Gratitude means acknowledging the blessings of God. This acknowledgement has to be heartfelt, and only then does it take verbal form.
Human beings have been created with the best of bodies and the best of minds. All our requirements have been amply provided for. All the things of the earth and the heavens have been pressed into our service. All the things which we require to lead a life on earth or to build a civilization have been bestowed on us in abundance.
These blessings are showered upon an individual at all times. It is, therefore, incumbent upon him to repeatedly express his acknowledgement of God’s blessings. His heart should then overflow with the feeling of gratitude.
All forms of worship, are, in essence, manifestation of the feeling of that gratefulness, which is at the heart of a God-oriented life. Gratefulness itself is the most complete form of worship and relates to a person’s entire existence.
Initially, a person refreshes the feeling of gratitude in his heart and mind and then he expresses it repeatedly in verbal form. Subsequently, when these feelings of gratefulness intensify, he starts giving his wealth and his possessions in the path of God, as a way of expressing his thankfulness to Him. Moreover, his feeling of thankfulness compels him to spend his time and energy in the path of God. His whole existence is given to him by God. The world we live in is totally a divine gift. Another name for gratitude is acknowledgement or expression of this reality.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
Chapter 16 of the Quran has this to say: “And be thankful for the blessing of God, if it is Him you worship.” (16:114) Thanking God for all His blessings is no simple matter, for in this love of God is automatically included. Awareness of God’s blessings produces love in the believers.
Then, man spontaneously gives voice to such words as are an acknowledgement of the divine blessings. This is praise (Shukr) to God. The bestowal of blessings produces emotions or feelings of love for the Benefactor, and this love is expressed in words of acknowledgement. This is what is meant by gratitude.
This reality has been expressed in a tradition of the Prophet: “That is, love God for all His blessings that He has given you.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3789)
In the original version of this tradition, the word provision is used in a symbolic sense to mean all the kinds of blessings which man has received from God, both material as well as spiritual. On deeper thinking on this verse of the Quran and the tradition, we learn that the source of the feeling of our love for God, is the awareness of how blessed we are. In the present world whatever man has received, whether great or small, has been received from God as a unilateral reward without there having been any contribution from us. The more one thinks of the state of oneself as well as that of the external world, the more one will discover the blessings of God.
When man consciously discovers divine blessings, the natural result is that a deep feeling of love is produced in him for the Benefactor. It is this love which manifests itself in the form of thanksgiving and worship.
Source: Love of God
Whatever people get in this world is apparently by their own efforts. But this only appears to be so. The fact is that every single thing is a blessing from God. It is required of a person that he remove the veils in which reality is shrouded and by discovering the truth may say on receiving every blessing that this is God’s gift given directly to me by God. Gratitude is the religious term for this acknowledgement. Only those who acknowledge God and are grateful to Him have a legitimate right to live in this world. On the contrary, those who fail to do so have no right to live in this world, for they are no better than sinners and intruders.
There are so many amazing phenomena in the universe. For instance the stars, the planets, the oceans, the mountains, etc. All these things are the creation of God. They all acknowledge God, but this is compulsory acknowledgement; it is not by choice.
Exceptionally, God has created man as a free creature. Man is required to acknowledge his God by his own choice. He should stand on the planet Earth and say: “O God! I believe in Your existence without seeing You, and O God! I surrender myself before You without any compulsion. O God! I admit my helplessness in the face of Your power.” That is the acknowledgement expected from a human being, on the basis of which all blessings have been bestowed in advance. Those who measure up to this acknowledgement will find that these blessings will continue to increase for them, but those who failed to acknowledge these blessings will be deprived of them forever.
Source: Discovering God
Patience is the focus of about two hundred verses of the Quran, and referred to indirectly in many others, may be termed the core subject of the scriptures. The verses directly relating to patience are quite explicit in their content. For instance,
“And seek (God’s) help with patience and prayer.” (2: 45)
“And endure patiently whatever may befall you.” (31: 17)
“And exhort one another to be patient.” (103: 3)
“Ignore their hurtful talk. Put your trust in God.” (33: 48)
A very pronounced and direct instruction to behave with patience and endurance is apparent in these verses.
The majority of the other verses are also intensely concerned with patience. The very first verse of the Quran begins with “Praise belongs to God.” (Al-Fatihah) This shows that God expects mankind to express gratitude and admiration to Him. But this is a very trying expectation! We know that this world is full of unpleasant experiences and nobody can be insulated from them. According to the Quran “Man is born in toil.” Indeed, it is not possible for anyone to create a life of absolute bliss for himself.
