- Names of Allah
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- Names of Allah- 1996
Allâh’s Beautiful Name: Ash-Shakour:
In His Divine Book, the Holy Quran, Allah, All Mighty, says
“If you give thanks, I will give you more; but if you are thankless, verily My Torment is indeed severe.”
This Quranic Verse takes us to the twenty-first of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Names, “Ash-Shakour” (The Most Thankful).
In fact, it is not enough to know that Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, simply because such knowledge is common among all people. To this effect, Allah, All Mighty, says
“And if you (O Muhammad) ask them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth?’ They will certainly say: ‘Allah.’ Say: ‘All Praise belongs to Allah!’ But most of them know not.”
Even those who worship idols:
“And those who take deities besides Him (say): ‘We worship them only that they may bring us near to Allah.’ Verily Allah will judge between them concerning that wherein they differ. Truly, Allah guides not him who is a liar disbeliever.”
If you acknowledge the existence of Allah, All Mighty, you are still a common person, because knowledge of Allah and His Existence necessitates knowledge of His Beautiful Divine Names and Attributes. Such knowledge is closely linked to your life in the present world and the world to come. The more you know Allah, All Mighty, the more loving to Him you become, the more committed to His Divine Commandments you become, the more righteous your work becomes, and the more happy in the Hereafter you will be.
Therefore, it is most important to know Allah through His Beautiful Divine Names and Attributes. One of Allah’s Beautiful Names is “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful), which is found in several places in the Holy Quran. For example, in Surat Fatir, Allah Glory to Him says
“And they will say: ‘All Praise is to Allah, Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Thankful.’”
And in Surat Al-Isra’, He also says
“And whosoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it with its due strife while he is a believer, then such are the ones whose strife shall be thanked (and rewarded).”
And in Surat An-Nisa’, He, Glory to Him, also says
“And Allah is Most Thankful, All-Knowing.”
In Arabic, the word “Shakour” (Most Thankful) is an emphatic name that is derived from the word “Shakara” (to thank); and whenever emphatic names are attributed to Allah, Glory to Him, they emphasize either quantity or quality, which means that, from the viewpoint of quality, Allah is Most Thankful in the sense that He grants His righteous slaves infinite happiness, in the Hereafter, in return for a limited number of years of devotion and dutifulness on their part in this present world. By the way, you have to remember that any number, no matter how great it might be, is nothing if compared to infinity. In other words, if you live for a limited number of years during which you obey Allah, Most Gracious, suppress you lusty desires and caprices, perform righteous good deeds, earn an honest living, attend religious lectures, read and understand Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, call for Allah and His Religion, spend your money for the Cause of Allah and His Religion, all of this is nothing compared to Allah’s Infinite Recompense and Reward. This means that He gives too much in return for too little.
Is it reasonable or possible, for example, that you buy a shop, village, town, city or country for only a quarter of a Syrian pound?! But I reiterate that all of man’s righteous good work is less than that compared to Allah’s Infinite Divine Recompense and Reward. I swear by Allah! It is far less than a quarter of a Syrian pound as in the above example!
Consider great companies in the world. I have heard that one of these companies has a surplus of profits that amounts up to more than a billion Dollars and that the administration does not know what to do with that surplus. The budgets of some companies exceed those of the total budgets of a number of countries. Is it possible that you can buy any one, or all of, such great companies for one Syrian Pound? I still reiterate that what Allah has prepared for true believers in reward for their righteous good work and dutiful obedience to Him is exactly like buying any of such fabulously great companies for only one Syrian Pound.
This is the meaning of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Ash-Shakour”: He, Glory to Him, gives that which is infinite in reward for man’s limited good righteous work that he does in his short-termed human life.
In this context, I have learned that in a certain country some judges do not have any definite salaries, i.e. they can get whatever amounts of money they desire, provided that they do their job properly. Allah, All Mighty, is “Shakour” (Most Thankful) in the sense that He, Glory to Him, gives infinitely for people’s good work. To this effect, Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying
“Allah, All Mighty, says, ‘I have prepared for My righteous slaves good things that no human eye has ever seen, no human ear has ever heard of, and no human mind has ever thought of.’”
