Thanking Allah for His Many Blessings

Firstly: 

Thanks or gratitude means reciprocating
kindness and giving praise to the one who has done good and kind things. The
one who is most deserving of thanks and praise from people is Allah, may He
be glorified and exalted, because of the great favours and blessings that He
has bestowed upon His slaves in both spiritual and worldly terms. Allah has
commanded us to give thanks to Him for those blessings, and not to deny
them. He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Therefore remember Me (by praying,
glorifying). I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless
favours on you) and never be ungrateful to Me”
[2:152] 

Secondly: 

The greatest ones who obeyed this command,
and gave thanks to their Lord until they deserved to be described as shaakir
and shakoor (thankful) are the Prophets and Messengers (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him). 

Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah (a leader
having all the good righteous qualities), or a nation, obedient to Allah,
Haneef (i.e. to worship none but Allah), and he was not one of those who
were Al‑Mushrikoon (polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of
Allah, and those who joined partners with Allah).

121. (He was) thankful for His (Allah’s)
favours. He (Allah) chose him (as an intimate friend) and guided him to a
Straight Path (Islamic Monotheism — neither Judaism nor Christianity)”
[16:120, 121]

“O offspring of those whom We carried (in
the ship) with Nûh (Noah)! Verily, he was a grateful slave”
[17:3] 

Thirdly: 

Allah has mentioned some of the blessings
that He has bestowed upon His slaves, and has commanded them to be grateful
for them, and has told us that few of His slaves give thanks to Him: 

Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

1.

“O you who believe (in the Oneness of
Allah — Islamic Monotheism)! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided
you with, and be grateful to Allah, if it is indeed He Whom you worship”
[2:172] 

2.

“And surely, We gave you authority on the
earth and appointed for you therein provisions (for your life). Little
thanks do you give”[7:10] 

3.

“And among His Signs is this, that He
sends the winds as glad tidings, giving you a taste of His Mercy (i.e.
rain), and that the ships may sail at His Command, and that you may seek of
His Bounty, in order that you may be thankful”
[31:46] 

4.

Among spiritual blessings, He mentions
(interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who believe! When you intend to
offer As-Salah (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to
the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet
up to the ankles. If you are in a state of Janaba (i.e. after a sexual
discharge), purify yourselves (bathe your whole body). But if you are ill or
on a journey, or any of you comes after answering the call of nature, or you
have been in contact with women (i.e. sexual intercourse), and you find no
water, then perform Tayammum (dry ablution) with clean earth and rub
therewith your faces and hands. Allah does not want to place you in
difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His favour to you
that you may be thankful”
[5:6] 

and there are many other blessings. We
have only mentioned some of these blessings here; listing all of them is
impossible, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And He gave you of all that you asked
for, and if you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to
count them. Verily, man is indeed an extreme wrongdoer, a disbeliever (an
extreme ingrate who denies Allah’s blessings by disbelief, and by
worshipping others besides Allah, and by disobeying Allah and His Prophet
Muhammad” [14:34] 

Then Allah blessed us and forgave us our
shortcomings in giving thanks for these blessings. He says (interpretation
of the meaning):

“And if you would count the favours of
Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Oft‑Forgiving,
Most Merciful” [16:18] 

The Muslim is always asking his Lord to
help him to give thanks to Him, because were it not for Allah’s helping His
slave, he would not be able to give thanks. Hence it is prescribed in the
saheeh Sunnah (authentic prophetic teachings) to ask for help from Allah to
give thanks to Him. 

It was narrated from Mu’aadh ibn Jabal
that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) took
his hand and said: “O Mu’aadh, by Allah I love you, by Allah I love you.”
Then he said, “I advise you, O Mu’aadh, do not fail following every prayer
to say: O Allah help me to remember You, thank You and worship You
properly.” 

Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i . 

Gratitude for blessings is a cause of them
being increased, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed:
‘If you give thanks (by accepting faith and worshipping none but Allah), I
will give you more (of My blessings); but if you are thankless (i.e.
disbelievers), verily, My punishment is indeed severe’”
[14:7] 

Fourthly: 

How can a person thank his Lord for His
great blessings? His gratitude should fulfil all the necessary conditions,
which are gratitude of the heart, gratitude of the tongue and gratitude of
the physical faculties. 