How then a person can become grateful and appreciative of God’s grace in the real sense? The only way to be so is through patience. It is only when a man patiently endures worldly problems that it is possible for him to express his feeling of gratefulness to God. It is for this reason that the Quran associates gratefulness with patience.
Patience makes a person capable of finding a positive and successful solution to any problem. When someone explodes with anger while facing his adversary, he loses the faculty to respond effectively or to think of well-planned action. But when he applies patience and tolerance, he finds himself competent to make a rational move instead of an impulsive reaction. History testifies that one who acts on impulses and emotional reactions invariably fails; and one who responds rationally always succeeds. Patience is undoubtedly the superior solution to all problems.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016
Patience is a great virtue without which a person’s aim to lead his life in this world with high ideals can seldom be achieved. The reality is that at every step an individual is faced with experiences so unpleasant and so provoking that they divert him from his true purpose in life—to the point of making him lose sight of his ideals.
This being so, if he allows himself to be provoked at every turn and becomes embroiled in every unpleasant issue, he will cease to be able to surmount the hurdles in his onward journey. He will just keep frittering away his time and energy in irrelevant matters.
The sole solution to this problem is the exercise of patience. Patience is that prolonged self-control that enables the individual to tread the path of restraint when he has bitter experiences, instead of allowing himself to be provoked into vengeful or retaliatory behaviour. It makes it easier for him to face life’s vicissitudes with equanimity and forge ahead on the path of truth.
It should be emphasized that patience means neither retreat nor capitulation. It means rather curbing turbulent emotions in order to follow a course marked by sanity and wisdom. Being patient and using one’s brain makes it easier to determine which is the most beneficial course of action to follow.
Those without patience fall a prey to negative influences, while those are patient develop positive personalities. The exercise of patience, on the one hand, is a solution to the problems faced by the individual. On the other hand, it is a major aid in the building of a superior personality. And it is such a personality that will become deserving of Paradise.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
In the light of the Quran, my answer is, “Adopt the method of patience, and then, with God’s blessings, you will be successful in this world, and in the Hereafter, too.”
The fact is that there is a permanent divine guide within man. And that is man’s conscience. The human conscience is an unerring guide. It always guides man in the direction of the right path. But in addition to this, man has various types of desires. In the Quran, the conscience is called nafs al-lawwama and desires are called nafs alammara. Man’s conscience gives him, at every moment and opportunity, the right guidance. But along with this, man’s desires seek to drag him in their direction. In this way, a conflict emerges between man’s conscience and man’s desires. In this conflict, often desires overpower the conscience, and man, ignoring the voice of his conscience, runs after his desires. This happens both in the case of worldly affairs as well as the affairs of the Hereafter.
In such a delicate situation, it is patience that proves of benefit to man. If you are able to be patient, you can control your desires. In this way, you will not deviate from the Straight Path. Following your conscience, you will be able to carry on journeying in the right direction till you arrive at your destination. That is why the Quran (39: 10) says “Truly, those who persevere patiently will be requited without measure.” In practical terms, in life, the importance of a passive attribute is more than that of an active attribute. Someone who knows only to act but not to stop can never obtain any higher level of success in life. Life is like a car. If a car does not have a brake, then, no matter how otherwise good the car is, it cannot reach its destination. The importance of patience in life is like the importance of a brake in a car.
Source: Spirit of Islam May 2017
Sabr is no retreat. Sabr only amounts to taking the initiative along the path of wisdom and reason as opposed to the path of emotions. Sabr gives one the strength to restrain one’s emotions in delicate situations and rather use one’s brain to find a course of action along result-oriented lines.
The present world is fashioned in such a way that everyone is necessarily confronted with unpleasant matters at one time or another. Things that are unbearable have somehow to be borne; harrowing events have to be witnessed and all kinds of pain have to be suffered. In such situations, succumbing to impatience leads to the kind of unnecessary emotional involvement which is counter-productive, while a demonstration of patience has a healing, beneficial effect, allowing one to tread the path of discreet avoidance. Success in the present world as well as in the Hereafter is destined only for those who adopt the path of patience in adverse circumstances.
Source: Simple Wisdom
Patience is the exercise of restraint in trying situations. It is a virtue which enables the individual to proceed towards worthy goals, undeflected by adverse circumstances or repeated provocations. If he allows himself to become upset by opposition, taunts, or other kinds of unpleasantness, he will never reach his goals. He will simply become enmeshed in irrelevancies.
The only way to deal with the irksome side of daily living is to exercise patience. Patience will ensure that whenever one has some bitter experience, he will opt for the way of tolerance rather than of reaction to provocation. It will enable one to absorb shocks and to continue, undeterred, on one’s onward journey.
