QUESTION:
In Surah Ibrahim (14:7), Allah states: ‘’Remember, your Lord proclaimed: ‘I shall give you more if you are grateful; but if you are thankless then surely My punishment is very great.’ ”
What does being ‘’grateful’’ to Allah mean, and how do I thank him or be grateful to him?
ANSWER:
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful.
May Allah bless Muhammad and his Family and damn their enemies.
In Tafseer al-’Ayashi, we find the following:
It is reported that Abi Abdullah (peace be upon him) said
Being grateful (to Allah) for (His) bounties is to refrain from committing sins, and complete thankfulness (to Allah) is when a man says ‘Praised be Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
Also by him (peace be upon him):
When in his heart a slave (of Allah) recognises a blessing by Allah, appears to say his thanks to Allah, and concludes his words by thanking Him, (He) would grant him more.
Hamad Bin Uthman said:
Abu Abdullah’s (peace be upon him) ride was gone when he left the mosque, so he said: ‘If Allah returns it to me, I will thank him as He deserves to be thanked.’ He said: ‘And it was brought back to him in no time.’ He (peace be upon him) said: ‘Praised be Allah.’ Upon hearing that, one of those present asked: ‘May I be sacrificed for you, did you not just say that you will thank Allah as He deserves to be thanked? Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) responded: ‘Did you not just hear me say praised be Allah?
The Office of Sheikh al-Habib