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Shukr (Thankfulness)

Literally meaning gladness felt about and gratitude shown for the good done to one, Sufis use shukr to mean using one’s body, abilities, feelings, and thoughts bestowed upon one to fulfill the purpose of his or her creation: being thankful to the Creator for what He has bestowed. Such thankfulness is to be reflected in the person’s actions or daily life, in speech and in the heart, by admitting that all things are directly from Him, and by feeling gratitude for them.

One may thank God verbally by only depending upon His power and strength, as well as upon His bestowal or withholding of favors, and acknowledging that all good and bounties come from Him. As He alone creates all good, beauty, and bounty, as well as the means by which they can be obtained, only He sends them at the appropriate time.

Since He alone determines, apportions, creates, and spreads [all our provisions] before us as “heavenly tables,” He alone deserves our gratitude and thanks. Attributing our attainment of His bounties to our own or to another’s means or causes, in effect thereby proclaiming that He is not the true Owner, Creator, and Giver of all bounty, is like giving a huge tip to the servant who lays before us a magnificent table and ignoring the host who is responsible for having it prepared and sent to us. Such an attitude reflects sheer ignorance and ingratitude, as mentioned in: They know only the outward face of the life of the world (apparent to them), and they are completely unaware of (its face looking to) the Hereafter (30:7).

True thankfulness in one’s heart is manifested through the conviction and acknowledgment that all bounties are from God, and then ordering one’s life accordingly. One can thank God verbally and through one’s daily life only if personally convinced, and if one willingly acknowledges that his or her existence, life, body, physical appearance, and all abilities and accomplishments are from God, as are all of the bounties obtained and consumed. This is stated in: Do you not see that God has made serviceable unto you whatsoever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the earth, and has loaded you with His bounties seen or unseen? (31:20), and: He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you reckon the bounties of God, you can never count them (14:34).

Bodily thankfulness is possible by using one’s organs, faculties, and abilities for the purposes for which they were created, and in performing the duties of servanthood falling on each. On the other hand, some have stated that verbal thankfulness means daily recitation of portions of the Qur’an, prayers, supplications, and God’s Names. Thankfulness by the heart means that one is certain or convinced of the truth of the Islamic faith and straightforwardness. Practical or bodily thankfulness, according to others, means observing all acts of worship. Since thankfulness relates directly to all aspects or branches of belief and worship, it is regarded as half of the faith. With respect to this inclusiveness, it is considered together with patience, meaning that according to some people, thankfulness and patience are considered as the two halves of religious life.

In His eternal Speech, God Almighty repeatedly commands thankfulness and, as in the phrases so that you may give thanks (2:52) and God will reward the thankful (3:144), presents it as the purpose of creation and of sending religion. In such verses as: If you are thankful I will add more unto you. But if you show ingratitude My punishment is terrible indeed (14:7), He has promised abundant reward to the thankful and threatened the ungrateful with a terrible punishment. One of His own Names is the All-Thanking, which shows us that the way to obtain all bounties or favors is through thankfulness, which He returns with abundant reward. He exalts the Prophets Abraham and Noah, upon them be peace, saying: (Abraham was) thankful for His bounties (16:121) and Assuredly, he (Noah) was a grateful servant (17:3).

Although thankfulness is a religious act of great importance and significant “capital,” few people truly do it: Few of My servants are thankful (34:13). Very few people live in full awareness of the duty of thankfulness, saying: Shall I not be a servant grateful (to my Lord)?, and try their best to perform their duty of thankfulness and order their lives accordingly.

The glory of humanity, upon him be peace and blessings, whose soles swelled because of his long supererogatory prayer vigils (tahajjud), was a matchless hero of thankfulness. On one occasion, he told his wife ‘A’isha: Shall I not be a servant grateful to God? He always thanked God and recommended thankfulness to his followers, and prayed to God every morning and evening, saying: O God. Help me mention You, thank You, and worship You in the best way possible.114

Thankfulness is the deep gratitude and devotion of one who, receiving His bounties or favors, directs these feelings toward the One Who bestows such blessing, and the subsequent turning to Him in love, appreciation, and acknowledgment. The above Prophetic saying expresses this most directly.

People are thankful for many things: the provisions, home, and family with which they have been favored; wealth and health; belief, knowledge of God, and the spiritual pleasures bestowed on them; and the consciousness with which God favored them so they could open themselves to the knowledge that they must be thankful. If those who are thankful for such a consciousness use their helplessness and destitution as “capital” and thank Him continuously, they will be among the truly thankful. It is narrated from God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, that

The Prophet David, upon him be peace, asked God Almighty: O Lord. How can I be thankful to You, since thanking You is another favor that requires thankfulness? The Almighty responded: Just now you have done it.

