Chapter 16: Ahâdîth on gratitude
It was reported that the Prophet (SAAS) stayed up all night, standing until his feet
became swollen. When he was asked, “Why are you doing this, when Allâh has forgiven
all your past and future wrong actions?” he replied, “Should I not be a grateful slave?”
(al-Bukhârî, Muslim)
The Prophet (SAAS) told Mu‘âdh (RA): “By Allâh, I love you, so do not forget to say at
the end of every salâh, ‘O Allâh, help me to remember You and to give thanks to You and
to worship You well’” (Ahmad, at-Tirmidhî).
Hishâm ibn ‘Urwah said: “Among the du‘â of the Prophet (SAAS) is: ‘O Allâh, help me
to remember You, to give thanks to You and to worship You well.’”
Ibn ‘Abbâs (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “There are four qualities,
whoever is given them has truly been given the best in this world and the next. They are:
a grateful heart (that is thankful to Allâh), a remembering tongue (that mentions Allâh
often), an enduring body (to persevere through the trials which Allâh may send), and a
faithful wife (who does not cheat him of her body or his wealth).”
Al-Qâsim ibn Muhammad reported from ‘Ā’ishah (RA) that the Prophet (SAAS) said:
“No blessing is bestowed on a slave and he realizes that it is from Allâh, but the reward
of giving gratitude for it is written for him. Never does Allâh know the regret of His slave
for a wrong action he has committed, but Allâh forgives his wrong action before the slave
seeks forgiveness. No man buys a garment with his own money then puts it on and thanks
Allâh, but Allâh will have forgiven him all his wrong action before the garment reaches
his knees.”
The Prophet (SAAS) said: “Allâh is pleased with His slave if, when he eats something, he
thanks Allâh for it, and when he drinks something, he thanks Allâh for it” (Muslim).
Shu‘bah said: “At-Fadl ibn Fudalah narrated that Abû Rajah al ‘Utaridî said: ‘Once we
saw ‘Imrân ibn al-Husayn wearing beautiful clothes that we have never seen before or
since. ‘Imrân told us that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “If Allâh bestows His blessing on His
slave, He likes to see the effect of that blessing on him.” ’”
Ibn Shu‘aib narrated from his father and grandfather that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “Eat,
drink, and give sadaqah without being extravagant or showing off, as Allâh likes to see
the effect of His blessing on His slave.”
Shu‘bah narrated from Abu Ishâq from Abu’l-Akhwas who narrated that his father said:
“I came to the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) looking dishevelled and scruffy. He asked
me, ‘Do you have any possessions?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ He asked me what sort, and I told him,
‘I have all sorts. Allâh has given me camels, horses, slaves and sheep.’ The Prophet
(SAAS) said: ‘If Allâh has given you all of that, then let Him see His blessing on you.’”
Abu’d-Dunyâ narrated the hadîth of Abû ‘Abdi’r-Rahmân as-Silmî from ash-Sha‘bî,
from an-Nu‘man ibn Bashîr, who said: “The Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) said: ‘Speaking
of Allâh’s blessing is gratitude and ignoring it is ingratitude (kufr). The one who does not
give thanks for a small blessing will not give thanks for a great blessing, and the one who
does not give thanks to people will not give thanks to Allâh. To be with a group is a
blessing, and to be alone is a punishment.’”
Ibn Abi’d-Dunyâ narrated that ‘Ā’ishah (RA) said that the Prophet (SAAS) entered upon
her one day and saw a small piece of bread on the floor, so he picked it up and wiped it,
then told her: “O ‘Ā’ishah, treat the blessings of Allâh with respect, for when it departs
from a household it may never come back to them.”
Ad-Darwardî narrated from ‘Amr ibn Abî ‘Amr from Sa‘îd al-Maqburî from Abû
Hurairah (RA) that the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) said: Allâh said: ‘The position of the
believer in relation to Me is of the best: he praises Me even when I am pulling the soul
from his body.’”
Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAAS) said: “If any of you would like
to see the great blessing of Allâh on him, then let him look at those who are less
fortunate than him, not those who appear better off than him.”
Chapter 17: The Sahâbah and Tabi‘în on gratitude
Salmân al-Fârsî (RA) said: “There was a man who was given many of the luxuries of this
world, and then they were taken away from him. But he continued to praise and thank
Allâh until everything had been taken from him, even his bed. And then he still praised
and thanked Allâh. Another man, who had also been given many of the luxuries of this
world asked him, ‘What are you praising and thanking Allâh for?’ The man said, ‘I am
praising and thanking Him for blessings which, if others asked me to give them to them
in return for all that they have, I would never give them up.’ ‘What can they be?’ asked
the second man. ‘Can’t you see?’ asked the first man. ‘I have my eyesight, my tongue,
my hands, my feet…’”
Mukhallad ibn al-Husayn said: “The definition of gratitude is abstaining from wrong
action.” Abû Hâzim said: “Every blessing that does not bring you closer to Allâh is a
disaster.” Sulaymân said: “Remembering His blessings makes one love Allâh.”
Hammâd ibn Ziyâd narrated that Layth ibn Abî Burdah said: “I went to Madînah, where I
met ‘Abdullâh ibn Salâm, who said to me: ‘Would you like to visit a place visited by the
Prophet (SAAS), and we will offer you sâwiq and dates?…’ Then he said: ‘When Allâh
gathers people on the Day of Judgement, He will remind them of His blessings. One of
His slaves will say: “Remind me of something,” and Allâh will say: “Remember when
you faced such-and-such adversity, and you prayed to Me, so I relieved you of it.
