The Kinds of blessings (which Allah bestows upon us):

 Ibn Al-Qayyim says in a chapter titled Kinds of blessings:
 "Blessings are of three Kinds; current blessings which are present and the worshiper is aware of, awaited blessings the worshiper is hoping for and ongoing blessings the worshiper is not aware of."
 The types of blessings are: The current blessings which you know, the blessings you are hoping for and the ongoing blessings which you are unaware of. You can guarantee the continuity of whatever favor you have by being grateful to Allah for it. Thus, when you degrade it, you will lose it. It is said, "Blessings are extended by gratefulness."
Dear brother, originally Allah bestowed upon you the favor of existence; your name is so and so, and you exit in somewhere on earth, so who granted you the favor of existence? He is Allah the Almighty. We come to another favor which is the favor of providing; Allah gives you youth, makes you physically strong, makes you expert (at your work), finds you a job, finds you a house to live in, finds you a wife and gives you whatever you hope for. After granting you all these things, He provides you with the favor of guidance as He created you for a Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth.
 Dear brother, a believer is always in a state of gratefulness to Allah, because he is immersed by Allah's blessings and grace, but the heedless and oblivious man cares only about the things he misses. He is not aware of all the blessings he has, but whenever he misses a blessing he feels that he is deprived of many things, and that he is an unlucky man.

1. Current blessings the believer is aware of

 The Prophet, peace be upon him, considered whatever favor he had a great one no matter how small it was. Whoever is able to move around with no need for people to help him do so, is granted the favor of physical strength. Other blessings are manifested in having healthy hearing and sight, in having a good reputation (when someone is not wanted by the law), in having a house to dwell in, etc. If you appreciate all these blessings and be thankful to Allah for them, they will be bound to you, but if you deny them and instead pity your luck because of the things that you are not granted, your behavior is considered kufr. Thus, when Allah wants to perfect His blessings which are granted to one of his worshipers, He makes him aware of the current blessings he has.
 If you try to count the blessings you have, you find them countless. Your life will be an unbearable hell if you suffer from a physical disorder. A man in this country was afflicted with an incurable disease, and while he was celebrating the wedding of his son he delivered a speech. This man has great wealth, his house is in the most prestigious neighborhood in Damascus, he owns a luxurious car and money and his appearance is elegant. However, during that ceremony he said, "By Allah I wish I lose my house, car and whatever I have; even my clothes except the ones that cover my private parts, only to be cured from this illness."
 A man came from France where he got his PhD, and he occupied a high position in one of the ministries. After a period of time he lost his sight. For one month those who occupied higher positions than him flattered him and sent him the work he used to do at the office to his house, but then he lost his job later on. This man lives in the most prestigious neighborhoods in Damascus, and has a wife who he married in the country he was studying in. He told a friend of his whom I know, "I accept to sit on the sidewalks begging from people, with only this coat I wear, only to have my sight back." If man is granted the blessings of sight, hearing, speech and the ability to move, his physical systems are healthy, he suffers from no type of tumor, no heart attacks and has a good reputation, a house to live in, a shelter and food and drink, the more he thanks Allah for the blessings He grants him, he will be assured that those blessings will be his, and he will be granted more blessings besides the ones he has.

2. Awaited blessings the worshiper hopes for:

 Allah the Almighty says:

(Allah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth.)

(An-Nur: 55)

 This is a favor we are all awaiting Insha' Allah

(And We wished to do a favour to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors)

(Al-Qasa: 5)

 This favor is awaited collectively, but the following one is awaited individually:

(Verily! Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds, shall have the Gardens of Al-Firdaus (the Paradise) for their entertainment)

(Al-Kahf: 107)

 In another Ayah, Allah says:

(Verily, those who believe [in the Oneness of Allah and in His Messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him)] and work deeds of righteousness, the Most Beneficent (Allah) will bestow love for them (in the hearts of the believers).)

(Maryam: 96)

(Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision).)