In fact, we always hear and repeat such Divine Words, but we do not deliberate their real meaning. In his life, each one of us has seen a number of things. For example, if someone asks you, “Where have you been?” you answer, “I’ve been only to Lebanon, Jordan, Mecca, Egypt, and Cyprus.” Another person might say that he/she has been to America, a third to Japan, a fourth to Russia, a fifth to Australia, a sixth to the Moon, …etc.
The circle of the things that you see is much smaller than that of those that you hear of. For example, you have heard of a lot of things or places that you have never been to, such as Mars, Jupiter, The Polar Star, Alaska, Siberia, the North Pole, …etc. The circle of the things that you hear of is far greater than that of those that you see. However, the things that you think of are far more numerous than those that you hear of. You might think of or imagine a mountain as high as the sun or a man that is 3000 km’s tall. Thoughts and imaginations are almost infinite.
When Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), quotes his Lord, Allah, All Mighty, as saying
“I have prepared for My righteous slaves that which no human eye has ever seen, no human ear has ever heard of, and no human mind has ever thought of”
He, (PBUH), clarifies to us Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful). In return for a period of sixty years, or perhaps a little more or less than that, of good righteous work you deserve Allah’s Infinite Divine Generous Recompense. To this effect, Allah, Most Thankful, says
“And when you look there (in Paradise), you see bliss and a great kingdom.”
Allah, the Most Thankful, calls that which He has prepared in Paradise for His righteous slaves “a great kingdom”. This is the meaning of “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful): Allah, Most Generous, Most Thankful, grants you something priceless for something little you offer to Him.
The quantitative meaning of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful) is that whatever good and righteous things you do for the sake of Allah, He thanks you and rewards you for them.
Right after Prophet Muhammad’s mission, Abu Jahl came to the Prophet’s house and knocked on the door. When the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah Az-Zahra’, who was a little girl at that time, opened the door, Abu Jahl asked her where her father, Muhammad, was. When she answered that her father was not there, Abu Jahl, without any reason, smacked her on the face. However, when Abu Sufian heard that Abu Jahl had smacked Fatimah on the face only because she told him that her father was not in the house, Abu Sufian went to the Prophet’s house, carried Fatimah and took her to Abu Jahl’s house. He knocked on Abu Jahl’s door, and when the latter opened the door, Abu Sufian bade Fatimah: “Smack him on the face, just as he did to you!” In fact, Abu Sufian wanted to retaliate for Fatima’s dignity and honor although he was a disbeliever at that time. However, when the Prophet, (PBUH), heard of what Abu Sufian had done, he, (PBUH), raised his hands up towards the heaven, invoking, “O Allah! Do not forget this for him (Abu Sufian)!’ And Allah indeed did not forget that good deed on the part of Abu Sufian, for although Abu Sufian fought against the Prophet for twenty years; he converted to Islam in the end. When Abu Sufian converted to Islam, the Prophet was so kind and generous to him that Abu Sufian addressed the Prophet, “O my good nephew! How forbearing you are! How wise you are! How duly you maintain kinship ties! And how merciful you are!”
In some books of history, it is narrated that when Abu Lahab knew of the Prophet’s birth, he set free one of his female slaves in honor of that happy occasion. Since it was Monday when Abu Lahab did such a good thing as setting a slave free, it is said that punishment is decreased for him in Hell every Monday. Everything is kept and preserved with Allah, Glory to Him, even if you rescue an ant. To this effect, Allah, Most Thankful, says
“Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and believed (in Him)? And Allah is Ever Most Thankful, All-Knowing.”
You might do someone a favor for which he cannot thank you unless he knows it. For example, you may buy a present and go to visit a sick person at home, but instead of giving the present to the patient himself, you give it to his son at the door before you get in. Does the patient thank you for the present even though he does not know about it? The answer is: of course, not. If he does not know about the present, how can he thank you for it? That is why Allah, the Most Thankful, says
“Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and believed (in Him)? And Allah is Ever Most Thankful, All-Knowing.All-Knowing
nowing, knows all the good things that you do. If you rescue a butterfly, if you have mercy on someone, if you secure someone frightened, if you calm down the feelings of someone anxious, if you reassure someone worried, or if you feed someone hungry, it will be kept preserved with Allah, Most Thankful, for you, no matter how numerous the good things that you do are. This is the quantitative connotation of Allah’s Beautiful Divine Name “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful).