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on
him) said:

Gratitude may be in the heart, in
submission and humility; on the tongue, in praise and acknowledgement; and
in the physical faculties, by means of obedience and submission.

Madaarij al-Saalikeen (2/246) 

The details of that: 

1.

Gratitude of the heart: what is meant is
that the heart senses the value of the blessings that Allah has bestowed
upon His slave, and fully acknowledges that the one who has bestowed these
great blessings is Allah alone, with no partner or associate. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And whatever of blessings and good things
you have, it is from Allah”[16:53]. 

This acknowledgement is not mustahabb
(recommended), rather it is obligatory. Whoever attributes these blessings
to anyone other than Allah has disbelieved. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di (may Allah
have mercy on him) said: 

What man should do is attribute blessings
to Allah and acknowledge them fully. Thus he will attain complete Tawheed.
Whoever denies the blessings of Allah in his heart or on his tongue, is a
kafir (disbeliever) and has nothing to do with Islam. 

Whoever affirms in his heart that all
blessings come from Allah alone, but verbally he sometimes attributes them
to Allah and sometimes attributes them to himself, or his actions, or the
efforts of someone else — as happens on the lips of many people — this is
something that the person must repent from, and he should not attribute
blessings to anyone except their Creator, and he must strive to make himself
do that, because faith and Tawheed cannot be attained except by attributing
blessings to Allah. 

The gratitude which is the head of faith
is based on three pillars: acknowledgement of the heart of all the blessings
that Allah has bestowed upon him, and upon others, and talking about them;
praising Allah for them; and using them to obey the One Who bestowed the
blessings and to worship Him. 

Al-Qawl al-Sadeed fi Maqaasid al-Tawheed
(p. 140) 

Allah says, describing the situation of
one who denies attribution of blessings to Allah (interpretation of the
meaning):

“They recognise the Grace of Allah, yet
they deny it (by worshipping others besides Allah) and most of them are
disbelievers (deny the Prophethood of Muhammad)”[16:83]. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: 

i.e., they acknowledge that Allah is the
One Who grants them that, and He is the One Who bestows that favour upon
them, yet despite that they deny it, and worship others alongside Him, and
attribute victory and provision to someone other than Him.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer (4/592). 

2.

As for gratitude of the tongue, it means
acknowledging verbally – after believing in the heart- that the One Who
grants blessing is indeed Allah, and keeping the tongue busy with praise of
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted. 

Allah says, explaining His blessings to
His slave Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “And He found
you poor and made you rich (self‑sufficient with self‑contentment)?” [93:8].
Then He reminded him in return for that: “And proclaim the grace of your
Lord (i.e. the Prophethood and all other graces)” [al-Duha 93:11]. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: 

i.e., as you were poor and in need, then
Allah made you rich and independent of means: then speak of the blessing of
Allah bestowed upon you.

Tafseer Ibn Katheer (8/427). 

It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik said:
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Allah is pleased with a person who eats some food and then praises Him for
it, or who drinks some drink and then praises Him for it.”

Narrated by Muslim

Abu’l-‘Abbas al-Qurtubi (may Allah have
mercy on him) said: 

Praise here means gratitude, and we have
seen above that praise may take the place of gratitude but gratitude may not
take the place of praise. This indicates that gratitude for blessings —
even if they are few — is a means of attaining the pleasure of Allah, may
He be exalted, which is the noblest situation of the people of Paradise.
When the people of Paradise say, “You have given to us what You have not
given to anyone among Your creation,” Allah will say to them: “ Shall I not
give you something better than that?” They will say, “What is it? Have You
not brightened our faces, and admitted us to Paradise and saved us from
Hell?” He will say, “I bestow My pleasure upon you, and I will never be
angry with you after that.” 

Gratitude is a means of attaining that
great honour because it implies acknowledgement of the Bestower of blessings
and acknowledging Him alone as the Creator of that blessing and the One Who
caused it to reach the recipient of the blessing, as an honour and favour
from the Bestower, and that the recipient of the blessing is poor and is in
need of that blessing, and cannot do without it. So this is an
acknowledgement of the rights and bounty of Allah, and the duty and need of
the slave. So Allah has caused the reward for that acknowledgement to be
this great honour.

Al-Mufhim lima ashkala min Talkhees Kitaab
Muslim (7/60, 61). 

