Imaan (Faith) through Gratefulness and Patience
As a Muslim, Imaan or Faith can be broken down into two constituent parts.
Firstly, having Imaan is to be thankful and grateful to Allah SWT for the blessings you have been bestowed with in life.
Secondly, to have Imaan is to be patient with the hardships and tests that Allah SWT sends you during the course of your life.
Upon reflection, one can get an idea on the level of Imaan they possess by observing how patiently they handled a previous hardship from Allah SWT.
One can also get an idea on their level of Imaan by reflecting on how much gratitude they showed Allah SWT the last time they felt blessed by Him.
Allah SWT says in Sura Ibrahim, ayat 7:
“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase my favour unto you; but if you deny, Indeed, my punishement is severe.’”
When was the last time you thanked Allah for all the blessings in your life? The ability to come to this mosque to pray? The ability to listen to the Khutba today? The biggest blessing of all that you are a Muslim when so many around you are not?
We live in an age where the supplications made to Allah SWT are for materialistic things. Property, Cars, Money, etc.
It’s not wrong to ask for the above as Allah SWT can give without measure but patience comes from feeling blessed with what you have already and not feeling an urge to have your wishes realized.
Upon reflection as Muslims, it is hard not to feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for what Allah SWT has already blessed each and every one of us with.
Alhamdullilah! Look at the world around us today. You can only watch the news for a short while until your heart becomes heavy with the pain you feel for your brothers and sisters across the world. We are truly blessed that we are not experiencing some of the tests our brothers and sisters are having to take.
In a Sahih Muslim hadith, Aisha (May Allah SWT be pleased with her) said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, would stand in prayer so long that the skin on his feet would crack. I asked him “Why do you do this while your past and future sins have been forgiven?” He replied “Should I not be a grateful slave of Allah?”
Gratitude and patience was abundance with our beloved Prophet, peace be upon him, even to the point where it was overwhelming for his beloved companions:
In a Sahih Bukhari hadith, Umar Ibn Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
I entered the house of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to find him lying on a simple mattress which had left marks on his body. There was very little else to be found in the room in terms of possessions. Seeing this stark austerity, Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) began to cry.
“Why are you crying, O Umar” asked the Prophet, peace be upon him
“It is because I thought of Caesar and Chosroes sitting on thrones of gold wearing silk. And you are the messenger of Allah, yet here you are sitting on this simple mattress”
“O Umar” replied the Prophet, peace be upon him, “Are you not satisfied that they have this world and we have the next?”
We need to remember that this life is designed as a test for our Imaan. Our Imaan can be measured and therefore our progress in this life through our patience and our gratitude.
We need to remain steadfast in our prayers, our deeds and our rememberance of Allah SWT through all of the good times and though all the hardships that may come our way.
No better thanks can come from perfecting our worship to Allah SWT. This is the true gratitude we can show Allah SWT.
We ask Allah SWT to give us patience at all times. We ask Allah SWT to turn to Him in thanks for all the blessings He has given us. And we ask Allah SWT for forgiveness in our impatience and our ingratitude to Him.
Ameen. Walhamdullilahi Rabilalameen.
