All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the One who honoured us by means of Prophethood, taught us the Qur’ān, made us comprehend the religion and its commandments, granted us eyes, ears and hearts, and kept us free from polytheism. We praise Him and thank Him. We testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone, without a partner. And we testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.
To proceed:
Brothers and sisters! Know that Allah does not need us, whilst we are in constant need of Him. We need Him every second of the day. There is not a breath that passes except that it happens by Allah's Will and Permission. Is He not the one who ensures that your heart never stops beating, even whilst you're asleep? Is He not the one that has blessed you to live somewhere where air conditioning is readily available when it gets hot? Is He not the one who lets the saliva secrete from your mouth so that you can comfortably speak and actually enjoy your food? Is He not the one who causes the rain to fall on the land such that the plants and crops may grow, providing you and the animals you eat with food? Is He not the one who created you in such an excellent form, without any defects, and allowed you to enjoy long periods of good health and wellbeing?
Just think about it: What if Allah were to cut your source of food and water? What if Allah were to leave you with no place of shelter, with no roof over your head at night? What if something were to happen to you such that you lose something so important and beloved to you: your phone, laptop, your arms, your legs, your ability to see, to hear, to speak?
Subḥan Allāh! Think about Allah's favours upon you! But yet, many of us seem to only really remember Allah during times of need. When we really want something from Allah, we call upon Him with our hearts pouring, begging and pleading with Him. We pray more, fast more, give more charity. We think twice now about committing sin. All this so we can get what we want from Allah. But when we finally get what we want or when our need is fulfilled, we become forgetful of Allah. We no longer are conscious of Allah in our day to day actions. We become heedless of Him.
No! This is not how things should be! We are obliged to show gratitude to Him at all times for His uncountable favours. We show gratitude with our hearts, acknowledging that everything we love and enjoy in life ultimately came from Allah – via the Will of Allah – whether it's the excellent exam result you earn, that thing you have that you worked so hard for or those awesome skills that you've got. Allah says:
"And whatever of blessings and good things you have, it is from Allah." (Qur’ān 16:53)
We show gratitude with our tongues by praising and thanking Allah for all He has granted us – for our food, our drink, our hearing, our sight. And we show gratitude with our limbs. This means using our body faculties in obedience of Allah and keeping them away from disobedience of Him. This isn't something you only do in times of need. This is something you do all the time. So you don't say to yourself, "Look, I'm only going to listen to that ḥarām conversation/those ḥarām sounds just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of hearing; what if you were to lose it whilst you were listening to that? You don't say to yourself, "Well, I know that some un-Islamic things are going to happen at that place, but I'm only gonna go just once." That's not showing gratitude for your ability to walk; what if some accident were to occur and your legs became paralysed? You don't say to yourself, "Man, I really want to eat that, even though it's not halal; it just looks so delicious. I'll have it just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of being able to enjoy food. Your saliva softens your food so that you can actually enjoy its taste and painlessly swallow it. So what if your mouth were to stop producing that saliva?
Allah says:
"O mankind, remember the favour of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is none deserving of worship except Him, so how are you turned away [from His Oneness]?" (Qur’ān 35:3)
So to conclude: Be a thankful slave of Allah; express your gratitude to Him via your heart, words and actions at all times. Don't forget that He continuously provides for you, not only during your times of need but rather during every second of your life, so don't be of those ungrateful ones who only remember their Lord during times of need.
To proceed:
Brothers and sisters! Know that Allah does not need us, whilst we are in constant need of Him. We need Him every second of the day. There is not a breath that passes except that it happens by Allah's Will and Permission. Is He not the one who ensures that your heart never stops beating, even whilst you're asleep? Is He not the one that has blessed you to live somewhere where air conditioning is readily available when it gets hot? Is He not the one who lets the saliva secrete from your mouth so that you can comfortably speak and actually enjoy your food? Is He not the one who causes the rain to fall on the land such that the plants and crops may grow, providing you and the animals you eat with food? Is He not the one who created you in such an excellent form, without any defects, and allowed you to enjoy long periods of good health and wellbeing?
Just think about it: What if Allah were to cut your source of food and water? What if Allah were to leave you with no place of shelter, with no roof over your head at night? What if something were to happen to you such that you lose something so important and beloved to you: your phone, laptop, your arms, your legs, your ability to see, to hear, to speak?
Subḥan Allāh! Think about Allah's favours upon you! But yet, many of us seem to only really remember Allah during times of need. When we really want something from Allah, we call upon Him with our hearts pouring, begging and pleading with Him. We pray more, fast more, give more charity. We think twice now about committing sin. All this so we can get what we want from Allah. But when we finally get what we want or when our need is fulfilled, we become forgetful of Allah. We no longer are conscious of Allah in our day to day actions. We become heedless of Him.
No! This is not how things should be! We are obliged to show gratitude to Him at all times for His uncountable favours. We show gratitude with our hearts, acknowledging that everything we love and enjoy in life ultimately came from Allah – via the Will of Allah – whether it's the excellent exam result you earn, that thing you have that you worked so hard for or those awesome skills that you've got. Allah says:
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ ٱللَّهِ
We show gratitude with our tongues by praising and thanking Allah for all He has granted us – for our food, our drink, our hearing, our sight. And we show gratitude with our limbs. This means using our body faculties in obedience of Allah and keeping them away from disobedience of Him. This isn't something you only do in times of need. This is something you do all the time. So you don't say to yourself, "Look, I'm only going to listen to that ḥarām conversation/those ḥarām sounds just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of hearing; what if you were to lose it whilst you were listening to that? You don't say to yourself, "Well, I know that some un-Islamic things are going to happen at that place, but I'm only gonna go just once." That's not showing gratitude for your ability to walk; what if some accident were to occur and your legs became paralysed? You don't say to yourself, "Man, I really want to eat that, even though it's not halal; it just looks so delicious. I'll have it just once." That's not showing gratitude for the blessing of being able to enjoy food. Your saliva softens your food so that you can actually enjoy its taste and painlessly swallow it. So what if your mouth were to stop producing that saliva?
Allah says:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ هَلْ مِنْ خَٰلِقٍ غَيْرُ ٱللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۚ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ
So to conclude: Be a thankful slave of Allah; express your gratitude to Him via your heart, words and actions at all times. Don't forget that He continuously provides for you, not only during your times of need but rather during every second of your life, so don't be of those ungrateful ones who only remember their Lord during times of need.
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