Linguistically, the word “Shakour” is derived from the Arabic word “Ash-Shukr”, which means “increase”. In Arabic, someone is said to be “Shakeer” if he has young children; a tree is said to be “Shakeerah” if it has originally grown from small stalks; a female camel is said to be “Shakeerah” and “Shakra” if she has a full udder; a piece of land is said to be “Shakeerah” if it has a lot of plants; an animal is said to be “Shakour” if it grows more than the fodder it is given; and a plant is said to be “Shakour” if it needs only little water.
As for “Ash-Shukr” (thankfulness) of a human being, is of two kinds, verbal and virtual, neither of which can be achieved except by knowledge, which is the essence of thankfulness. In other words, you know and then you become thankful, i.e. you cannot be thankful unless you know.
Virtual thankfulness, which is manifested by practical work, can be made clear by the following example: Someone grants you a house or does you a great favor. When you see his little son in the street, you offer him some sweats to eat. This is a kind of thankfulness to the father. In other words, you desire to express your gratitude to the man who did you a favor by offering his child something.
Therefore, when a true believer does favors to other fellow humans: when he has mercy on them, when he honors them, when he secures them, when he provides them with food and drink, when he provides them with clothes, when he is compassionate to them, or when he does a favor to any creature, whatever it might be, a cat or a small dog for example, this means that he is thankful to Allah. In other words, you express your gratitude to Allah by doing good to His creatures. If you desire to know the secret behind good righteous work in this present world and why a true believer does righteous good things, you should know that it is only an expression of thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious, by doing favors to His creatures. If you are honest with your customers, this means that you are thankful to Allah, All Mighty. If you have mercy on other fellow humans, if you are compassionate to them, if you are fair to them, if you relieve them of their sorrows, if you heal their wounds, if you make them secure, if you make them happy, if you lend them your hand, or if you do anything good to them, this means that you are thankful to the Lord, Allah, Most Gracious. It is common sense to honor a father by honoring his son. If you see someone you love accompanied by his son or daughter, you try to express your love for the father by showing love to his child, by offering him/her a candy, a pen, or any other good thing that you have and by speaking to him/her gently and kindly: what’s your name? How are you? How are you doing? What grade are you in? …Etc. This is commonly very practical and normal.
In other words, you desire to comfort your heart and to express your gratitude and thankfulness to someone who has done you a favor; therefore, you honor his child. Allah, Glory to Him, is Self-Sufficient and is in need of no one: He feeds and does not need to be fed; therefore, it is impossible to offer a direct gift or present to Him; but you can express your gratitude to Him by doing good to His creatures. You have Allah’s creatures to do well to; you have your fellow humans, even disbelievers or atheists, to do well to. If you do well to all your fellow humans, who are Allah’s creatures, it is a good thing that Allah will keep preserved for you. If you are a doctor, you should strive to help all people, even those whom you know are irreligious or disbelievers. You should take into consideration that all people are Allah’s slaves and that you should offer them all your help.
Another example as regards animals: if you provide a hungry animal with food – as some people enjoy feeding birds and buying seeds for them – because you know that animals are Allah’s creatures, this means that you are thankful to Allah, All Mighty. A true believer is very careful not to run over an animal with his car or do harm to any animal because it is one of Allah’s creatures. If he unintentionally runs over a dog or a cat, he hastens to offer charities so that Allah may pardon him.
Such is real thankfulness: to be thankful to Allah by performing good righteous deeds and by being kind to all of Allah’s creatures, both human and non-human. I reiterate that it is better and more favored by the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, that you do favors to all of His slaves, and not only to Muslims or those who belong to the same mosque or Islamic group.
Someone told me that while a rich man was driving his car, he met a young man trying to fix his old bike. He stopped the car and got out to help the young man fix his bike. Such good helpful deed on the part of the rich man was the cause behind the young man’s repentance and reform.
Such is real thankfulness! The religion of Islam is meant for all mankind, and not for a certain tribe, race or nation. In Islam, there are no such narrow-minded notions as: “Such one is a Muslim, but such one is not”, “Such one is a believer but such one is not” or “Such one belongs to our group but such one does not”. According to the teachings of Islam, all human beings are Allah’s slaves, and the best ones from among them are those who are the most pious and dutiful to Allah.