(An-Nahl: 97)

 What does every young man who takes the path of Iman, controls his extremities, income and spending, watches his language, and makes his behavior at home, with those who are around him, superior to him and inferior to him according to the Method of Allah, await from Allah? He awaits Allah's bounty and favor. Besides Allah honors him by granting him what He does to His righteous worshipers.

3. Ongoing blessings the worshiper is not aware of:

 How could not someone be aware of the blessings he has? For instance, the man whose wife has been pure and chaste with him ever since he got married to her, will not make him doubt her faithfulness whenever he goes out and will not make him think that she may she have a friendly chat with a strange or may smile to him, and here lies this favor (which the husband may not be aware of), thanks to Allah for it. 99% of the Muslim husbands have such favor; the pure chaste wife, but they appreciate it only when they lose it. You may not be aware of this favor unless you doubt the loyalty of your wife and unless you imagined that a stranger may come into your house while you're absent, which will make you explode like a volcano out of anger. Thus, the favor of having a chaste and pure wife is priceless, but many people do not give it any value or thank Allah for it. On the contrary, they just keep looking for their wives' faults and negatives, and so they pity themselves for that. Have you ever thought that having a chaste wife is a precious favor? You have this favor, but you are not aware of it, just like other thousands of blessings, such as the ones related to your good health, and having a healthy mind is one of them. If someone loses his mind, where will he be sent?
 A brother said to me, "We had to keep our mother in bed and bind her hands and legs." I asked him about the reason, and he said if they set her hands free, she would take off her clothes and eat her stool. It is a favor to be a clean person who knows tahara (purification), whose mind is healthy, whose speech is sensible, and who is loved and respected. If you look for the positive blessings you have, you find them uncountable, and if you keep being grateful to Allah for them, Allah will grant you more of His Bounty. You may meet someone who is melancholic, he is constantly pitying his fortune luck and he is always complaining about trivial things that may happen to every one of us.
The reasons of keeping the blessings and losing them:
 If Allah decrees to perfect the blessings He grants to His worshiper, He inspires him to be thankful for them, because being grateful is part of perfecting blessings. You may have a favor, but if you do not thank Allah for it, you will lose it. On the other hand, if you are grateful for it, it will be yours. Hence, if Allah decrees to perfect the favor He grants to His worshiper, He makes him aware of the current blessings he has and makes his gratefulness for it the reason of not losing it. O Lord, how can I be grateful to you?
In fact, being grateful to Allah is one of His blessings. It was reported that Musa, peace be upon him asked Allah, "O Lord, how can the son of Adam be grateful to You? Allah replied, "He knows that his gratefulness is also from me, and that is how he is grateful to Me."
 Blessings are lost because of sins, but they are maintained by gratefulness. If your living conditions are good, and you have good health, strong familial ties, dutiful children, a righteous wife and good income, you do not have to be worried about losing these blessings as long as you are grateful to Allah for them. You'll even be granted more blessings, but if you degrade the blessings of Allah, such as the favor of being secured, of having good health and of having free time, you will be deprived of them. The favor of having security is matchless among other ones:

((He) Who has fed them against hunger, and has made them safe from fear.)

(Quraish: 4)

 Regarding the favor of having free time, it enables you to attend a religious session, for instance. Consider the situation of those who are in prison, they have been deprived of their freedom, weather they remain patient or not, they are not free, whereas you can enjoy being free. I repeat: You are safe, you have free time and you have enough money to fulfill your needs, which are all blessings. The problem of people nowadays is that they are not satisfied with the fulfillment of their minor needs. They have all the basic needs, but they are racing to fulfill the minor ones. Everyone has food in his house, even if it is so modest or very little in amount. Unlike those people (who cares about the minor needs), the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to enter into his house and say:

(("Do you have anything to eat?" they replied, "O Messenger of Allah! We have nothing." Then he said, "Well, in this case, I am fasting today!"))

