Home › Journey To Allah › Greatest Blessings Is Gratitude
Chapter 1.6. One of the Greatest Blessings is Gratitude
As regards one whose deeds are great and many, he must busy himself with showing gratitude for them, for the accord to show gratitude is one of the greatest blessings Allah bestows upon His servant. It is obligatory upon him to meet these deeds with gratitude and realise his deficiency in displaying due gratitude.
Wahb ibn al-Ward, when asked about the reward of a particular deed, said, 'Ask not about its reward, but ask about the gratitude due upon one who was guided to it.'
Abu Sulayman would say, 'How can an intelligent person be amazed with his deeds? Deeds are one of Allah's blessings, as such it is upon him to show gratitude and to show humility. It is only the Qadariyyah who are amazed at their deeds!' i.e. those who do not believe that the actions of the servant are created by Allah, Mighty and Magnificent.
How excellent is the saying of Abu Bakr al-Nahshali on the day that Dawud al-Tai died. After his burial, ibn al-Sammak stood and praised him for his good deeds and wept causing all present to weep as well and testify to the truth of what he said... Abu Bakr al-Nahshali stood and said, 'O Allah, forgive him and show mercy to him and leave him not to his deeds!'
Abu Dawud records on the authority of Zayd ibn Thabit that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Were Allah to punish the inhabitants of the heavens and the inhabitants of the earth, He could do so without having oppressed them in any way. Were He to show them mercy, His mercy would be better for them than their deeds." [Abu Dawud & Ibn Majah]
Hakim records on the authority of Jabir that a man came to the Prophet (saw) and said, 'Sins, sins!, repeating this two or three times. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Say: O Allah, Your forgiveness is vaster than my sins and I have more hope in it than I do my deeds." He said this and the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Repeat it." He did so and he was ordered to repeat it again which he did. Then he (saw) said, "Stand for you have been forgiven." [Hakim]
My sins, were I but to ponder them, are copious.
But greater yet is my Lord's forgiveness:
In my righteous deeds lies not my expectation,
But in the mercy of Allah have I anticipation.
Chapters
Chapter 1
The Great Principle
Chapter 1.1
Al-hamdulillah is the Imbursement of every Favour
Chapter 1.2
Elucidation of the Meaning of Favours
Chapter 1.3
Both Paradise & Deeds are from the Grace of Allah
Chapter 1.4
Misery and Felicity Occur through His Justice and Mercy
Chapter 1.5
Allah's Blessings can Never be Truly Repaid
Chapter 1.6
One of the Greatest Blessings is Gratitude
Chapter 1.7
Acknowledging the Grace of Allah
Chapter 2
The Most Beloved Deeds to Allah
Chapter 3
The Meaning of "Saddidu wa Qaribu"
Chapter 3.1
A Noble Principle
Chapter 3.2
The Ease of this Religion
Chapter 4
The Meaning of "the beginning of the day", "the end of the day," & "a portion of the latter part of the night"
Chapter 5
The Meaning of Moderation
Chapter 5.1
Travelling the Path of Allah, Mighty and Magnificent
Chapter 5.2
Deeds are by their Conclusion
Chapter 5.3
The Excellence of Drawing Close to Allah
Chapter 5.4
The Types of Reaching Allah
Chapter 6
Islam, Iman, Ihsan
Chapter 6.1
The Periods of Morning and Evening
Chapter 6.2
Those who Hold to the World and those who Hold on to the Hereafter
Chapter 7
The Unexpected Confrontation
Chapter 7.1
The Types of Actions that will be as Scattered Dust
Chapter 7.2
Sadness in the World & Misery in the Hereafter
Chapter 7.3
Beware, beware!