“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'”
(Surah Ibrahim : 7 )
The English translation doesn’t do justice to the Arabic of this ayah. Allah ﷻ actually uses emphasis 4 times here! This is to remove any doubt about the promise being made.
Someone gives you a gift. Wouldn’t you appreciate it, talk about it and want to return their favour? Every single thing that we have is from Allah ﷻ, whether it’s tangible (like our families, homes, food, transport, etc.) or intangible (knowledge, talent, freedom). How much gratitude does He deserve?
Allah ﷻ is teaching us a simple formula for success here: gratitude leads to increase of blessings. It also preserves the blessing. So whatever blessing you want an increase in, start by being grateful for what you already have. For example, if you want an increase in wealth, be grateful for all that you already have by thanking Allah and spending on others too.
Gratitude isn’t just in words and it’s not one-off, that we thank Allah and that’s it. It’s an attitude. It’s to feel thankful to Allah in the heart, to mention in words, and to express our gratitude with our actions – using the blessing to gain His Pleasure.
Often we become focused on the negatives in our life and complain. We must remember that if gratitude leads to preservation and increase, the opposite of this is also true. Ingratitude may lead to the blessing being taking away! (Bring to mind the story of the man with the two gardens in Surah Kahf)
Remember that there is always good in Allah’s plan for us, even when we can’t see it. Be positive and grateful despite the hardship, and you will definitely see Allah making things easy for you and giving you increase.
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “When a slave is ill, Allah sends two angels to him and says to them, ‘Go and look what my slave says to his visitors’. If he praises Allah and lauds Allah when they come to him, they take that up to Allah, who knows best. Thereupon, Allah He says, ‘If I make my slave die, I will make him enter Paradise. If I heal him, I will replace his flesh with better flesh and his blood with better blood and I will efface his evil actions.'” [Muwatta, Ayn 5, (2; 940)]
Have an attitude of gratitude 💕
Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash
Musings of a Muslimah 