I think this is what is expressed in: We have not been able to thank You as thanking You requires, O All-Thanked One.

One can be thankful by recognizing and appreciating Divine favors, for feeling gratitude to the One Who bestows favors depends to a great extent on due recognition and appreciation of them. Belief and Islam (including the Qur’an) lead one to recognize and appreciate favors and thus turn to God in gratitude. One can be more aware of these favors, and that they are given to us by God out of His mercy for our helplessness and inability to meet our own needs, in the light of belief and Islamic practices. This awareness urges us to praise the One Who bestows upon us those favors and bounties that we consume. Awakening to the meaning of: As for the favor of Your Lord, proclaim it (93:11), we feel a deep need to be grateful and thankful.

Everyone is naturally inclined to praise the good and the one who does good to him or her. However, until this feeling is aroused there is no awareness of being favored by someone else, just as fish are not conscious of living in water. Furthermore, these favors may be attributed to the means and causes used to obtain them. If it is blindness and deafness not to see and appreciate the favors we continuously receive, then it must be an unforgivable deviation to attribute them to various blind, deaf, and unfeeling means and causes. The Prophetic statements: One who does not thank for the little does not thank for the abundant, and: One who does not thank people does not thank God, express blindness and deafness to favors and remind us of the importance of being thankful. Such verses as: Mention Me so that I will mention you, and give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me (2:152), and: Worship Him and give Him thanks (29:17) tell us that it is God Who truly deserves to be thanked, and also remind us of His absolute Unity.

Thankfulness can be divided into three categories. The first category consists of thankfulness for those things that everyone, regardless of religion or spiritual attainment, desires. The second category consists of thankfulness for those things that, although apparently disagreeable or displeasing, reveal their true nature to those who can see them as favors requiring gratitude.

The third category of thankfulness is that kind performed by those who are loved by God and view favors or bounties from the perspective of the One Who bestows them. They spend their lives in spiritual pleasure that begins in observing God’s manifestation of Himself through His favors, and take the greatest pleasure in worshipping Him. Although they are always enraptured with the spiritual delight flowing from their love of Him, they are extremely careful of their relationship with Him. Such people constantly strive to preserve the Divine blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and always search for what they have missed. While they constantly deepen their belief, love, and gratitude along the way toward Him, the “nets of their sight” are filled with different blessings and gifts.

Narrated Rafi' bin Khadij:that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 

"Whoever farms a people's land without their permission, then nothing he farms belongs to him and its finances are due to him."

Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1366

In-book reference: Book 15, Hadith 47

Performing Umrah: Part 3

When the Period of Three Days was Over

The three days determined as the period of staying in Makkah by the Peace Treaty of Hudaybiyah passed.

The Messenger of God, who never broke his promise even with his enemies, had to leave Makkah although he wanted to stay there more because he did not want to break his promise. Actually, in a sense, he was not leaving Makkah; the time to conquer Makkah was approaching. From then on, every day and every hour would approach the conquest of Makkah and the hearts.

During those three days, the Muslims had the opportunity to meet their relatives there. They also had the opportunity to show the beauty, loftiness, grace and elegance of Islamic ethics through their honest acts and attitudes. They also displayed the true Islam and the trueness worthy of Islam to the polytheists in the form of a luminous view.  Consequently, a warm interest and a sincere tendency toward Islam arose in the hearts of many people except for the ferocious polytheists. It was as if the hearts of the people were ready to be conquered before the conquest of Makkah.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

While the Messenger of God was leaving Makkah with his Companions, he heard a voice calling out “Uncle! Uncle!”

They turned round. It was the voice of Umama, the only daughter of Hamza, “the Master of the Martyrs”. She was living in Makkah. Her voice expressed a desire for help; it was as if she was saying, “Save me from this land of polytheism!” It was as if the whole Makkah asked for help together with this child, calling out, “Do not leave me!”

The Messenger of God, whose heart was like a sea of compassion and mercy, returned, held the hand of this child and took her to Madinah.

The Prophet is in Sarif

After leaving Makkah with his Companions, the Messenger of God stopped at Sarif. He married Maymunah there.

Returning to Madinah

The Prophet left Sarif in the evening and proceeded at night. He arrived in Madinah in the month of Dhulhijjah.

Umama, the daughter of Hamza, is Given to Jafar

When Umama, the daughter of Hamza and Salma bint Umays, was brought to Madinah, a controversy arose.  

The Prophet had rendered Zayd b. Haritha and Hamza brothers. Therefore, Zayd stated that he was the guardian of the children of Hamza after Hamza was martyred and said, “I have the right to take care of my brother’s daughter more than anybody else.”