Remember when you were travelling in suchand-such a place, and you asked Me to give
you a travelling companion, and I did so… Remember when you asked for the hand of soand-so the daughter of so-and-so, and others also asked for her hand, so I gave her to you
to marry; and kept the others away.” His slave will be standing before his Lord, Who will
remind him of His many blessings.’” Then the narrator of this story (Layth) wept and
said, I hope that no one will stand before his Lord in this way, because the one who does
so will be punished.” (i.e. if Allâh has to point out that which should be obvious, this is a
sign of a person’s ingratitude, and he will be punished.)
Bakr ibn Abdullâh al-Muzânî said: “When a man faces affliction, he may pray to Allâh
and Allâh may deliver him from adversity. Then Shaytân comes to the man and whispers,
‘It was not as bad as you thought,’ Thus the man’s gratitude will be weakened.” Zazan
said: “The right of Allâh over the man who is enjoying His blessings is that such a man
should not use His blessings in order to commit wrong actions.” A man of knowledge
said: “The blessing of Allâh to us in keeping the luxuries of this world away from us is
greater than the blessing of that which he has given us, because Allah did not like His
Prophet to have the luxuries of this world. So I prefer to live in the manner which Allâh
preferred for His Prophet than to live a life which He disliked for him.”
Ibn Abi’d-Dunyâ said: “It was narrated to me that some scholars said: ‘The scholar
should praise Allâh for having deprived him of the luxuries of this life, in the same way
that he should praise Him for what He has bestowed upon him. How can you compare the
blessings and luxuries for which he will be accountable to the deprivation of luxuries
which is a relief from being tested, and which keeps his mind free to worship and
remember Allâh? So he should give thanks to Allâh for all of that.’”
It has been said: “Gratitude is giving up wrong action.” Ibn alMubârak said: “Sufyân
said: ‘He does not understand religion properly who does not count affliction as a
blessing and ease as a disaster.’”
Gratitude of different faculties
A man said to Abû Hâzim: “What is the gratitude of the eyes?” He said, “If you see good
things, you speak about them, and if you see bad things, you keep quiet about it.” He
asked, “What is the gratitude of the ears?” He said, “If you hear something good, you
accept it, and if you hear something bad, you reject it.” Then he asked, “What is the
gratitude of the hands?” He said, “Do not take what which does not belong to you, and do
not hold back from paying the dues of Allâh (zakât).” Then he asked, “What is the
gratitude of the head?” He said: “To have knowledge in it.” Then he asked, “What is the
gratitude of one’s private parts?” He quoted: “‘Who guard their private parts, except
from those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right
hands possess – for (in their case) they are free from blame, but those whose desires
exceed those limits are transgressors’” (al-Mu’minûn 23:5-7).
As for those who only pay lip-service to gratitude, and do not give thanks with the rest of
their faculties, are concerned, they are like a man who has a garment and all he does with
it is touch it, but he does not put it on: it will never protect him from heat, cold, snow or
rain.
Prostration of gratitude
When the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) used to receive good news, he would prostrate
himself (sujûd) and give thanks to Allâh. Abdu’r-Rahmân ibn ‘Awf (RA) narrated: “The
Prophet (SAAS) entered upon us in the mosque, stood facing the qiblah, then prostrated
himself and remained in sujûd for a long time. I said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, you
prostrated yourself for such a long time that we thought Allâh had taken your soul.’ He
said: ‘Jibrîl came to me with good news. He told me: “Allâh says, ‘Whoever sends
blessings on you, I will send sixty blessings on him in return, and whoever salutes you,
I will salute him in return,’ so I prostrated myself and gave thanks to Allâh.’” (Ahmad)
Sa‘îd ibn Mansûr narrated that Abû Bakr (RA) prostrated himself when he heard the
news that Musaylimah had been killed, and Ka‘b ibn Mâlik (RA) prostrated himself when
the Prophet (SAAS) told him the good news that Allâh had forgiven him.
All the good deeds of man cannot pay for one blessing of Allâh
A worshipper worshipped Allâh for fifty years, so Allâh told him that He had forgiven
him. The man said, “O Allâh, what is there to forgive when I have not committed a
wrong action?” So Allâh caused a nerve in his neck to give him pain, so he could not
sleep or pray. When the pain eased and he was able to sleep, an angel came to him, so he
complained to the angel of the pain he had suffered. The angel told him: “Your Lord says
to you that your fifty years of worship is to pay for the soothing of your pain.”
Ibn Abi’d-Dunyâ mentioned that Dâwûd (AS) asked Allâh: “What is the least of Your
blessings?” Allâh revealed to him: “O Dâwûd, take a breath.” Dâwûd did so, and Allâh
told him: “This is the least of My blessings on you.”
From this we may understand the meaning of the hadîth which was narrated by Ziyâd ibn
Thâbit and Ibn ‘Abbâs (RA): “If Allâh was to punish the people of heaven and earth, He
would have done that without being unjust towards them, and if He were to have mercy
on them, His Mercy would be far better for them than their deeds.” (Abû Dâwûd)
In a sahîh hadîth the Messenger of Allâh (SAAS) said: “No one will attain salvation by
virtue of his deeds.” The people asked, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allâh?” He said,
“Not even me, unless Allâh covers me with His mercy and blessings.” The deeds of a
man cannot pay for even one of the many blessings of Allâh, because even the smallest of
Allâh’s blessings and favours far outweigh the deeds of man. So we must always bear in
mind the rights which Allâh has over us.