Gratitude shown towards Allah SWT
Today’s khutba was on gratitude shown towards Allah SWT
The believer is between two phases at all times in life. One of those is from a past which has gone, and unaware what Allah has made of it. The other is from a future that he is unaware what Allah has written for him.
The intelligent person amongst us is one that is the one who saves himself from this world before the next. The intelligent one is the one who saves himself while young before he gets old, while healthy before frail or ill, while free before he gets busy, and took care in ensuring hearts got closer together rather than further apart.
Dear brothers and sisters, forgiving, and giving excuses to the other person is part of a great character trait that we must all aim to achieve.
And humility is also up there when it comes to traits as being humble raises the man, and being quiet keeps you protected from problems, and being shy is of being of faith.
Allah SWT speaks of this in Surat Fusilat 34-36 () which is translated as:
And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel [evil] by that [deed] which is better; and thereupon the one whom between you and him is enmity [will become] as though he was a devoted friend.
But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion [of good].
And if there comes to you from Satan an evil suggestion, then seek refuge in Allah . Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.
Dear brothers and sisters, alongside this guidance we have the practice of what is expected of us and that is found in the sayings of those sent to us as guidance throughout the times.
Prophets of Allah SWT have been sent to us to guide us to be better slaves of Allah SWT and the Quran also has examples of people who were ungrateful such as in Sura An-Nahl, ayat 112 which is translated as:
And Allah presents an example: a city which was safe and secure, its provision coming to it in abundance from every location, but it denied the favors of Allah .
So Allah made it taste the envelopment of hunger and fear for what they had been doing.
Dear brothers and sisters, this ayat is warning us against being ungrateful. And this ayat in particular is one worth contemplating because for all our complaints and grumbles, look around at the city in which we live.
Compared to some third world cities we see on the television, we have provision coming to us from all angles. This is a city that is in a country rich with wealth. We live in a country where our basic needs are catered for and we are striving for wealth that some in the world can only dream of.
We need to ask ourselves, are we deserving of such a blessing? Or is it that we are extremely lucky to have been placed in a time and a place such as this?
For those who ponder and reflect, it is the latter and so we can’t run the risk of becoming arrogant and thinking it will always be this way. We need to work hard at showing our gratitude to Allah SWT and that comes through the prescribed actions, behaviours and manners prescribed to us through the Quran and the actions and sayings of the Prophets, peace be upon them all.
And such is the blessing we hold as slaves of Allah SWT, this adherence to his actions is also rewarded. So not only is it that we are blessed already in abundance but we can also expect something from the gratitude we show to the blessings we see.
This is mentioned in Sura Ibrahim, ayat 7 in which Allah SWT says:
And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ “
Dear brothers and sisters, Allah SWT warns us to not be ungrateful but also tells us that gratitude itself has it’s own rewards.
Therefore, we need to work hard to show this gratitude. How do we achieve this? Three things that conclude this khutba and we can all do today.
- Increased prayer
- Increased recitation and contemplation of the Quran
- Increased acts of charity
All three are within each and every one of us and all three we can start with a single step today.
May Allah SWT enable us to recognize the importance of gratitude. May Allah SWT give us the ability to carry out actions of gratitude. And May Allah SWT rewards us for our efforts in showing gratitude.
Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.