When Jafar heard this, he objected to it: “The maternal aunt is also regarded as the mother. My wife Asma bint Umays is the maternal aunt of Umama. Therefore, I have the right to take care of Umama more than anybody else.”

Hazrat Ali said that she had the right to take care of her more than anybody else, saying, “I took my cousin from among the polytheists and brought her here. You are not as close to her as me as a relative.  I have the right to take care of Umama more than you.”

It was up to the Messenger of God to settle the problem.

He said, “O Zayd! You are the friend of God and His Messenger! O Ali! You are my brother and friend! O Jafar! You are the person who resembles me the most in terms of nature and characteristics!” Then, he expressed his decision as follows:

“O Jafar! You have the right to take care of Umama more than the others because you are married to her maternal aunt. A woman cannot marry to a man who is married to her maternal or paternal aunt.”

When the Messenger of God expressed his decision, Jafar stood up suddenly; he started to hop around the Prophet.

Chapter: Witr Prayer, its Time and Ruling

Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him)reported:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

276. Allah will destroy Riba and will give increase for Sadaqat. And Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners.

277. Truly, those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and perform the Salah and give Zakah, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Allah Does Not Bless Riba

Allah says;

Allah will destroy Riba and will give increase for Sadaqat.

Allah states that He destroys Riba, either by removing this money from those who eat it, or by depriving them of the blessing, and thus the benefit of their money.

Because of their Riba, Allah will torment them in this life and punish them for it on the Day of Resurrection.

Allah said,

Say: "Not equal are Al-Khabith (evil things) and At-Tayyib (good things), even though the abundance of Al-Khabith may please you.'' (5:100)

And put the wicked (disbelievers and doers of evil deeds) one over another, heap them together and cast them into Hell. (8:37)

and,

And that which you give in gift (to others), in order that it may increase (your wealth by expecting to get a better one in return) from other people's property, has no increase with Allah. (30:39)

Ibn Jarir said that Allah's statement, (Allah will destroy Riba), is similar to the statement reported of Abdullah bin Mas`ud,

"Riba will end up with less, even if it was substantial.''

Imam Ahmad recorded a similar statement in Al-Musnad.

Allah Increases Charity, Just as One Raises His Animal

Allah's statement,

And will give increase for Sadaqat, means, Allah makes charity grow, or He increases it.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

Whoever gives in charity what equals a date from honest resources, and Allah only accepts that which is good and pure, then Allah accepts it with His right (Hand) and raises it for its giver, just as one of you raises his animal, until it becomes as big as a mountain.

This was recorded in the book of Zakah.

Allah Does not Like the Disbelieving Sinners

Allah's statement,

And Allah likes not the disbelievers, sinners. indicates that Allah does not like he who has a disbelieving heart, who is a sinner in tongue and action.

There is a connection between the beginning of the Ayah on Riba and what Allah ended it with. Those who consume Riba are not satisfied with the permissible and pure resources that Allah provided them. Instead, they try to illegally acquire people's money by relying on evil methods. This demonstrates their lack of appreciation for the bounty that Allah provides.

Praising Those Who Thank Allah

Allah praised those who believe in His Lordship, obey His commands, thank Him and appreciate Him. They are those who are kind to His creation, establish prayer and give charity due on their money. Allah informed them of the honor that He has prepared for them and that they will be safe from the repercussions of the Day of Resurrection.

Allah said,

Surely, the Prayer restrains from all that is indecent and shameful, and all that is evil. Surely Allah’s remembrance is the greatest (of all types of worship, and not restricted to the Prayer). (al-Ankabut 29:45)

Be ever mindful and protective of the Prescribed Prayers, and the Middle Prayer (the Morning or Afternoon Prayer), and stand in the presence of Allah in utmost devotion and obedience. (al-Baqarah 2:238)

518. Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, said,

“I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say, ‘What do you think would happen if there was a river by someone’s door in which he washed five times every day? Do you think that any dirt would remain on him?’ They said, ‘Not a scrap of dirt would remain on him.’ He said, ‘That is a metaphor of the five Prayers by which Allah wipes out wrong actions.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mawaqit, 6; Sahih Muslim, Masajid, 283).

521. Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

“There are angels who take turns in being with you in the night and other angels in the day and they meet together at the Prayers of Fajr and Asr. Then the ones who were with you during the night ascend and Allah asks them—although He knows better than they do—’How were My servants when you left them?’ They say, ‘When we left them they were praying and when we came to them, they were praying.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Mawaqit, 16; Sahih Muslim, Masajid, 210).

524. Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,