Patience, as well as being a practical solution to the problems faced in the outside world, is also a means of positive character building. One who fails to exercise patience gives free rein to negative thoughts and feelings and develops a personality that is likewise negative while one who remains patient is so morally bolstered by his own positive thoughts and feelings that he develops a positive personality. It is only a positive and purified personality that will be found deserving of entry into Paradise in the Hereafter.
Source: Simple Wisdom
Chapter 50 of the Quran states: “We created man—We know the promptings of his soul, and are closer to him than his jugular vein—and the two recording angels are recording, sitting on the right and the left: each word he utters shall be noted down by a vigilant guardian. The trance of death will come revealing the truth: that is what you were trying to escape. The trumpet will be sounded. This is the Day [you were] warned of. Each person will arrive attended by an [angel] to drive him on and another to bear witness. You were heedless of this, but now We have removed your veil, so your sight today is sharp. His companion attendant will say, ‘I have here his record ready.’ ‘Cast into Hell every ungrateful, rebellious one, hinderer of good, transgressor, causing others to doubt, who has set up another god besides God: cast him into severe punishment’ — and his associate [Satan] will say, ‘Lord, I did not make him transgress, he had already gone far astray himself.’ God will say, ‘Do not quarrel in My presence. I gave you the warning beforehand and My word shall not be changed, nor am I unjust to My servants.’” (50:16-29)
The study of this world shows that there is an unerring system of recording in operation here. A person’s thoughts are impressed on the membrane of his brain. Every utterance he makes is permanently preserved in the shape of sound waves in the air. A person’s actions are preserved in the external world by means of heat waves in such a way that they can be repeated at any time. All these are known facts of today, and these known facts are what make the Quran’s claim credible: a person’s intentions, his utterances, and his actions are all in the knowledge of his Creator. All affairs of all human beings are entered in the registers of the angels.
In these verses, a picture has been drawn of death and Doomsday thereafter. It shows what will happen to those who, finding themselves free in this world, become arrogant. This description of Doomsday is so clear that it needs no explanation.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
Chapter 20 of the Quran states: “We made a covenant with Adam before you, but he forgot, and We found him lacking in constancy. When We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ they all prostrated themselves, except for Satan, who refused. We said, ‘Adam, [Satan] is an enemy to you and to your wife. Let him not turn you both out of Paradise and thus make you come to grief.’” (20:115-117)
To adhere steadfastly to God’s commandments, an unwavering determination is essential. If a person is influenced by irrelevant factors, he will undoubtedly deviate from the path of God. In order to remain steadfastly on the path of God, it is not enough to know what His commandments are; it is also absolutely necessary to have the will to resist all that goes against His commandment, and not to let oneself be influenced by it.
When God ordered that all should kneel down before Adam, the angels immediately dropped to their knees. But Satan did not do so. The reason for this difference in behaviour was that the angels treated this matter as pertaining to God, whereas Satan, on the contrary, saw it as the affair of a mere mortal. When an issue concerns God, a person has no option but to bow to His wishes. But when it is treated as relating to a human being, the person in question will appraise the human being before him. If the latter is comparatively stronger, he will kneel down; otherwise, he will refuse to kneel down, even if such an action be the demand of truth and justice.
This story of Adam and Satan is being enacted in the life of every person. Everyone is confronted with this situation: in life’s activities or dealings he is often faced with such a person to whom he owes something, whether it be in the form of some action or in the form of some good word. On all such occasions a person is again being tested; it is just the same kind of test as the first man was given. On all such occasions a person must surrender before the truth. One who surrenders before the truth is as if surrendering before God. And one who does not surrender before the truth is as if following Satan.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
Of the many beings created by God, the angels are of special importance. They have been invested by God with the supernatural power to keep order in the functioning of the universe. They do not, however, deviate in the slightest from the path of God, for all their functioning is in complete obedience to His will.
Diverse and numerous events are taking place at every moment in the universe, for instance, the movement of the stars, the shining of the sun and moon, the falling of the rain, the alternation of the seasons, and so on. All of these, and many other continually recurring events are attended to by the angels. Working in the universe as extremely faithful and obedient servants of God, they ensure the continued existence of the human and animal species on earth.
As well as running the world’s systems, these angels, a numerous band, take charge of all matters in heaven and hell.
The role of the angels can be understood by the example of a large factory. In any such factory, there are many big and complex machines which produce the goods for which the factory has been established. But these machines do not run on their own. To facilitate their smooth running many human hands are required. Therefore, in every factory there are always a number of people whose duty it is to attend constantly to their proper and efficient functioning. Similarly, countless angels are appointed to ensure the proper functioning of the great factory of the universe.
