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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Gratitude to man and God |
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| Abu_Atheek |
| 05/22/03 at 01:59:37 |
| [slm] Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh [center][color=Blue]GUIDANCE FROM THE PROPHET [saw][/color] Gratitude to man and God [i]By Adil Salahi[/i][/center] The Prophet stresses that Islamic manners require that a person to whom a favor has been done should repay it. This is the best way to ensure that the Muslim community is one in which people cooperate for their mutual benefit and for the benefit of the community as a whole. The Prophet explains that a person who cannot repay kindness should thank and praise the person from whom he received it in his absence so that the praise is known to be genuine and does not have any ulterior motives. The Prophet also tells us that if we pray for the person who has done us a favor, then we have properly thanked him for his favor. Prayer by one person for another in his absence is certain to be answered. Perhaps it should be added that when a person prays for someone in his absence, his prayer is bound to have a beneficial effect on him. It is true that his prayer is known only to himself and to God. Nevertheless, when he prays for him, he feels that he is indebted to him and that he is asking for him a reward which is far better than whatever he can give him in return. Even the smallest reward given by God to someone is better than the greatest reward any human being can give. When a person prays God for other people, their kindness is present in his mind. He loves them more sincerely and he learns from their example to be kind to others who may stand in need of his help and kindness. The Prophet was keen to emphasize this concept to his followers. Anas ibn Malik, who served the Prophet for ten years, reports that his companions who emigrated with him from Makkah to Madinah, i.e. the Muhajereen, said once to the Prophet: "Messenger of God, the Ansar, i.e. their hosts in Madinah, have taken all the reward which is there to have." The Prophet answered: "No. As long as you pray for them, and praise them for it, (you shall have your reward)." What the Muhajereen among the Prophet's companions were worried about was that they stood no chance of having a reward equal to that of the Ansar. The Ansar shared with them every sacrifice which was needed for the cause of Islam. They were quick to render every service the message of Islam required. Moreover, they opened their homes and their hearts to their brothers who came to settle among them in their city. They accommodated them in their homes, shared with them their income, allowed them to marry their women and treated them as equal partners in everything they had. Many of them willingly relinquished to their immigrant brothers half their wealth. That was an act of hospitality which has remained without equal in history. The Muhajereen could not equal them on that, although they could equal them with their sacrifice for the cause of Islam. Hence, their worry that the Ansar were far ahead of them. The Prophet, however, has reassured them by showing them the way to earn an equal reward. All they had to do is to pray to God for them and to praise them for their kindness and hospitality. This concept of being grateful for other people's kindness is perhaps most emphasized in the Hadith in which Abu Hurairah quotes the Prophet as saying: "He who does not thank men is ungrateful to God." (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Ahmad, Abu Dawood, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Majah.) This Hadith relates thanking people to being grateful to God. This relationship may not be immediately apparent. If we contemplate it a little, we realize that it is a statement of a simple fact. Everyone knows that people are gratified when they are thanked for a kind gesture. Indeed, most people feel hurt if they had done a favor to someone and he neglects to thank them. The more expressive he is of his gratitude to them, the more ready they are to repeat their kindness. This is a trait of human nature that is known to everyone. Not everyone knows, however, that God wants us to thank Him for the favors He has bestowed on us. Indeed, many people take His favors for granted and think of them as something they have by right. If you tell people that they should thank God for giving them their eyesight or their hearing or their other faculties, many of them would wonder at what you are saying. They think that they are entitled to have all these. Having them is only what everyone would expect. Hence, they think that they owe nothing for what they have and enjoy. Only if they happen to have something exceptionally fortunate, they may think that they ought to thank God for it. Many of them, however, do not even entertain the idea of thanking God for that. But God would like us to thank Him for His kindness and for all the favors which He has bestowed on us. He benefits nothing by our thanks and expressions of gratitude. He simply likes to see us appreciate His bounty. If people turn a blind eye to God's favors and do not thank Him for them, God is not affected in any way. Their attitude reflects only on them. What the Prophet tells us in this Hadith is that a person who is not used to thanking people for the favors they do him will not thank God for what He has given him. This is merely a logical progression of the same attitude. If we do not thank our fellow human beings for a kindness to which we have no right, we are less likely to thank God for what He has given us. On the other hand, when we thank people for their favors, we are by implication thanking God for providing the means for these favors to be done to us. This is the proper attitude which is expected from every Muslim. [i]Islam in Perspective – Arab News – 04 December 1998[/i] |
| 05/22/03 at 02:00:44 |
| Abu_Atheek |
| Re: Gratitude to man and God |
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| Yasmeena |
| 05/24/03 at 14:07:22 |
| Ameen! The companions of the Prophet (pbut) are shining examples of how to live our lives. |
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