I swear by Allah, the One and Only God! Allah, the Most Thankful, will certainly thank you for each and every good thing that you do to any of His creatures, human or non-human. It is related that a prostitute once saw a dog that was dying of thirst, so she hurriedly fetched some water for it to drink and, thus, saved its life. In recompense for such good deed on the part of the prostitute, Allah, the Most Thankful, forgave all her sins for her. In the same context
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, quotes Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying, “While walking, a man felt very thirsty, so he went down a well, drank from it and came out. He suddenly saw a dog panting and eating the earth because of thirst. He thought, ‘Such dog is suffering from what I have suffered from!’ He went down the well, filled his boot (with water), held it with his mouth, came up the well, and offered the dog the water to drink. Therefore, Allah thanked him and forgave his sins for him.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Are we rewarded for doing good to animals?” He, (PBUH), answered, “There is a reward for (each good deed to) every living thing.”
Once, in a farm near Ya’four village (a village near Damascus), I saw some people catching fish. They did not wait until the fish they caught were dead and motionless, but began to deal with them the moment they caught them. I said, “Why don’t wait for some time until they are dead and motionless?! You are tormenting the fish!” I also saw some chicken sellers slaughter the chickens and throw them immediately into boiling water to strip them off their feathers before they are dead. That is something for which Allah punishes you! Be careful! Allah, All Mighty, says
“And the Budn (cows, oxen, or camels driven to be offered as sacrifices by the pilgrims at the sanctuary of Mecca): We have made them for you as among Allah’s symbols, wherein you have much good. So mention the Name of Allah over them when they are drawn up in lines (for sacrifice). Then, when they are down on their sides (after slaughter), eat thereof and feed the poor who does not ask (for money or food) and the beggar who asks (for money and food). Thus have We subjugated them to you that you may be thankful.”
Why is religion necessary? That creature gives you its body to eat, so in return to this favor, you cast it alive in boiling water! This is unfair and inhuman! In this context
Shaddad Bin Aous quoted Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), as saying, “Allah has ordained good doing to all things. So if you desire to kill (an animal), you should carry out the killing properly; and if you desire to slaughter (an animal) you should carry out the slaughtering properly. And let the one of you sharpen his knife and comfort his animal.”
Such is real thankfulness!
If you know Allah, All Mighty, and recognize His Divine Grace to you, you know how to deal with His creatures. For example, consider this Verse:
“And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you.”
Allah brought you into existence from non-existence; you are now thirty; open a book that was printed in the year 1958, when it was printed, where were you? Did you have any existence? Did you have any name? Did you have any size? Did you have any body? Did you have any importance or prominence? At that time, you did not have any existence. Allah, All Mighty, says
“Has there not been over man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?”
Allah, All Mighty, brought you into existence and gave you a shape. He, Glory to Him, says
“Allah: it is He Who has made for you the earth as a stable dwelling place and the sky as a canopy, and has given you shape and made your shapes good looking and has provided you with good things. Such is Allah, your Lord. So Blessed is Allah, Lord of all worlds.”
He, Praised and Exalted, also says
“Have We not made for him a pair of eyes, a tongue and a pair of lips, and shown him the two Ways (of good and evil)?”
If man obeys his Lord and the Lord rewards him for such obedience, this means that the Lord thanks him. So how would it be with Allah’s Due Reward to His slaves on the Day of Judgment? Undoubtedly, Allah is Most Thankful!
Divine Thankfulness as manifested by reward means that if you do righteous good deeds, yours will be Paradise: You spend of your wealth, and, therefore, yours will be the Garden of Paradise, whose breadth is as great as the heavens and the earth. You spend of your time, experience, or knowledge, you help other fellow humans, you are sincere and honest, you do your work properly, and you deal with other people honestly and faithfully: this means that you do the minimum, just like when you have a certain job and you do it properly, getting a reasonable wage in return. In other words, the minimum thing to do is to do good to other people, one way or another.
