Attitude of Gratitude and the Demand for Justice
| Khatib : | Sadullah Khan |
| Khutbah No: | 255 |
| Khutbah Date: | 11/23/07 |
"Remember Me, I remember you; Be thankful and not ungrateful." [Qur'an 2: 152].There is an emphasis on ذكر God-consciousness and on شكرGratitude in this divine injunction. The concept of being grateful/thankful to Allah, is to realize and acknowledge that every kind of grace and favor is granted ultimately by Allah. The Qur’an thus begins with bismillah (in the Name of Allah) followed by al-hamdulillah (all praise and thanks is due to Allah); significantly meaningful phrases with we begin and end every action of importance.Allah has granted us so many favors; let alone counting up these favors, it is inconceivable even to categorize them [Q 16:18]. Since there is no limit to the favors of Allah, a believer should unceasingly keep himself occupied with the remembrance of Allah and express his gratefulness to Him; hence the association of dhikr / remembrance of Allah with shukr/ thankfulness to Allah. إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًاإِنَّا هَدَيْنَاهُ السَّبِيلَ إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًاWe created the human being from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to test him: We gave him the faculties of hearing and sight and provided him wit guidance; whether he be grateful or ungrateful (depends on him). [Q 76: 2-3]In the Qur’an, [Q2:152][Q14:7] the opposite of shukr being “grateful” / “thankful” is defined by the term kufr “disbelief”, which is synonymous here with being “ungrateful”. This definition indicates the importance attached to being grateful and equates thankfulness to worship.يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِلّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَO you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him you worship. [Q2:172].This makes us realize that gratefulness is a matter of the heart, and truly grateful people are more spiritually aware and are more likely to appreciate the interconnectedness of personal life to human interdependence. Spiritual activity of a sanctified heartGratitude is indeed the spiritual activity of the sanctified heart of a humble person and wise ones have said that gratitude is the sign of a noble soul. That is perhaps why Allah instructs human beings …بَلِ اللَّهَ فَاعْبُدْ وَكُن مِّنْ الشَّاكِرِينَRather worship Allah and be of those who are thankful[Qur’an 39:66] Among the well-known prayers of the Prophet was اللهم اِنِّي أسألك ... قلبًا شاكِرًا"O Allah! I ask thee… for a grateful heart."Where is the Jusice?In keeping with the Qur’anic injunction يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُونُواْ قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاء لِلّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَى أَنفُسِكُمْO you who proclaim faith, stand up firmly for justice as witnesses (to the truth) for the sake of Allah, even if it be against yourselves ...[Q4:135]… we have the duty to use whatever blessing Allah has given and use it appropriately; whether it be wealth, strength, knowledge, power, skill, authority …As freedom loving people, we therefore have the moral responsibility of condemning the recent use of arbitrary and excessive force by the Pakistan Military rulers; their arrest of journalists, judges and lawyers; their restriction or house arrest of opposition leaders, students, and human rights activists. For us, this is unacceptable and all the more bothersome because Pakistan considers itself a so-called Islamic State. There is nothing Islamic about these draconian actions and as people of conscience and as people of faith we have the moral responsibility top express our outrage at the present condition.Just as we are appalled at the recent blatant display of Saudi Chauvinism in the verdict against a s woman who was sentenced to 90 lashes despite being a victim of gang-raped by 7 men when she tried to retrieve something with her friend from another car. These men were sentenced to 80 to 1000 lashes. When she made a public plea for justice, she was sentenced to 200 lashes and her lawyer was reprimanded.This is neither fair, nor just and certainly NOT Islamic.Let’s Rise to help the Bangladesh Flood VictimsCyclone Sidr powered through Bangladesh last week devastating coastal districts and forcing millions of people to abandon their homes More than 3,000 people have been reported dead and over 2,000 are missing, with over 1 000 000 homeless and the numbers are rising fast as the full effects of the cyclone become clear. Most deaths were caused by the huge tidal surge that plunged into coastal villages and towns, filling the air with debris and flattening bamboo and tin houses Shortages of food, water and medicine are raising fears that diseases will spread fast. Dead bodies also lie scattered across the landscape, pushing the threat of disease even higher The massive tidal surge contaminated water sources with saltwater and swept away entire harvests of crops. More than 900,000 acres of crops have been destroyed, leaving hundreds of people with little to eat and no means to earn a living. In some areas, whole paddy fields have been swept away, wiping out four months of food. Some people have lost everything they owned in an instant.Charity as an Expression of GratitudeIn developing an attitude of gratitude, we realize that part of showing our gratitude is what we do with what we have been given. We know that - when we help or giver to others[Q2:3], we give from that which Allah has given us and - that [Q70:24] in what we have lies the rights of those who may be in needوَالَّذِينَ فِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ مَّعْلُومٌ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ- and that Allah says: لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ "If you are grateful, Allah shall increase for you." [Qur'an 14:7] Realize, how we use our blessings is an indication of our level of gratitude.- Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was asked, "Who are the best of people ?" He said: Those who are cheerful when they do good, whoو اذا احسنوا استبشروا و اذا اعطوا شكروا، ،و اذا أساءوا استغفروا ،و اذا ابتلوا صبروا ، واذا غضبوا غفرواare repentant when they do wrong, who are grateful when they receive, who show patience when in difficulty and pardon when they are angered."May we be of them, Insha-Allah.