Thanking Allah for His
Blessings
Part One
Praise be to Allah, the Benign, the Clement, and the Compassionate! I thank Him ()
for His blessings and bounties, and I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone
with no associates! He is the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden, and the
Omniscient. I bear witness that our Master and Prophet Muhammad is the servant and
Messenger of Allah. He is the most truthful, the most trustworthy with supreme morals!
O Allah! We beseech You to send Your salat and blessings on your Messenger
Muhammad, his family, Companions, tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions of
the Prophet after his death) and those who follow them in righteousness until the Day of
Judgment!
Having said that, I urge you, servants of Allah, to fear Allah! ﴾And fear the day
when you shall be brought back to Allah then shall every soul be paid
what it earned and none shall be dealt with unjustly.﴿ [Al-Baqara: 281]
O Muslims!
Expending Allah’s blessings in ways that He approves, using them in showing
obedience to Him, and channelling them towards accomplishing righteousness and
benevolent deeds instantly or in the future are clear signs of happiness. Hence man would
follow the path of the wise and the example of those who fear Allah and seek salvation
by mentioning His Name () and by thanking Him as He commanded: ﴾Then do
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remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and reject not
faith. [Al-Baqara: 152]
Showing gratitude to Allah prompts the pouring of yet further blessings from Him as
He promised His pious servants: ﴾And remember, Your Lord caused to be
declared (publicly) “If you are grateful, I will add more (favor) unto
you; But if you show ingratitude, truly My punishment is terrible
indeed.”﴿ [Ibrahim: 7]
Among Allah’s innumerable blessings ‒apart from that of the guidance to Islam‒ are
the blessings of hearing, sight and intelligence and affections which Allah has mentioned
by name on account of their sublime value: ﴾It is He who brought you from the
wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you
hearing and sight and intelligence and affections: that you may give
thanks (to Allah).﴿ [An-Nahl: 78]
These blessings are the key to all knowledge and the beacon to the straight path of
Allah (). They are the means of attaining everything one aspires for, and of
distinguishing between the benign and the malicious.
However, Allah () has made these blessings contingent on thanking Him, not only
verbally, but also in deeds, i.e. in using them in obeying Him and in what He loves and
approves both in terms of words and deeds. One has to harness every single part of one’s
body and senses in obeying one’s Creator and Lord so that one’s gratitude makes one’s
actions purely dedicated to Allah so that one would not hear or see anything but what He
() has designated permissible and would not believe except in what He () approves.
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A Muslim, thus, may fit the description by the Prophet () in his hadith narrated by
Al-Bukhari (may Allah bless his soul) in his Sahih, quoting Abi Hurairah (); he said,
“The Prophet () related to us that Allah said: ‘Whoever takes one of my loyal believers
as enemy must know that I shall wage war on him. The most beloved things with which
My servant draws nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My servant
keeps drawing closer to Me through performing voluntary acts until I love him. And
when I love him, I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, his sense of sight
with which he sees, his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks. If
he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection I will protect him.’"
What a great ending! What a bountiful reward that is fit to be the ultimate wish for
every wise man meaning to do himself a favour, seeking happiness and success and
wishing to attain righteousness and salvation!
Conversely, he who uses these blessings in ways that cause Allah’s wrath, including
looking at and listening to whatever is forbidden (as is the case with satellite TV
channels, some magazines, newspapers and websites) would be extremely ungrateful to
Allah’s blessings. He would then be reciprocating Allah’s blessing in the most
unbecoming way possible; with utter unbelief, and His bliss with ingratitude, while acting
oblivious of the fact that looking at and listening to the forbidden are considered adultery
of the eyes and the ears.
This has been reported by the most truthful and the most trustworthy () in the hadith
narrated by the Two Sheikhs in their Two Sahihs.
By so doing, he would incur Allah’s indignation and would consequently deserve
prompt chastisement for his disobedience.