Hence, the minimum thing to do is to do your job properly and to receive a reasonable wage in return; but the maximum is unlimited: you may give food to the poor and needy, you may help the weak and helpless, …etc. In a Divine Hadith, Allah, All Mighty, says
“Not all those who perform prayer really do (perform prayer). Nay! I accept prayer (only) from those who are humble towards My Greatness, suppress their desires for the things I forbid, do not insist on disobeying Me, those who feed the hungry, clothe the deprived, have mercy on the wrecked, and give refuge to strangers: all for My sake.”
A friend told me a story that happened during the civil war in Lebanon some 20 years ago. He said: I was driving from a village called Al-Hamah, a village near Damascus, one cold winter evening, when I saw a man standing with his wife in the suburb of Doummar. The man was holding a little boy, whom he had wrapped in his own coat to protect him from the cold. I thought, “I’ll give them a lift to their home.” But I noticed that the boy was feverish and his temperature was 41 degrees Celsius. I also noticed that they were Lebanese, running away from the war there, and that they rented a flat in Doummar but did not know anyone in Damascus. I drove them to a hospital where a boarding practitioner took good care of the boy. Then, we went to a pharmacy and bought some medicine for the boy. After that, we went to another hospital in order to give the boy an injection. When we the whole thing was over, it was 4 a.m. During the next two or three weeks, I was overwhelmed with incredible ecstasy for helping such people out of their trouble.
I tell those people who claim seeking happiness, “Happiness is at your hands: if you desire to be happy strive to make other fellow humans happy.” All of us enjoy the pleasure of taking. For example, we rejoice at receiving money or gifts. But only a few of us enjoy the pleasure of giving, which is far greater and more enjoyable than that of receiving. While giving, you feel that you are doing something very important: helping other fellow humans, healing the wounds of a wrecked family, helping someone get married, providing a home for someone homeless, helping an ill person to receive adequate medical treatment, or helping someone in trouble find a good honest lawyer.
I reiterate: You shall never know the taste of real happiness unless you strive to help people.
Once, I heard someone invoking the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, during the night, “O Lord! The night is not enjoyable without talking to you; and the day is not enjoyable without serving your slaves (other fellow humans).”
A true Muslim should always visit patients or offers help to other fellow humans. To this effect, Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), says
“Walking with a brother in order to fulfill his needs is better for me than fasting and remaining in devotional seclusion in my mosque for a whole month.”
This Prophetic Hadith constitutes one of the fundamental aspects of Islam.
The second kind of thankfulness, i.e. verbal thankfulness, is to extol praises and glorifications of the Lord, Allah, All Mighty, saying: “O Lord! You are the Most Kind! You are the Most Merciful! You are the Most Powerful! You are the All Mighty! You are the Self-Sufficient! You are the Most Compassionate! You are the Most Gracious in the present world, and the Most Merciful in the Hereafter! You are the One Who forgives all sins and covers all faults! You are the One Who grants but does not ask! You are the Most Forbearing, Who is never hasty (in punishment)!” When your tongue goes: “There is no god but You, Praised and Glorified! I have been one of the wrongdoers! Praise belongs to Allah! Gratitude is all to Allah! There is no god but Allah!” this means that you are extolling praises of Allah, which is also a kind of thankfulness.
Thankfulness, in this sense, means that your tongue should always go: “O Lord! It is You Who have created me; and I am Your slave, and I shall remain committed to Your Covenant and Promise as much as I can. I take refuge with You from the evil of that which I have done! I confess Your Grace unto me and I confess my sins! Forgive me, for no one forgives sins but You! O Allah! You are the One Who pardons generously and Who loves to pardon, so pardon me! O Allah! I ask You things that deserve Your Mercy!”
Thankfulness, in this sense, means that your tongue should always extol praises of Allah, All Mighty. You should supplicate: “O Allah, the Most Gracious in both the present world and the world to come! I take refuge with the Light of Your Face, whereby the heavens and the earth have been enlightened and matters of the present world and the Hereafter have been set aright! I take refuge with You, lest you should afflict me with Your Divine Wrath or visit me with Your Anger! And I will remain standing at your gate supplicating and seeking your Good Pleasure until You are pleased with me! However, Your providing me with pardon and good heath makes things easier and more comfortable for me!”