Hence some of the salaf (righteous
predecessors) said: Whoever conceals a blessing has denied it, but whoever
manifests it and spreads it has given thanks for it. 

Ibn al-Qayyim said, commenting on that:

This is based on the words: “When Allah
bestows a blessing upon a person, He loves the effect of His blessing to be
seen on His slave.” 

Madaarij al-Saalikeen (2/246). 

It was narrated from ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez
(may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: Remind one another of blessings,
for mentioning them is gratitude. 

3.

Gratitude of the physical faculties means
using one’s physical faculties in obedience of Allah and keeping them from
committing sins and acts of disobedience that Allah has forbidden. 

Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“ ‘Work you, O family of Dawood (David),
with thanks!”” [34:13] 

It was narrated that ‘Aishah said: When
the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed, he
would stand for so long that his feet became swollen. ‘Aishah said: O
Messenger of Allah, are you doing this when Allah has forgiven your past and
future sins? He said: “O ‘Aishah, should I not be a thankful slave?” 

Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. 

Ibn Battaal (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: 

Al-Tabari said: the correct view
concerning that is that the person’s gratitude is affirming that this is
from Allah and no one else, and affirmation of this fact is action, and it
is confirmed by action. As for the affirmation which is contradicted by
action, the one who does that does not deserve to be called grateful at all.
But it may be called gratitude of the tongue. The evidence that this is true
is the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning): “ ‘Work you, O family
of Dawood (David), with thanks!’”[ 34:13]. It is well known that He did not
order them, when He said that to them, to affirm His blessings, because they
did not deny that this was a favour from Him to them. Rather He commanded
them to give thanks for His blessings by obeying Him in their actions.
Similarly, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), when his
feet swelled up as he was praying at night, said: “Should I not be a
thankful slave?” 

Sharh Saheeh al-Bukhaari. 

Abu Haroon said: I entered upon Abu Hazim,
and said to him: May Allah have mercy on you, what is the gratitude of the
eyes? He said: If you see something good with them, you mention it, and if
you see something bad with them, you conceal it. I said: What is the
gratitude of the ears? He said: If you hear something good with them, you
remember it, and if you hear something bad with them, you forget it. 

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: 

Gratitude is of two degrees, one of which
is obligatory, which is doing obligatory actions and avoiding haram
(unlawful) things. This is essential and is sufficient as gratitude for
these blessings. 

Hence one of the salaf said: 

Gratitude means giving up sin. 

And one of them said: Gratitude means not
using any blessing to help one to disobey Him. 

Abu Hazim al-Zahid mentioned gratitude of
all the physical faculties: (It means) refraining from sin, and using them
to help one to do acts of obedience. Then he said: As for the one who gives
thanks with his tongue but does not give thanks with all of his physical
faculties, his likeness is that of a man who has a cloak and takes hold of
the edge of it, but does not put it on, so it is of no benefit to him
against cold or heat or snow or rain. 

The second degree of gratitude is that
which is mustahabb, which is when, after doing obligatory actions and
avoiding haram things, a person does supererogatory acts of worship. This is
the degree of those who have gone ahead and closer to Allah. 

Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam (p. 245, 246) 

Summary: 

In order to be grateful to your Lord for
the blessings that He has bestowed upon you, you must acknowledge in your
heart that the giver of these blessings and the Bestower is Allah, may He be
exalted, so you venerate Him, attribute it to Him, and you acknowledge that
with your tongue, so you give thanks to Him after waking from sleep for
having given new life, and after eating and drinking for having provided you
with them and bestowed them upon you, and so on with every blessing that you
see in your life. 

You give thanks with your physical
faculties by not letting them see or hear any sin or evil, such as singing
or gossip; you do not walk with your feet to haram places; you do not use
your hands to commit evil, such as haram writing in a relationship with non-mahram
women (one whom you can marry according to Islamic law), or writing haram
contracts, or making or doing anything haram. Giving thanks with the
physical faculties for blessings also includes using them to obey Allah, by
reading Quran and books of knowledge, listening to beneficial and useful
things, and so on with all the faculties which you should use in various
kinds of obedience and worship. 

Remember that gratitude for blessings is a
blessing which needs to be given thanks for, so that one will continue to
enjoy the blessings of his Lord, thanking his Lord for those blessings and
praising Him for helping him to be among those who give thanks. 

We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to help
us and you to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. 

And Allah knows best.