Shall I not be a thankful slave ( أَفَلاَ أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا)?

Alhamdulillah.

All praises be to Allah alone.

I have been wanting to write a short entry on “being Grateful”. For me, one of the biggest if not greatest forms of worship is – to show our gratitude to Allah. For everything; for the foods on table that keep us full, the companions that always be with us, the job that secures our income,  the path that we are able to walk on our feet – I can go on but the list will not end. 

There are too many things to be thankful for. Simply being able to breathe in and out, peacefully, that’s already a great blessing.

I was riding my kapcai motorbike last week when the sky teared with rain. Then I saw an old man, pedaling on his shabby bicycle, with trashes (recycle tins and bottles) at the back. That sight really triggers my emotion. I was comparing myself with that old man – and it made me feel ashamed. How Allah has bestowed me with many things, and still my lust is never satisfied. How He always provide me and I took it all for granted. There must be reasons why Allah showed him to me. I should be more grateful to Allah.

In another instance, I was driving my car, when I saw an old lady stop from one car to another car, selling pocket tissues. Judging by her look, I would guess she is in her 60s. Seeing her reminds me of my own Ammi. :( It was so heart-breaking to see her carrying a bag and selling tissues in the middle of the road while I am sitting in the comfort of my air-conditioned car. Again, there must be reasons why Allah showed her to me. I should be more grateful to Allah.

You see, our lives should resolve around being gratefulness. We wake up in the morning, and we’re breathing fresh air – that’s already blessings given by Allah. We stand up and walk to the toilet – another blessings. We use water to clean ourselves – another blessing. And this is just like 10-15 minutes after we woke up from our sleep. Just imagine, the blessings that we are going to enjoy for the next 23 hours and 45 minutes?

Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. We should always show our gratitude to Allah. But how? Read the Qur’an, do dhikir, pray solah, give charity, help the needy, be empathy – these are some acts that we can do to reflect our gratitude to Allah. Allah has given us many things yet we are not able to see and further to cherish it. We love to compare ourselves with those higher than us. Whereas the Prophet (ﷺ) has already advised us when he said:

"Look to one who is lower than you, and do not look to one who is above you. For indeed that is more worthy (so that you will) not belittle Allah's favors upon you."

When we see people lower than us, automatically, it will trigger us to be grateful for the favors that Allah has bestowed upon us and it will also lead us to be humble. When we are eating, remember Allah and be grateful to Allah. In one hadith narrated by Anas who relates from Rasulullah (ﷺ) that, Allah is pleased with that servant who eats one morsel (bite) or drinks one sip and gives thanks to Him. Just one bite and sip! Mashaallah! And how many bites do we eat for our breakfast? Have we ever count it? Lets try this for ournext meal – try to count how many bites do we eat and try to give thanks to Allah for it. Just imagine the rewards that will flow into our akhirah-account.

Last words, know that being grateful is the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet (ﷺ). Know that when we give thanks to Allah, we are following the path of Rasulullah (ﷺ). Everyone must knows this hadith, but I will still quote it for the message is so deep - The Prophet (ﷺ) used to pray so much that his feet used to become edematous or swollen, and when he was asked as to why he prays so much, he would say, "Shall I not be a thankful slave (to Allah)?.

So, ask ourselves, "Shall I not be a thankful slave"?

As I was wiping my tears listening to Maher Zain - Thank you Allah :'( 

 

 Thank you, Allah..