If you do not love all righteous pious believers, even if they belonged to other mosques or Islamic groups, you are not a true believer, but rather a mere narrow-minded sectarian. You should love all people, since the Call for Allah is public and not restricted.
Abdurrahman Bin ‘Amr As-Soulami narrated that he heard Al-‘Irbad Bin Sariah say: Allah’s Messenger admonished us an admonition that caused our eyes to shed tears and filled our hearts with fear. We said, “O Messenger of Allah! This admonition is that of someone bidding farewell (i.e. leaving). So, what would you command us?” He, (PBUH), said, “I have left you White clear evidence, whose night is (as bright) as its day; none deviate from it except those who will be made to perish…”
Islam is meant for all mankind. Therefore, you should work in the sun and not in the dark. There are no obscurities in Islam. Everything is very clear. Allah, All Mighty, is the Creator of the universe, and this is the Holy Quran, His Divine Book, this is His Religion, and this is His Prophet’s Sunna and Tradition. I reiterate that your good righteous work should not be directed only to those who belong to you or whom you know. Nay! Your good work should be directed towards all people; and you do not know when faith shines in the heart of the person to whom you do a favor. Allah may rightly guide someone through your good efforts while you are not aware.
For example, Abu Hanifah, the knowledgeable venerable religious scholar, had a noisy troublesome drunkard neighbor, a singer whose loud songs used to disturb the whole neighborhood. His most favorite song was:
They have ruined me, and what a great man they have ruined!
To a day of mischief and a secret plague!
One night, Abu Hanifah didn’t hear any noise coming from the neighbor’s house, so he asked about him, and soon learnt that for some reason or another the governor had imprisoned him. Being highly respected by the governor, Abu Hanifah helped his neighbor, the young profligate singer, to get out of prison, although the governor did not expect that Abu Hanifah, the venerable religious scholar, would himself come to intercede for such profligate man. However, Abu Hanifah took the young man by the hand and asked him, “O man! You say ‘they have ruined me, and what a great man they have ruined!’ Did we really ruin you?!” Such noble compassionate attitude on the part of Abu Hanifah towards his irreligious neighbor made him repent and reform.
Your efforts and heroism should not be in doing favors to believers, because they are believers like you are, and they are, therefore, in no need of your help. Your good efforts and heroism should be exerted in order to rightly guide those who are astray and to persuade them to repent and reform. Your heroism is manifested when you add someone new to the community of believers, and when you convince someone who has suspicions about Allah, All Mighty, or persuade someone to perform prayer. You are a hero when you sit with someone who is inimical to religion due to certain dubieties, who does not have any respect for religious scholars or religion, and convince him of the validity of religion by being forbearing towards him, providing him with adequate evidence, showing good manners towards him, and spending months until Allah opens his breast for Islam, until he repents and reforms, and until he performs prayer and gets used to attending religious lectures in mosques. Such is real heroism! It is by no means heroic to seed dissension between religious scholars and their disciples. Your job is to introduce new ones to the community of believers. In short, heroism is in positive proportion with labor and good positive work.
I once told my companions what a preacher said to one of his disciples. He advised him, “O my son! Those who are healthy are not in need of you, but the patients are. It is meaningless to speak to those who are intelligent, excellent, superior, pious, Allah-fearing, righteous, and pure, or make them cry. Such people already have good truthful feelings, so they are easily touched by the words you say about Allah, Most Gracious. If you sit with those who are far astray from Allah and His religion, or those who are suspicious about Him, if you give them your knowledge and provide them with authentic evidence, if you remove all dubieties and help them step by step, and stage by stage, if you stand by them and be generous to them, if you help them and be kind to them until they love you, if you strive to cure those who are ill and make them happy and contented, this is good laudable work.”
In short, verbal thankfulness is expressed by praise; and when the Lord, Glory to Him, praises His slave, this means that He, Most Gracious, thanks him. When you extol praises of Allah in your councils, Allah makes people love you and praise you in your absence. This is how Allah, the Most Thankful, thanks you. If you do well to other fellow humans, He does well to you. In this context, Allah, the Most Thankful, says
“Is there any reward for good other than good?”
