Thankfulness and Acknowledgement

Everything man receives is from God. However, when man attributes these blessings to someone other than God, feelings of gratefulness and acknowledgment are not produced within him.

The greatest thing that is desired from man is that he should be grateful to his Creator and Sustainer, and that he should acknowledge God as the Giver of all blessings. But this thankfulness or acknowledgement is the rarest of rare things in this world. Man lives in this world amidst a multitude of divine blessings, yet he remains ungrateful.

What is the reason for this? The reason is that whatever man receives, he gives himself rather than God the credit for it. How did he come to this world? This was owing to his parents. How does he survive in this world? Through his planning and strategy. How did he make progress? By his cleverness. How did all his issues get solved? Through his friends and relatives. How did he receive the place of honour? Through his connections and relations, etc.

In this way, what happens is that everything man receives from God is attributed to someone else, rather than to God.

It is due to this wrong association that feelings of gratefulness and acknowledgment are not produced within him. Just uttering some words like ‘Alhamdulillah’ or ‘Subhana Allah’ do not suffice for thanksgiving to God.

Gratefulness is always a result of discovery. First of all man discovers the reality of God being our greatest benefactor. This discovery awakens his mind. Subsequently, a process sets in in his mind which results in the flowing of a spring of gratefulness within his heart.

This internal state produced within one finds expression in the form of words of thanksgiving and acknowledgement of God’s blessings. One who has not known gratefulness at the level of discovery will fail to do the obeisance of thankfulness to God at the level of human utterance.