist; we recognize the idea of good and evil, acknowledge the power of reason, appreciate the concept of beauty, and hold people responsible for their actions because they have free will. This awareness of all these immaterial notions defies atheism since this awareness proves that part of us is beyond the material. How could the transcendental, life, and meaning emerge from the material, lifelessness, and meaninglessness? This is why atheism requires more faith, only to be left alone with no meaning, no purpose, and no rationality-based value.

II

The mere recognition of beauty, regardless of how you define it, is enough to save one from atheism and its pitiless and meaningless world. That is why I say that recognizing something like beauty and remaining an atheist is a kind of hypocrisy since atheists believe that there is no meaning; however, they behave as if there is meaning! This contradiction between the atheist’s belief and practice is what I mean by hypocrisy. To an atheist, you are not supposed to recognize the beauty of the snowflakes in Bentley’s Snow Crystals, which has more than two thousand crystals that reveal part of nature’s beauty. To be a sincere atheist, one must resist calling something beautiful, ugly, good, or bad. Otherwise, one’s atheism is not to be taken seriously but could be an expression of disappointment or rebellion regardless of how these emotions are rightly or wrongly justified.

 

Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to notice the Quranic references to the power of added beauty in the context of listing the Signs that point to God as in (Quran 27:60), which refers togardens of joyous beauty” as a Divine Sign. This added beauty goes beyond the notion of design that demands a designer. In this verse, we have a Designer who adds beauty in the plant life and His architecture of the heavens and the earth to create an aesthetic feeling and delight for observers. Thereby the beautifully crafted creation opens our eyes to the majesty and divine handiwork of the Creator.

Accordingly, the Quran is replete with calls to contemplations on natural beauty as an avenue for recognizing the Creator. Here are some examples to illustrate the Quranic calls to identifying natural beauty as a way of grounding our belief in God.

“We have set great stars up in the sky and made them beautiful for all to see” (Quran 15:16).

“Have you not considered how God sends water down from the sky and that We produce with it fruits of varied colors; that there are in the mountains layers of white and red of various hues, and jet black;

that there are various colors among human beings, wild animals, and livestock too? It is those of His servants who have knowledge who stand in true awe of God. God is Almighty, Most Forgiving” (Quran 35:27-28).

“Do they not see the sky above them––how We have built it and adorned it, with no rifts therein; And how We spread out the earth and put solid mountains on it, and caused every kind of beautiful plant to grow in it,

As a lesson and reminder for every servant who turns to God; And We have sent down blessed rain from the sky and made grow thereby gardens and grain from the harvest. And lofty palm trees, with ranged clusters; as a provision for everyone; how with water We give [new] life to a land that is dead? This is the resurrection [of the dead]” (Quran 50:6-11).

III

Grounding our faith in God through our recognition of His beautifully crafted creation has deep roots in our tradition. In a famous Hadith, the prophet says: “Indeed, Allah is beautiful, and He loves beauty.” At a time when Islam is politicized in many circles, the Prophet of Islam associates this great faith with beauty. Based on this Hadith, Imam Ibn al-Qayyim developed theology of beauty. To him, reaching God through beauty is the most extraordinary and most paramount way. He writes: “This noble Hadith lays out two major foundations: knowing and practicing. God is known through His unparalleled beauty and worshipped through the beauty He loves in words, actions, and morals. So God loves His servant to beautify his tongue with honesty, his heart with sincerity, love, repentance, and trust, his body parts with obedience, his body with blissful clothes, and purging it from filth and impurity. In essence, one knows God through beauty, which is His attribute, and worships Him through beauty, which is His Law and Faith.” [5]

More explicitly, al-Izz ibn ‘Abdelsalam evaluates two ways of loving God. He asserts: “The love that results from recognizing beauty is better than the love resulting from experiencing acts of benevolence since the first is based on the beauty of the Deity, whereas the second is based on what came from His blessings.” [6]

In other words, if we found our love in the divine gifts, it may become conditional, yet, if our love is grounded in beauty, that love will be unconditional and unwavering as it relates to the unchanging nature of God. The Quran reproaches those people whose worship is in proportion to the gifts they receive: “There are also some who serve God with unsteady faith: if something good comes their way, they are satisfied, but if tested, they revert to their old ways, losing both this world and the next–that is the clearest loss” (Quran 22:11).