In this context, Imam Al-Ghazali, the Well-known Muslim scholar, says, “If the one who takes and then thanks is called ‘thankful’, but the one who gives and thanks is more properly called ‘thankful’.”
Allah, All Mighty, Most Gracious, Who bestows His Divine Favors upon you, and after He has bestowed His Divine Favors upon you, He hears your praises of Him and thanks you for that. Who deserves more to be described as being thankful? The answer is: the one who gives and then thanks. The One Who gives is Allah, All Mighty, and, therefore, He is most deservedly called “Ash-Shakour” (the Most Thankful). Also, someone who receives Allah’s Divine Favors and then praises Allah for them is thankful, but the One Who gives and praises twice is Allah, the Most Thankful. In other words, Allah bestows His Divine Favors upon His slaves, and then He makes those who praise Him and are thankful to Him praised by their other fellow humans.
Therefore, in a Divine Hadith, Allah, All Mighty, Most Thankful, says
“He who remembers me to a host, I remember him to a better host.”
You may remember Allah and praise Him to five or six students of yours, and, in return, Allah, the Most Thankful, makes your name remembered and spoken well of among hundreds of people, who praise you and speak well of you. Yes, indeed! Allah is Most Thankful! You praise Allah among five common people, but He, in return, praises you among prominent people. In another Divine Hadith, Allah, the Most Thankful, says
“If My slave remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself; and if My slave remembers Me to a host of My slaves, I remember him to a better host.”
Therefore, Allah is Most Thankful in the sense that if you do well, He, Glory to Him, most generously rewards you; and if you praise Him and speak well of Him, He makes people praise you and speak well of you. Yes, indeed! Allah is Most Thankful!
Now the question is: When you are thankful, who are you thankful to? The answer is: You are thankful either to the Creator, Allah, All Mighty, or to His creatures, your fellow humans. However, it is impossible for you to be thankful enough to Allah, because in order to thank Allah for each and every Divine Favor of His, you have to know all of His Divine Favors that He bestows upon you; and since it is impossible for you to know all of Allah’s Divine Favors upon you, your being fully thankful to Him is also impossible. To this effect, Allah, All Mighty, says
“And if you would count Allah’s Favors, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
Contemplate Allah’s Divine Favors that He bestows upon you! If you desire to count them, that would be impossible. Consider Allah’s Favors in your own parts of human body: the liver, kidneys, spleen, supra-renal gland, balance center, liquid-balance center, …etc. In short, if you would count Allah’s Favors to you, you could never be able to count them.
Since it is impossible for you to know Allah’s Favors to you as they really are, it is impossible for you to be thankful enough to Him. That is why Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), used to invoke, “Glory to You (O Allah)! We could never praise you enough! You are just as You have praised Yourself.”
The first thing I would like to reiterate is that it is impossible for you to be thankful enough to Allah. It is just impossible!
Another thing is that thankfulness is, in itself, a Divine Favor, since Allah, enables you to be thankful. In other words, you thank Allah for a certain Divine Favor that He bestows upon you; and thankfulness is, in itself, a Divine Favor of His. This means that you are constantly overwhelmed with the Lord’s Divine Favors. You should always invoke the Lord, All Mighty, “O Lord! How can I be thankful enough, and thankfulness to You cannot be offered except with another Favor from You.” Yes, indeed! You are in bad constant need of being thankful to the Almighty Lord, Allah, Glory to Him.
There is a very delicate point that I would like to make clear to you: recognizing any of Allah’s Divine Favors is, in itself, a Favor. Allah, Most Generous, bestows His Divine Favors upon you although He is in no need of you; but you thank Him while you are in bad need of Him; and the difference between both cases is too great. In fact, there are innumerable proofs and evidences that you can never be thankful enough to Allah. However, it is wiser and more profitable for you to be thankful than to be unthankful. And since it is impossible for you to be thankful enough to Allah, as you should be, you should invoke Him, “O Lord! Glory to You! I could never praise You enough! You are just as You have praised Yourself! O Lord! It is impossible for me to thank you enough, but I thank you as much as I know and as best as I can.”
