Importance of Gratitude

Blessings in Everyday Life REZVAN

• What do ya’ll consider as blessings?

• Hunnits on Your Exam?

• People?

• Material Objects?

• Pets

• Why do we consider these objects are blessings?

• When you say these things you’re like (BLESS UP, IM WAYY UP I FEEL BLESSED)

• You say these terms because you’re feeling happy or you expressing great success, health, family, wealth, or a job.

• But are these really blessing?

• What does islam consider as blessings?

• Allah has bestowed countless blessings upon us. He has endowed us with the gifts of sight and hearing, the intellect, health, wealth and family. He has even subjected everything in the universe for us: the sun, the moon, the heavens and the earth, and many countless things

• “If you tried to number Allah’s blessings, you could never count them.” (Surah Al-Maa’idah, 16:18)

• However, all these blessings will cease to exist when our short worldly life comes to an end.

• The Biggest Blessing that is bound to bring about happiness and tranquillity in this life and eternal bliss in the hereafter is the blessing of being a Muslim (JANNAH)

• “They think they have done you a favour by becoming Muslims! Say: ‘‘Do not consider your Islam a favour to me. No indeed! It is Allah who has favoured you by guiding you to the faith if you are telling the truth.” (Surah Al-Hujuraat, 49:17)

• Allah declares He has bestowed a favour upon us is that of guiding us to Islam and to worshipping Him alone without associating any partners with Him whatsoever.

• Therefore, in order to continue benefiting from such immense blessing, we need to express gratefulness to Allah for bestowing such a favour upon us

• “If you are grateful, I will certainly give you increase.” (Surah Ibraaheem, 14:7)

• (RAJAA WILL EXPAND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE GRATEFUL)

• RIDWAN WILL EXPLAIN HOW THE MAGNITUDE OF BLESSINGS CAN IMPACT YOU

• Envy/jealousy RIDWAN

• We all know you shouldnt be envious or jealous.

• HASAD- you want something that someone hs, and you also dont want them to have it

• Natural feelings, but make dua

• “Allahuma Zid, Wa Barik”

• “Oh Allah, increase them in what you have given them and put blessings in it”

• Seems counter-intuitive BUT

• When u make dua for someone else, the angels make the same dua for you

• When you make dua for someone else, you release the negative feelings for them (positive vibes only)

• 2 types of people we can be J of

• (1)One who has wealth, and exhaust himself in DESTROYING it in spenidng in the stuth

• Halakathee = destroy

• It is easier for the person to give the wealth away than to keep it.

• When fundrasiing, its hard to convivne people to give

• But this person is such that he/she gives alot.

• The attitude is important bc it is one who seeks to help others esp in spending for FIL HAQ (the truth)

• (2)A man who Allah has given wisdom and judges by means of that wisdom

• Lives life in accordance with that wisdom

• Hiqma_ learn something beneficial and act upon it

• You know fire hurts, and if you touch it, knowing this, your foolish

• AND he uses it to teach the people

• He doesnt teach people knowledge, but wisdom

• Difference between knowledge and wisdom is that knowledge is the simple act of knowing

• WISDOM is the act of acting on what you know

• Islamic importance of gratitude RAJAA

• Ayah in Qur’an

• 31:12 "...Any who is grateful does so to the profit of his own soul..."

• 3:145 "...If any Do desire a reward in this life, We shall give it To him; and if any Do desire a reward in the Hereafter, We shall Give it to him. And swiftly shall We reward those that (serve us with) gratitude".

• https://www.whyislam.org/on-faith/the-concept-of-gratitude-in-islam/

• Role models of gratitude TASMIA

• Allah tells the Prophet (s.a.w.) to look at his past and see the wonderful mercies that has been bestowed upon Him. Firstly the Prophet (s.a.w.) gets reminded of the fact that he was an orphan and Allah gave him shelter (93:6). Secondly, the Prophet (s.a.w.) was given guidance at a time when false worship was dominating (93:7). Third, that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) was poor in wealth in his early years but by marrying Khadija he become independent of worldly needs in his later life (93:8). Allah reminds the Prophet (s.a.w) that he was never forgotten in the past and wont be forgotten in the future either.

• In one of the hadiths the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “…if the son of Adam has one valley, he will wish that he had a second, and if he had two valleys, he would wish that he had a third. The stomach of the son of Adam will be filled only with dust (i.e., he is never satisfied)…” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/219; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1781). So, let’s use gratitude to learn to enjoy what we have rather than fretting over what we don’t.

• We were by the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while `Umar was in his presence. The Prophet was lying on a bed made of palm leaves, and beneath his head was a pillow; there wasn’t a barrier between his side and the palm leaves. When he made a slight movement, it was evident that the palm affected his sides

• So, `Umar began to weep, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inquired, “Why do you weep?” He said:“How can I not weep when I know that you are dearer to Allah than Kaiser and the Caesar. Yet, they are living such lavish lives in this world”. Those who asked him this question assumed that he withstands such burdens in worship to Allah from fear of sins and hope of forgiveness. So, he clarified to them that there is another path of worship which is to express gratitude for forgiveness. The scholars said: The prophets have maintained such deep fear of Allah because of their knowledge of His immense blessings upon them.” (Ibn Hajar, Fath El-Bari) So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“O `Umar wouldn’t you be pleased if the hereafter is ours and this life is for them?” (Al-Hafiz Al-Asbahani, Akhlaq An-Nabi wa Adabuh. The last excerpt of the hadith is also found in Sahih Muslim)