Sensing God through beauty turned from the theological side to form a cultural association of beauty with the Divine. Culturally, whenever Muslims, especially in Arabic-speaking countries, are amazed by something beautiful, they aesthetically say, SubhanAllah! Dawud al-Antaki defines beauty as “that which makes the tongue celebrate the glory of God!” [7]

Moreover, the word Ihsan, which is usually used to refer to the spiritual system in Islam, is morphologically related to husn, which deals with beauty.

Let us pray and join “Those who remember God standing, sitting, and lying down, who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth, [saying]: ‘Our Lord, You have not created all this without purpose- You are far above that! So protect us from the torment of the Fire. Our Lord, indeed whoever You admit to the Fire – You have disgraced, and for the wrongdoers, there are no helpers” (Quran 3:191-192).

[1] Richard Dawkins, River out of Eden, Basic Books, 1996,  p.133

[2] William Provine, Origins Research, 16, no. 1, (1994): 9.

[3] Charles Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin (Cambridge, 2003), p. p. 153

[4] J. B. S. Haldane, Possible Worlds and Other Essays. London: Chatto & Windus, 1929, p. 209.

[5] Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Fawa’id, pp. 234-236

[6] Al-Izz Ibn ‘Abdelsala, Qawa’id al-Ahkam, vol. 2, p. 214

[7] Dawud Al-Antaki, Tazyin al-Aswaq, ‘Alam al-Kutb, vol. 2, p. 128

By Sh. Ahmed Arafat

 

Practicing Contentment

Many people assume wealth is measured by how much money one has; Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, however, offers an entirely different perspective. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger ﷺ said, “Wealth is not the abundance of [material] possessions; wealth is self-contentment” (Bukhari & Muslim).

The Hadeeth mentioned above explicitly teaches us that the key to gaining real wealth is to be satisfied with what one already has. Simply put, if you are continually feeling the need for more, you are not rich- regardless of how much money you might have. If you feel satisfied with what you have, on the other hand, then you are, by this definition, rich regardless of how much money you possess. Money alone does not bring about inner happiness for two main reasons: (1) a rich but greedy person may whittle their material possessions down to nothing and still feel miserable, and (2) these material possessions may be lost and turn into a source for depression.

           If we can agree that contentment is real wealth, then discontentment must be real poverty. Discontentment can make a person lose their sense of worth and sense of efficacy. Those who have allowed Hollywood culture to permeate their lives often fall prey to the idea that self-worth is material wealth celebrities have (lavish materialism, skewed standards of beauty, age, wealth, etc.). For this reason, many people idolize celebrities. Moreover, millions of dollars are spent on advertisements persuading people to use their credit cards to buy non-essential materials they can do without or may not even use. People end up drowning in debt, which further complicates their lives and creates enormous pressure and stress.

             Imam Muslim reports that the Prophet ﷺ said, “Be pleased with what Allah has given you, and you will be the richest of people.” By taking this Hadeeth in light of what we have learned from the first Hadeeth, we can recognize that self-contentment comes from being pleased with Allah’s decrees. Therefore, self-contentment requires faith, trust, and a God-oriented heart. The Quran accurately describes the rewards promised to the believers, “Whoever does righteous deeds, whether be a male or female, and has Faith, we will make them lead a good life” (16:97). Some scholars interpret ‘good life’ here as a ‘life filled with contentment.’

         Interestingly, the quality of self-contentment found in the Hadeeth under discussion indicates that real wealth is an inner experience that relates to what is happening inside of us, not around us. Therefore, contentment has nothing to do with laziness or giving up or becoming passive; instead, it fights greed, self-indulgence, and countless conflicts that lack peace. What denies contentment is not our desire to improve our situations, but the reckless, selfish competition for material gain through forbidden channels. For instance, work that leads one to cheat, be dishonest and corrupt, is a sign of greed and discontentment. Falling into debt to buy a car to impress others is another sign of discontentment and lack of real personal freedom.

