The perfection of any blessing upon a slave, such as victory over himself or his enemy, success in Da‘wah (invitation to Islam), or the end of a season of worship during which one was guided to do good deeds, imposes two great acts of worship on the slave: namely, thanking his Lord and asking Him for forgiveness (Istighfaar). Both of them imply acknowledgement of the bounty of Allah The Almighty upon the slave.
Gratitude to Allah The Almighty for guiding one to what benefits him in this world and the Hereafter was a well-established feeling in the souls of the righteous people and it was reflected in their words and deeds.
Dear reader, let us contemplate what Prophet Yoosuf (Joseph), said after the end of his long and painful suffering and consequent reunion with his parents and children: {My Lord, You have given me [something] of sovereignty and taught me of the interpretation of dreams. Creator of the heavens and earth, You are my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous."} [Quran 12:101]
One would be amazed by the behavior of this honorable prophet, who snatched himself from the happiness of the long-awaited reunion to make these blessed and thankful supplications, which are filled with submissiveness, humbleness and the wish to complete the blessing upon him by dying as a Muslim and to be joined with the righteous slaves of Allah The Almighty.
This is the behavior of the righteous people, who never allow joy over the completion of a blessing to detract them from acknowledging this blessing, showing gratitude to its Granter and asking Him to make them steadfast until death.
The caravan of the thankful and grateful people goes ahead until we meet the thankful and repentant Prophet Sulaymaan (Solomon), son of Daawood (David), may Allah exalt their mention. The Quran recorded a number of occasions and situations when he expressed gratitude to his Lord for His blessings upon him.
He acknowledges the blessing of Allah The Almighty upon him when he was impressed by the ant who warned its people saying: {"O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not."}[Quran 27:18]
Contemplate how this honorable prophet was not distracted by the joy of hearing the speech of this ant!
Likewise, he did not allow the moment of enjoying his exclusive knowledge of the language of these little insects to distract him.
Nothing distracted him from addressing the One Who bestowed these blessings upon him; rather, this scene stimulated his wish to thank his Lord, Who taught him the language of the birds.
Again, Sulaymaan thanked his Lord when he saw the throne of Bilqees (Queen of Sheba) in front of him saying: {"This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is free of need and Generous."}[Quran 27:40]
Such is the behavior of the thankful and grateful people…
The miracle of bringing the throne of Bilqees to him in less than the twinkling of an eye, and in a secured position as if it had been there for a long time, did not dazzle Sulaymaan or distract him from thanking and praising the Granter – and it is known that praise is the peak of thankfulness.
The blessed caravan goes on until it stops at our Prophet, the most perfect of all men in thanking his Lord and asking Him for forgiveness.
Following a life full of Da‘wah, Jihaad, patience, and sacrifice, he receives the impressive Chapter An-Nasr, which, despite its brevity, combined the giving of glad tidings of the conquest and announcing the death of the most honorable human being. The Prophet, , responded to this blessed Chapter verbally and practically.
As for the verbal response, our mother ‘Aa’ishah said,
“The Messenger of Allah used to recite frequently in bowing (Rukoo‘) and prostration (Sujood): Subhaanaka Rabbana wa bihamdika, Allahumma-ighfir li. (Far removed You Are from every imperfection, our Lord, and all praise is for You, Forgive me, O Allah).” She elucidated that the Prophet was acting upon the commandment of Allah The Almighty in the Chapter An-Nasr: {Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.}”[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
With regard to the practical [Quran 110:3] response, it appeared when he (may my parents be sacrificed for him) was entering Makkah in the Year of the Conquest, his head was bowed humbly declaring his submissiveness to his Lord. He then performed eight Rak‘ahs before noon to thank his Lord for this great blessing.
If you contemplate the Noble Quran, you would find that Allah The Almighty hailed the best of His creatures, the steadfast Messengers, may Allah exalt their mention, describing them as thankful and grateful. Allah The Almighty Says about Nooh (Noah) : {Indeed, he was a grateful servant.} [Quran 17:3]
Allah The Almighty Says about Ibraaheem (Abraham) : {[He was] grateful for His favors.}[Quran 16:121]
Allah The Almighty Says addressing Moosa and Muhammad, : {Rather, worship [only] Allah and be among the grateful.}[Quran 7:144 and 39:66]
Indeed, both of them were so.
If this is the condition of the leaders of all the prophets, then we need to observe these two great acts of worship all the time with greater reason, particularly following the seasons of worship, the success of some charitable projects and so on. The people who do good deeds cannot dispense with these two acts of worship even for a moment until the end of their lives. That is because thankfulness and gratitude make the blessings last and Istighfaar (asking for forgiveness) removes any faults or sins.
Now, we are bidding farewell to one of the greatest seasons of worship and one of the most profitable markets of the Hereafter. No matter how many good deeds one has done, one's work will certainly be deficient in one way or another. It is enough that he could not thank his Lord for a single blessing of His countless blessings upon him…
Hence, we have to train our tongues along with our hearts to thank our Lord so that He keeps providing us with His blessings, and then ask Him for forgiveness so that He might accept from us, what He has bestowed upon us, and pardon our limitless negligence.
This occasion, in particular, includes a special blessing that requires extraordinary gratitude. After stating that the fast is obligatory and referring to some of its rulings, Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.}[Quran 2:185]
i.e. so that you thank Allah The Almighty for the blessing of guidance.
The revered Taabi‘i (Follower), Bakr ibn ‘Abdullah Al-Muzani asked one of his companions to advise him, and he said, “I do not know what to say! However, the slave should never stop thanking his Lord and asking Him for forgiveness, for the son of Adam either enjoys a blessing or commits a sin. The former condition requires praise and gratitude, and the latter requires repentance and Istighfaar.”
Ibn Al-Qayyim said in his book ‘Uddat As-Saabireen:
- The cause behind failure is failing to show gratitude and need, or making supplication. On the other hand, the reason for success, by the permission of Allah The Almighty and His help, is showing gratitude, and sincere need for the help of Allah The Almighty and supplication. The key factor in this respect is patience, as its relation to faith is like the relation of the head to the body. If the head is chopped off, the body will never survive.
Hence, whoever is guided to show gratitude, will receive better than what he has offered, because the Lord is infinitely Thankful.
- Allah The Almighty thanks His slave if he (the slave) worships Him properly, and forgives Him when he (the slave) repents to Him. Thus, He thanks the slave for his good deed and forgives his misdeeds, as He is indeed Ever-Forgiving and Ever-Thankful.
- Allah The Almighty is the Ever-Thankful and the Ever-Grateful, as He grants the slave, and guides him to do what entails thanks to Him. Allah The Almighty also thanks His slave for his little good deeds and never belittles them. He rewards the good deed with a tenfold reward and much more, He thanks His slave by praising him among His exalted assembly of angels and makes people thank him. He also thanks His slave practically by granting him better than what he has sacrificed for His sake a hundredfold, despite the fact that He is the One Who guided him to sacrifice and to be thankful.