Insisting on sinning and refraining from turning to Allah in repentance would
inevitably lead to the severance of the rapport between the individual and his Lord. Imam
Ibn al-Qayim (May Allah bless his soul) said, “Should the rupture occur, the strings of
good will be disconnected, and those of evil will be attached to the culprit. What kind of
success; what kind of hope; what kind of life will there be for a man whose strings of
good have been disconnected and whose relationship with his Lord has been severed,
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though he cannot do without His help for a blink of an eye? Such a Lord is indispensable,
irreplaceable! Once the strings of evil are attached to a man; once he forges relations
with Satan –his sworn enemy‒ the latter will seize him and his Lord will abandon him. As
a result, his soul will be unaware of the pain and agony entailed by such severance and
such connection.” And this is one of greatest forms of retribution.
Furthermore, this kind of sin is punishable by divine oblivion where Allah abandons
His servant, forsaking him and surrendering him to his Satan. That is indeed the
unwavering pitch of damnation from which there is no redemption. It wipes out Allah’s
blessings and incurs His wrath. No blessing is withheld from a man, and no misfortune is
allowed to befall him but in retribution for a sin he has committed.
Sins sicken and weaken the heart. They blind the insight, undermine dignity, rebuke
and scorn the soul, deprive man of one’s honour and praise, bring upon him humility and
censure, cast him with the riffraff and remove Baraka from his life, livelihood, and work.
This is always the case with sins and how they affect man and ruin his faith and life.
Therefore, servants of Allah, fear Allah and always be thankful to Him for bestowing
His blessings upon you especially the senses of hearing and sight. Make sure that you use
them in obeying Him, and you will be among the thankful who attain salvation on the
Day of Judgment.
May Allah help you and me to benefit from the guidance of His Book and the Sunnah
of His Prophet ()! I say this and ask Allah’s forgiveness for you and me from all sins. I
repent to Him; He is the all Forgiving, the all Compassionate!
Part Two
All praise be to Allah! We praise Him, seek His assistance and guidance, and ask Him
for forgiveness! We seek refuge in Him from the evils of our own souls and from our
wicked deeds! Whoever Allah guides no one can misguide and whoever He misguides no
one can guide! I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, Who has
no partners! I also bear witness that our Prophet, Muhammad, is His servant and
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Messenger! O Allah send Your Salat (Graces, Honors, Mercy), peace and blessings upon
him, his family, and Companions!
O servants of Allah!
The eradication of barakah (blessing/benediction) from one's life span, livelihood,
knowledge, work, faith, as well as from all worldly matters must be interpreted as Allah’s
retribution upon every disobedient person who employs His blessings in what angers
Him. In this respect, some (religious) scholars confirm that "this is so because Satan has
power over such a disobedient person and his company, and he will play his tricks on his
group, his household, and his friends. Verily, anything that is connected to Satan is to be
devoid of blessing."
Thus it was legislated (by Islamic Sharia) to mention Allah's Name () when eating,
drinking (permitted drinks), wearing clothes, riding, and entering a house, etc. Indeed,
just mentioning Allah's name is enough to expel Satan thus bringing about blessings.
No deed would be blessed unless intended for Allah, for blessing is in the Hands of the
Lord alone. Indeed all blessings are from Him and anything that is attributed to Him is
blessed; likewise, anything that He distances Himself from, be they physical things,
words, or deeds will have no blessing. Allah has cursed His enemy, Satan, and made him
the farthest away from Him of all His creatures. Therefore, anybody siding with Satan
will be cursed by Allah depending on how closely they are associated with him.
Thus, disobedience of Allah is the primary reason for causing the eradication of
blessing from one's life span, livelihood, knowledge, and work.
Whenever Allah was disobeyed, whenever someone employs his money, body,
authority, knowledge, or does anything to disobey Allah, it will be counted against him
(on the Day of Judgment). A person’s lifetime, money (and possessions), strength,
authority, knowledge, and deeds are no good to him unless they are harnessed for the
obedience of Allah.
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, and use your obedience of your Lord and your
seeking help from all the blessings He bestowed upon you as a means to bring forth
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blessing into your lifetime, deeds, livelihood, and the gaining of the everlasting Blessing
(Paradise) of your Creator.