(Muslim, narrated by Aishah)

 Whoever owns a house, weather it is small or big, it is considered his shelter where he can dwell. This favor can be appreciated when you travel to somewhere and cannot find a place to sleep. You will not be able to know the value of the shelter unless you look for a one but cannot find any. blessings are kept by being thankful, but they are lost because of sins.
 An Arab man once came to meet Khalifah Ar-Rasheed, and he said, "O Amir (Commander)of the Believers, may Allah maintain for you the blessings you have by being continually thankful, may He grant you the blessings which you wish for by holding onto a good thought of Him and by worshipping Him and may Allah make you aware of the blessings you have and do not know about, so that you can be grateful to Allah for them."
 Let us apply tonight what we have discussed so far; I mean we can count the blessings we have, which we may forget that they are blessings. We can count the ones which we have been oblivious to. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

((Love Allah for what He nourishes you with of His Blessings.))

(At-Tirmidhi, narrated by Ibn 'Abbas)

 If you pay a visit to the hospitals, your gratefulness to Allah will be beyond description. Once you recognize the favor and know that Allah grants it to you, your recognition is one level of gratefulness, Moreover when your heart is filled with appreciation and gratefulness to Allah this level of gratefulness is more exalted than the first one. Above all, when you devote yourself to serve Allah's slaves, this is the highest level of gratefulness. Allah the Almighty says:

("Work you, O family of Dawud (David), with thanks!" But few of My slaves are grateful.)

(Saba': 13)

The causes of happiness and misery:

 When you treat the poor and the needy kindly, you will appreciate the favor of wealth. Someone may be immersed in pleasures either the permissible or the forbidden ones, but he is heedless of the favor of wealth, while another man cares for other people, and so he looks for the poor and needy, makes people reconcile with each other, brings them together, pacifies them, gives other people Sadaqah, treats those who needs treatment, feeds the hungry, provides medication to those who need it, sees if someone needs help and so on. If you wish to be the happiest man, make people happy.
 I once read in a magazine, "If you wish to be happy, make sh3er happy". In other words, if you make sh3er happy, you will be the happiest among them. I urge our brother to stop caring just for themselves and start caring for other people by offering them services. Keep in mind that Allah is the Most Appreciative. If all you care about are yourself, your home, your income, your comfort, lying on your bed for a long time and eating whatever you like without caring about other people,, a relative, a friend, a neighbor, a brother, someone who needs help or a sick person, then you do not care about the worries of Muslims. If you are just like that, but you are steadfast, your steadfastness is out of question. However, you are going to get the position which Allah has chosen for you through trials and hardships. If you stop thinking of yourself and start serving people, Allah will protect you and elevate your position, because you are endeared by Allah. You may reach your high position in Allah's Sight by remaining patient or by being grateful. The best way of showing one's gratefulness is by serving people. Someone said, "O Allah, I test the sweetness of the night when I supplicate to You, and I test the sweetness of the day when I serve Your worshipers."
 Pay attention to your situation when you serve someone, relieve him from a difficulty,, solve a problem for him, and ease his worries. Do you not feel that by doing so you are coming closer to Allah the One and the Judge? When you see a child with his father, and you give the child a piece of candy, you are doing so in order to get closer to the father through his child. Regarding Allah the Almighty, you cannot give him anything, as He is Self-sufficient. Nevertheless, if you serve His worshipers, give them advice, help them and ease their pain, you are granted great blessings from Allah.

How do you know your position in Allah's Sight:

 All good and evil are in the Hand of Allah, so blessed be whoever good is decreed to be done by him, and woe be to whoever evil is decreed to be caused by him. If you want to know your position in Allah's Sight, just see how Allah uses you; is your job, handcraft or profession is used to serve people or is it used to torture, blackmailing or terrifying them?
 By Allah, dear brother, the most miserable person on this earth is the one who makes his living by causing pain to the sh3er, by making them worried and by terrifying, impoverishing and blackmailing them. This explains why Allah the Almighty says:

(And the heavens and the earth wept not for them, nor were they given a respite.)

