“O you who believe, eat from the good things we provided for you, and be thankful to God, if you do worship Him alone.” (Quran 2:172)
“Therefore remember Me. I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and never show me ingratitude.” (2:152)
Gratitude, or being thankful, is a recurring theme in the Quran and Sunnah. Gratitude improves our mental health and relationships, both with Allah (swt) and with people. Read on to learn what the Quran and Sunnah teach us about gratitude.
1. The Purpose of Life is to Show Gratitude to Allah:
“When God brought you out of your mother’s womb, you were empty of knowledge. But he gave you eyes and ears and hearts, in order that you may give thanks to him.” (16:78)
“Has there (not) been a long time when man was not even a mentionable thing. It is We who have created man out of a sperm-drop intermingled, so that We might test him. And therefore We have made him hearing and seeing. Surely We have guided him to the way (and it rests with him to prove himself) either grateful or ungrateful.” ( 76:1-3)
2. Allah Will Give Us More If We Are Thankful:
“…If you give thanks, I will give you more…” (14:7)
“…Soon We will reward the Thankful.” (3:145)
3. Shaytan’s Goal is to Make Us Ungrateful:
[Satan] said, “Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].” (7:16-17)
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4. Allah is Pleased by Our Gratitude:
“…If you are thankless—Allah is in no need of you—yet He is not pleased by ingratitude of His worshippers. And if you are thankful He is pleased by it in you…” (39:7)
“…Anyone who desires the reward in this world shall be given it here, and anyone who desires the reward in the hereafter shall be given it there. Soon We will reward the thankful.” (3:145)
5. Prophet Sulaiman (pbuh) Practiced Gratitude:
One (a jinn) who had knowledge of the Scripture said: “I will fetch it (the throne of the Queen of Sheba) to you in the twinkling of an eye.” As soon as Solomon saw the throne set before him, he said: “This is of the grace of my Lord that He may test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful; and whoever is grateful, he is grateful only for his own soul, and whoever is ungrateful, then surely my Lord is Free of all Need, Generous Beyond Accounting.” (27:40)
6. Showing Gratitude to People, Especially Parents, is Very Important in Islam:
“We enjoined on man to recognize the rights of his parents. His mother bore him in her womb with weakness upon weakness and his weaning took two years. Give thanks to Me and to your parents. All things will return to Me.” (31:14)
“Whoever does not thank the people does not thank Allah.” (Hadith in Abu Dawud)
“…Whoever does a favor for you or an act of kindness, then repay him in a similar manner. But if you cannot find that which you can reward him with, then supplicate God for him continuously, until you think you have repaid him.” (Hadith in Ahmad)
7. We Have So Many Reasons to Be Thankful:
“…If you count the favors of Allah, never will you be able to number them…” (14:34)
“Whoever among you wakes up secure in his property, healthy in his body, and he has his food for the day, it is as if he were given the entire world.” (Hadith in Tirmidhi)
8. The Prophet’s Advice for Remaining Grateful Always:
It’s human nature to forget Allah’s blessings, but the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) warned about this, and gave us advice for when we start to feel ungrateful:
“When one of you sees another who is superior to him in point of wealth and creation, let him look to him who is below him. That is more proper that you hold not in contempt the favor of God towards you.” (Hadith in Bukhari, Muslim)
9. Gratitude Was The Fuel for the Prophet’s Worship of Allah:
Ayesha (ra) said that the Prophet (pbuh) used to pray at night until his feet would swell. She asked, “Why do you do this, O Messenger of God, when God has forgiven your past and future sins?” The Prophet replied, “Should I not be a grateful servant (Of God)?” (Hadith in Bukhari)
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