           With this said, Muslims can be content and still improve their life situations. To avoid falling into the trap of greed, a Muslim must work toward meeting three conditions. First, the work or the source of money must be halal. Second, the work does not result in violating the teachings of our faith nor neglecting religious or social obligations, such as the five daily prayers and family rights. Third, the acquisition of money does not promote a self-centered life. Instead, earning money should make one feel responsible for helping the poor and the needy, especially through the mandatory annual Zakat. Giving for the sake of Allah is evidence that a person is generous, thankful, and faith-filled. In this manner, wealth and contentment go hand-in-hand. Moreover, wealth can be a blessing for the individual and the community. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was reported to have said, “Blessed is the money in the hands of a righteous man.”

Developing Contentment

Contentment can be learned. Although some people are naturally content, it does not mean that you cannot develop it if you are not born with this value. The Prophet ﷺ was reported to have said, “Were the son of Adam to have a valley of gold, he would crave another. He will not be satisfied until he passes away. However, Allah accepts those who repent.” The first part of the Hadeeth explains that many people want (and not necessarily need) more. However, the Hadeeth’s underlined part tells us indirectly that people have a chance to fight greed and covetousness through repentance. Here are some ways we can develop the essential value of contentment:

(1) Compare yourself to people who have less than you. Unfortunately, many people fall into the trap of comparing their lives to wealthier people only to end up feeling either second-rate or deprived. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was reported to have said, “[In terms of material possessions], look at those who are inferior to you and do not look at those who are superior to you. By doing so, you will not belittle Allah’s blessings on you” (Bukhari & Muslim). We should focus on what we have rather than what we do not so that we do not fall prey to the comparison trap.

(2) Count your blessings and be thankful. Unless we recognize Allah’s blessings upon us, we cannot practice contentment. Whenever we feel discontent, we should take a moment and write down Allah’s blessings. We do not need to go very far in doing so and can simply ask three basic questions: ‘Do I feel safe? ‘Do I have a serious disease?’ ‘Do I have food for the day?’ If we can answer these questions in the positive, we should count ourselves among the most blessed people in the world. This is exactly what our Prophet ﷺ emulated for us. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was reported to have said, “Whoever wakes up feeling secure, free of [serious] diseases and having sufficient food for the day should know that he is given the entire [pleasures of] life!” (At-Tirmidhi)

(3) Remember that this life is a test! Adopting the Hereafter as your goal prevents entrapment into discontentment. Once you look at this worldly life as Allah’s test and do your best to pass it—through patience and gratitude—you will have a strong feeling that your life is rewarding and meaningful, no matter what difficulties come your way. The Quran teaches us that this worldly life is a test, and the Hereafter is the superior, eternal life, “Do not gaze longingly at the pleasures of the splendor of the worldly life that We gave different classes of them [unbelievers]. It is a test for them, and Allah’s provision is far better and everlasting” (20: 131).

(4) Fight Greed through Giving. There is great contentment and joy to be gained from giving. Giving is a sign of the absence of greed. Giving will make you among the better ones. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was reported to have said, “The Upper Hand [that of a giver] is better than the Lower Hand [that of a recipient]. Start with your dependants.”    

(5) Make dua’a for contentment. Bukhari and Muslim report on the authority of A’isha that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to repeat the following prayer, “O Allah, I seek refuge with You from sin and heavy debt.” Someone exclaimed, ‘How often do you seek refuge from heavy debt!’ He ﷺ replied, “When a man falls into debt, he speaks and tells lies, and he makes a promise and breaks it.” It was also reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to pray every morning and every evening stating, “O Allah I seek refuge from you from worries and grief. I seek refuge from you from helplessness and laziness. I seek refuge from you from cowardice and miserliness. I seek refuge from you from mounting debts and being overpowered by men.” 

O Allah bring Your peace into our hearts, into our families, into our communities, and the world. O Allah kindle in our hearts Your love, the love of those who love You, and the love of all that You love. Ameen.