Why We Are Ungrateful
to God
There is perfect coordination between man and the universe. That is why man is provided for everything he needs. Yet man does not submit to God.
Chapter 14 of the Quran states: “It was God who created the heavens and the earth. He sends down water from the sky with which He brings forth fruits for your sustenance; He has made ships subservient to you, so that they may sail across the sea by His command; and has subjected the rivers to you. He has also subjected to you the sun and the moon, both steadfastly pursuing their courses. He has subjected to you the night as well as the day; He has given you all that you asked of Him; and if you try to reckon up God’s favours, you will not be able to count them. Truly man is very unjust, very ungrateful.” (14:32-34)
To the most wonderful extent, the present world bears testimony to God’s existence. The rotation of the stars and planets in the vastness of space, the provision and sustenance for life on the earth, the abundance of water, a person’s ability to run his vehicles on land, sail on water and fly in space, the earth’s being favourable to people with its rivers and mountains, the regularity of the seasons and the occurrence of day and night by the light of the sun and the moon—all these are phenomena too great to be adequately expressed in words. There is such perfect coordination between human beings and the universe that every imaginable or unimaginable necessity of an individual has already been provided for here in abundance.
All these things are so wonderful that they should shake a person and should overwhelm him with feelings of willingness to submit to God. In spite of this, why, on seeing the universe, is he not filled with wonder and why does he not tremble at the concept of the Creator of the universe? The reason for this is that a person sees the universe as soon as he is born. By seeing it again and again he takes it to be an ordinary thing; he does not find any uniqueness in it, and takes it for granted.
Moreover, when a person receives anything in this world, it appears to be available to him by the process of ‘cause-and-effect’. On this basis, he thinks that whatever he attains is due to his own diligence and talents. That is why he does not develop feelings of gratitude to God, the Giver and the Sustainer.