One last thing I would like to call my dear reader’s attention to is this question: When a fellow human being does you a favor, whom should you thank? The answer is: You should thank Allah, Alone. This is because the fellow human being who does you a favor is but one of Allah’s creatures. It is Allah Who has given him life and power and then inspired and enabled him to do you such favor. And what kind of favor does a fellow human being offer you? He offers you food, for example. But who has created food? It is Allah, All Mighty. Allah has given such fellow human money to buy such food and then inspired and enabled him to offer it to you. Who creates all favors? It is Allah, All Mighty! Someone may offer you some food, but how can you eat it? You need a digestive apparatus that has been created for you by Allah, All Mighty. In other words, the Creator and Benefactor is Allah, All Mighty. He creates Favors and bestows them upon you, either directly or by means of another fellow human, whom He gives such Favors, inspires and enables to offer to you. In other words, the One Who creates Favors is Allah, All Mighty; and the One Who enables you to benefit from such Favors is also Allah, All Mighty. Therefore, thanks should be given to Allah! Nevertheless, such fellow human being, who offers you any of Allah’s Divine Favors, chooses, out of his own free will, to do so. Therefore, he also deserves your thanks. But you should not say, “Thanks to both Allah and such fellow human”. You should say, “Thanks to Allah and, then, to such fellow human”. This word “then” is very important, because all thanks should be given to Allah for His Divine Favor that He has bestowed upon you, and, then, you should thank such fellow human through whom you have received Allah’s Favor. That is why Allah’s Messenger, (PBUH), sys
“He who does not thank people does not thank Allah”
If, as it were, you receive a Favor from an object, a balcony, for example, which protects you from a falling stone that was coming to hit you on your head and cause you injury or even kill you, would you thank such balcony, which is but a dead solid body that understands nothing? If anything good comes to you from non-living things or from animals, you should thank Allah, Alone; but if anything good comes to you from a fellow human, who is free to make his own choices, it would be most impolite and ungrateful to say, “I owe him nothing! It is Allah who inspired him to do such Favor to me.” If you receive anything good from a fellow human, you should first thank Allah for creating, inspiring, allowing and enabling him to do you such Favor, which He has bestowed on him. But since such fellow human has chosen, all willingly, to do you such Favor, you should thank him but only after having thanked Allah, All Mighty.
One final delicate thing in this context is the question: what is the difference between a favor that Allah does to you and a favor that another fellow human does to you? You may need something and ask someone to offer such thing to you, but he may be in need of it and, therefore, cannot give you such thing. But Allah, All Mighty, is Self-Sufficient and Free from all needs. Therefore, when you ask Him for anything, He gives it to you most easily. This is the first point of difference.
More importantly, a fellow human may be able to give you something, but he may not be available when you need him. He may be somewhere else and, therefore, cannot offer you such thing. But Allah is always with you wherever you are. This is the second point of difference.
A third point of difference is that if you are not thankful enough to a fellow human, he may immediately withhold such thing from you. But Allah, All Mighty, says,
“O My slave! You have an obligation to fulfill to Me; and I have provision to provide you. If you fail to fulfill the obligation (you have to fulfill) to Me, I do not fail to provide you with your provision.”
Moreover, if a human gives you or lends something, he may very often remind you, either privately or publicly, of such thing.
In other words, a human being may fail to do you a favor because he is unable to do so or he is not available and, therefore, cannot be reached. Also, if you fail to be thankful enough to a human being who does you a favor, he may withhold such favor from you or boastfully remind you, whether privately or publicly, of such favor. This is by no means the case with Allah, the Most Generous and Most Thankful.
To wrap up, the Thankful is He, Allah, Who gives most generously. When He is obeyed, even though inadequately, He accepts. He accepts that which is little and gives much in return. He accepts good deeds of obedience, even though only a few, and repays most generously. That is why it has been rightly said: Reality of thankfulness is to see the Benefactor through His Benefactions.
People in irreligious communities see only Allah’s Divine Favors and live with them, but unfortunately, they fail to see the Benefactor. In such communities, everything is only materialistically valued. True believers, however, see Allah, the Benefactor, through His Infinite Divine Favors. In short, if you are able to go beyond Favors to see the Benefactor, you are really thankful. When we hear the weather forecast, we should be thankful to the Lord, Allah, the Benefactor, for the rain and good weather. We should always extol praises of the Lord, Most Gracious, for His Infinite Divine Favors.