(Ad-Dukhan: 29)

 The opposite meaning of this Ayah is that the heavens and earth do weep for the believer, and the place where he walks is considered sacred since he is concerned with giving other people, and he is a source of happiness and security. Unlike this believer, there are people who you fear, you expect them to seek revenge against, and to tell lies about you and they never makes feel at ease. The believer, on the other hand, makes you feel safe and happy.
 Dear brother, the first point is: If you want to know your position in Allah's Sight, just see the purposes you are used to achieve. There are careers, I seek refuge in Allah from them, which are terrifying; whoever works for such profession causes heart attacks, schizophrenia, marital conflicts and divorce due to poverty for hundreds of families. I urge every person whose job is based on scaring, blackmailing and impoverishing people to quit it and forget about it. It was narrated from Jabir bin 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

((O people, fear Allah and be moderate in seeking a living, for no soul will die until it has received all its provision, even if it is slow in coming. So fear Allah and be moderate in seeking provision; take that which is permissible and leave that which is forbidden.))

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

 A brother told me that his car was new, and the number-plate was temporary which prevented him from having someone else with him in the car. Thus, a policeman stopped him when he saw that he was not alone in the car, and he told him that he committed a contravention. The brother offered the policeman a sum of money (as a bribe), but he refused it even after the brother doubled the amount. The policeman said, "I repented to Allah. Look at my hands and see the cuts caused by the building materials I carry after my shift is over. I repented four years ago. I used to accept money that is haram (bribes), and I was afflicted with many successive hardships. Thus, I realized that they were the effect of haram money, and I repented." As a result, the brother took the policeman to his textile factory and gave him elegant clothes to his family and to those around him for Eid. The position of the repentant is great. The policeman said, "I am a repentant", so Allah rewarded him, and when you repent to Allah, Allah bestows His blessings upon you.

We should appreciate Allah's blessings on us:

 Dear brother, if you keep appreciating the blessings of being secured and having free time, good health, a wife, children, a house, a good reputation, a good income which suffices you and friends who love you, you love Allah, but if you are oblivious to them, you are melancholic, pessimistic and moody and you are always complaining and searching for the faults and defects, then this is a serious problem.
 By Allah, dear brother, a brother once told me that he was sitting with someone whose wealth, as he knew for sure, was more than 5 billion lira. He said, "The man complained to me about the bad situation of his trade, of the markets, of his parents and of his children. When he finished his talk, I could not stand on my feet." The man said, "After that I went to my shop and while I was there, a woman wearing hijab entered it and said to me, 'I was sent to you, because we need a monthly financial support.'" This man is used to do good deeds. He asked, "Where do you live?" She said that she lived in the outskirts of Damascus. He said, "I will be there today in order to visit the charitable association there. Give me the address, please." He went on saying, "When I was at the charitable association I told them her about request and they said, 'Let us go and see what she exactly needs.' "
 They arrived at the house, and the man swore to Allah that no one can live in it. It was very small and located under the stairs of a building. There was an empty space in front of it. The house consisted of one room that was located in the area underneath the highest part of the stairs is a room, then a kitchen and under the lower part of the stairs was the bathroom. He said, "We entered the house, and found it clean. The children were very clean and, the husband was sick and lying on bed." The man, said, "I had a strange feeling when I come into it; I felt as if I were in Paradise." He said it was unlivable, but there was such spiritual atmosphere in it. They gave her 2000 per month, but she said, "No, I won't accept this amount. 1000 is enough for us. We only need to pay the rent for the house, and my husband's income is sufficient for us." He said to me, "I thought about the difference between the two situations; the one of that man who had 50 billion, but he was complaining, causing me the feeling of becoming paralyzed, and the one of that woman with hijab. l She lived in a house underneath stairs. Yet, she refused to take more than 1000 when we offered her 2000." Pay attention to the effect of knowing the greatness of the blessings we have.
 By Allah dear brother, we are all, with no exception, overwhelmed by countless blessings. If you keep thanking Allah for His blessings, you will maintain them, and Allah will grant you more. Allah the Almighty says:

(If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings).)

(Ibrahim: 7)