Always remember that Allah () ordered you to send your salat and peace on the Seal
of the Prophets, the Imam of the righteous, and the Mercy of Allah to Mankind and the
Jinn (Prophet Muhammad) as He said in the Holy Qur'ān: Allâh sends His Salât
(Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy) on the Prophet (Muhammad لله صلى
وسلم علیھ ), and also His angels (ask Allâh to bless and forgive him). O
you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allâh to bless) him
(Muhammad وسلم علیھ لله صلى ), and (you should) greet (salute) him with
the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum). [Al-
Ahzāb: 56]
O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace on Your servant
and Messenger Muhammad ()! O Allah! Be pleased with the four Caliphs: Abu Bakr,
Omar, Othman and Ali, with all of the family of the Prophet, his Companions, the tabi'in,
and those who follow them righteously until the Day of Resurrection! O Allah! Be
pleased with us all, along with them, by Your Pardon, Generosity and Bounty, O You, the
Most Generous and Bounteous of all!
O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and
Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! And protect Your Religion!
Destroy the enemies of Your religion and all the despots and the corruptors! Unite the
hearts of Muslims and unify them, set right their leaders and unite their word on Truth! O
You, Lord of al-'alamîn (the worlds)!
O Allah! Grant victory to Your religion, Your Book, the Sunnah of Your Prophet
Muhammad () and Your truthful believing servants!
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O Allah! Grant us security in our homelands, set right our leaders and those
responsible for our affairs, support with Truth our Imam and leader, provide him with
righteous retinue and guide him to do whatever you love and accept! O You, the All-
Hearing of our prayers! O Allah! Guide him, his Crown Prince and his brothers to do
what is good for Islam and Muslims, for the country and for the people! O You, to Whom
people shall return in the Day of Resurrection!
O Allah! Grant us a good ending in all of our affairs and save us from the humiliation
of the worldly life and the punishment of the Hereafter!
O Allah! Make better our religion which is our bond, make better our Dunya (life in
this world) which is the source of our living, make better our Hereafter to which we are
returning, and make life for us an increase of all that is good, and death a relief from
every evil!
O Allah! We seek refuge in You against the vanishing of Your blessing, the change in
the good health you granted us, the suddenness of Your vengeance, and all forms of Your
wrath! O Allah we ask You to help us do good things, avoid abominable actions, love the
poor, and to forgive us and have mercy on us! O Allah, if You willed a certain people to
be tested by ordeal, O Allah, take us to You before we are tested by such ordeal!
O Allah! Cure those of us who are sick, have mercy on our dead, help us fulfill our
hopes in accordance with what you please!
O Allah! Protect us against Your enemies and ours in any way that pleases You, O
Lord of Alamin! O Allah! Protect us against Your enemies and ours in any way that
pleases You, O Lord of Alamin! O Allah! Protect us against Your enemies and ours in
any way that pleases You, O Lord of Alamin! O Allah! We leave them to You (to deal
with them in any way that pleases You) and seek refuge in You from their evils! O Allah!
We leave them to You and seek refuge in You from their evils!
O Allah! Protect all Muslims in their homelands; O Allah! Protect them in Syria, in
Palestine, in Burma, and in the entire Muslim world, O Lord of Alamin; O Allah! Grant
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them victory over Your enemy and theirs; O Allah! Cure their injured, have mercy on
their dead, and grant the reward of martyrdom to those who were killed among them, O
Lord of Alamin!
O Allah! Feed their hungry, clothe those who have no clothes, and lift harm off them
by Your mercy, O Lord of Alamin!
Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and
bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the
losers.[Al-A'rāf: 23] (They say): "Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate
(from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from
You. Truly, You are the Bestower." [Âl-‘Imrân: 8] … Our Lord! Give us
in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is
good, and save us from the torment of the Fire! [Al-Baqarah: 201]
O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours, and Mercy) and Peace on our Prophet,
Muhammad, on his family and all his Companions. And all praise be to Allah, the Lord
of the Worlds (Alamin)!