The difference between the two factories is only that in the material one, the human hands are visible, while in the metaphorical one—the great mechanism of the universe—the angels remain invisible to the naked eye.
Man may not be able to see the angels, but the angels can certainly see man, and keep a watch on him on behalf of God. It is these very angels who take man’s soul away after death.
Source: The Spirit of Islam
People in the present day are being caught up in the culture of ‘right here, right now’ and are unable to think about death. If a person is able to do so, a new thinking would emerge in him and he would strive to prepare himself for the eternal world of life Hereafter. Death would become a reminder to him of the life to come. He would be cautious about his words, thoughts, and dealings with people. His concern would be the development of a sublime character so that in the Hereafter he can be selected as an inhabitant of the noble abode of Paradise. He would rise above the superficialities of the present world and become acquainted with the higher truths of life.
Death is not the end of life but a door, on either side of which there exists a world. One side has an incomplete and temporary world, while the other side has a complete and permanent world. On one side, there is a world filled with problems and on the other side, there is a problem-free world. Unfortunately, people take death only in the negative sense, which brings despair and hopelessness. The positive concept of death has a very high meaning—one that gives you a ray of hope and courage.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
The ‘Right here, right now’ formula of life attracts people, and they adopt it in principle. Although in the beginning they are very happy, in the latter period of their lives they feel that they have been unsuccessful in achieving their goals. Finally, they fall prey to frustration and die of some fatal disease, and in a state where they have lost all hope and enthusiasm.
Happiness in the present is not the criterion of success. The right criterion is whether a person is able to maintain his happiness and sense of satisfaction right to the end of his life. The value of a tree is gauged by the fruit that it offers when it has reached the stage of full growth. Similarly, the right formula of life is that which can give a person satisfaction till the end of life, and not just for a temporary period.
A tree is known by its fruit, which is the final phase of the tree’s life. Similarly, the pattern of human life will be judged by what it turns out to be in its final days. Never make the mistake of planning for life by taking only immediate gain into consideration. You should always plan by keeping the future in mind.
An individual should, first of all, discover his own self and then plan accordingly for his life. People generally set their goals out of zeal, but this is certainly not a mature way of making decisions. The better way to decide one’s goal is to understand the realities of life, and then act in accordance with them.
Failure to do so is the main reason for people dying in frustration after having set out full of enthusiasm. When they set themselves goals, it was under the influence of emotions, without due consideration. Such a plan does not work for long. It is like a sandcastle that is destined in the long run to fall apart.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016
The ‘right here, right now’ culture has gained popularity today. This means that people want to live in their present and are not willing to think about the other side of life.
According to a survey, roughly 150,000 people die every day. Among the dead, there are people belonging to all groups—children, youth, and the old. Long life has always been man’s beautiful dream. All the kings and rich people wanted to have a long duration of life and were ready to give all the wealth they possessed for it. But history tells us that all of them failed in achieving this goal. By nature, man desires an eternal life but he only gets a very short span of life.
The concept of ‘right here, right now’ is not workable. This thinking is against human nature. The sensible decision can only be one in which a person makes eternity his goal. According to human nature, anything less than eternity cannot truly be man’s goal. If a person adopts a method that is not in accordance with his nature, then he will forever live in stress.
The right attitude towards life is that which takes into account the post-death period. The concept of life that is based on the pre-death period alone will be certainly unnatural, and an unnatural attitude is certainly harmful.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016
According to Islam, the present world is a place of work, while the world Hereafter is a place of reward. When one dies, life does not come to an end. One simply enters the second phase of life, that is, the world Hereafter. It is only in the present world that one can prove that one is deserving of Paradise in the world Hereafter. This opportunity ends at the time of death; after death, there is no opportunity to prepare oneself. Success and failure are both determined by one’s deeds in this world, in the pre-death period.
The basic theme of the Quran is to make the reader aware of the creation plan of God, according to which the present world has been created for a limited period of time. When this time is over and this world shall be brought to an end, the Day of Judgement shall take place. According to Islamic belief, it would be a Day of Justice where the deeds of every individual – good or bad – shall be laid bare and according to the deeds in the pre-death period, their final destination shall be decreed.
