Thanksgiving is an Act of Sacrifice
Thanksgiving is the greatest form of worship. Indeed the price of Paradise is gratitude. Without gratitude, faith cannot be depended upon. Without gratitude, there is no true worship. Without gratitude man cannot experience those noble feelings which have been described in the Quran as “being devoted servants of God.” (3:79) The truth is that the genuine spirit of religiosity is thanksgiving. Without thanksgiving, or gratitude, religiosity is just like the outer peel of a fruit.
But just uttering some words of thanksgiving is not all there is to gratitude. Gratitude is an act of sacrifice—rather the greatest sacrifice. Only those who are ready to make that great sacrifice can experience the thanksgiving as desired by God.
The truth is that, in the present world, a person in some way or the other, is a prey to the feeling of deprivation. Every person has some negative feelings about this in his heart. Every man and woman starts living a life of hatred and complaint for various reasons. This is the state of affairs which makes gratitude the most difficult thing for an individual. A person may utter words of gratitude, but his heart is totally free from the true feelings of thanksgiving.
In such a situation only that person can engage in the act of thanksgiving whose consciousness is so awakened that in spite of feeling he has reasons for ungratefulness, is nevertheless grateful. He is one who, living in a jungle of negative thoughts, still lives with positive feelings. He should rid himself of all the things which are obstacles to thanksgiving, and should create within himself the real feelings of gratitude.
Thanksgiving is the kind of worship which is desirable in every situation. One who thinks that thanksgiving is only for when he has got something which he wanted and that the things he received were in accordance with his desire, can never be a true thanksgiver. True thanksgiving to God can be done only by those who learn the secret of thanksgiving in spite of having complaints.