Entry into Paradise is not based on any kind of recommendation, and it is not anyone’s birthright. It depends totally on one’s deeds and how one uses one’s God-given freedom. The Quran is very clear on this point: “Man shall have only that for which he strives.” (The Quran, 53:39)
A believer surrenders to God in the present world itself. A person of true faith in God is modest. His speech and his conduct reflect his living faith in God. He thinks of God constantly watching over him. Some commentators on the Quran have defined a true believer as one who believes in the unseen in the manner in which he believes what is seen. A believer lives in this world in the same state that will overcome people when they directly see God on the Day of Judgement.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
Death is by no means the termination of this life: It is the commencement of a new era. Death is simply the dividing point between the two stages of our life. Take the farmer’s planting of a crop as an example. He invests his capital in it and cultivates it, until such times as the crop ripens and dries up. Then he harvests it so that he can use the grain and store it up for his year’s requirements. Harvest is the end of one phase in the crops' development, during which time planting and cultivation had taken place. Before the cutting of the crop there had been only toil and expense; it is afterwards that he will enjoy the fruits of his efforts.
Source: Spirit of Islam April 2015
The existence of man is such a unique phenomenon that no other such example can be found throughout the vastness of the cosmos. Man is rightly called the ‘best of all creations,’ which means the best and most meaningful ‘being’ among all the things created. Such a ‘meaningful being’ cannot have been created without a purpose. The Creator of man has created him according to a special Plan. His intention being that man must spend a period of trial in this present, imperfect world, and subsequent to this, according to his deeds, he will earn the right to inhabit the perfect and eternal world, another name for which is Paradise.
The Creator of the world has created this world, as one half of a pair—the present world, in which we pass our lives after birth, is the first half; and the next eternal world where we live after death is the other half. The Creator of man has thus created him as an eternal creature and has divided his life into two stages—the pre-death period or the life in this world and the post-death period or the life after death. The limited period before death is meant to be a test for man, while the period after his death will be the period for his reward or punishment, based on his performance in the test in this life. This is the scheme of existence for this world as devised by its Creator. The real aim of creation is to select those who are fit to inhabit the world of Paradise.
Source: The Reality of Life
According to Islam, God created man as an eternal being but divided his lifespan into two: the worldly life and the post-death life. While the pre-death period is temporary, the post-death one is eternal. To illustrate this, let us compare human life with an iceberg. An iceberg is a huge mass of ice floating in the ocean, but only about 10 percent of it is above the surface of the water, and the rest of it is underwater.
God has created a world called Paradise—an ideal world, a perfect world. According to the Quran, it is a place where man will find fulfillment of all his desires:
“Therein, you shall have all that your soul desires.” (The Quran, 41:31)
“[Paradise] is a place where people shall not fear, nor shall they grieve.” (The Quran, 2:112)
Our life on earth is just a preparation for the eternal afterlife. In this world, there are different kinds of situations and challenges. Man is here to face those challenges and prepare himself to be a deserving candidate for Paradise. In this sense, our life on earth is a world of opportunities. Those who avail of these opportunities and prepare themselves accordingly will be chosen and will be settled in Paradise after death.
In this life, there are all kinds of problematic and unwanted situations. But they have a purpose. They constitute a training ground that gives us a chance to cope with adversity, thus preparing us for eternal entry into Paradise. The Quran introduces Paradise thus: God calls man to the home of peace. (Quran 10:25)
Source: God’s Creation Plan
A study tells us that a more significant incentive is not ease and comfort for man's progress but challenge and difficulty. One aspect of this freedom is that it produces competition and challenge, without which no progress is possible. Misuse of freedom leads to problems, and problems are, in a sense, a sort of shock treatment because they can become a means for man's inner growth. It is only through challenges that we can progress in life.
People’s engagement in different kinds of activities with complete freedom, at times, goes against the interests of others. It is a challenging situation, causing great suffering to people. This is necessary for testing human beings and selecting them for Paradise. Further, this system is not evil in the absolute sense, for there is also an element of goodness. Suffering and challenges are the most powerful teachers of life. All such unpleasant experiences prove to be a kind of ‘shock treatment’ for individuals, leading them to undergo a tremendous mental activity called ‘brainstorming’. As per psychological studies, brainstorming is the source of intellectual development.
With ease and comfort, often, man's abilities are ruined. In contrast, challenges and problems often motivate people to develop virtues and scale new heights. That is why one can say that it is not ease but effort, not facility but difficulty, that makes men.
This point can be understood with the help of a real example. In the materially affluent societies of the West, a new disease has emerged named 'Affluenza'. This is a disease of the materially rich. In 'rich' families, people become intellectual dwarfs instead of intellectual giants. Their IQ is very low. They are lazy and do not do much work. In contrast to them, people who have grown up with difficulty and challenges often go on to do great things.
Source: God’s Creation Plan
