Gratitude

Indeed, after the Supreme Name belonging to the Divine Essence, “Allah,” the greatest Name is ar-Rahmān, which relates to the bestowal of sustenance, for one of the clearest meanings of ar-Rahmān is ar-Razzāq. The secret of this Name is grasped through gratitude for sustenance.

Moreover, gratitude takes many forms, the most comprehensive of which is prayer. Gratitude also encompasses pure īmān and sincere affirmation of the Oneness of Allah. For example, when someone eats an apple and says, “Alhamdulillāh,” he proclaims:

“This apple is a gift bestowed directly from the treasuries of the Almighty, the Most Merciful.”

Through this statement and conviction, he attributes every blessing, great or small, to Allah’s power and recognizes the manifestation of His mercy in all things. By giving thanks, he bears witness to his pure īmān and sincere belief in the Oneness of Allah.

We shall mention only one of the many ways in which ungrateful people suffer immense loss through their ingratitude toward Allah’s blessings.

When a person enjoys a delicious blessing and gives thanks for it, that blessing becomes, through gratitude, a source of delight in Paradise. Its taste reminds him that it has been granted through Allah’s mercy, bringing him lasting joy and deep satisfaction. In this way, its spiritual essence ascends to the Divine Presence, while its material aspect—having fulfilled its purpose through consumption—returns to dust and ashes, that is, to its elemental origin.

If, however, a person fails to give thanks, the fleeting pleasure will leave behind sorrow and regret when it disappears, and the blessing itself will become a burden. Its diamond-like value will be reduced to that of common coal. Though perishable in itself, sustenance yields everlasting joy and eternal fruits through gratitude. Blessings met with ingratitude, on the other hand, assume an unpleasant form, for to one who fails to remember Allah, food has no value beyond its passing enjoyment and becomes little more than waste.

Indeed, sustenance possesses an aspect worthy of love, and that aspect is perceived only through gratitude. By contrast, the attachment of the heedless and misguided to their sustenance is nothing more than animal instinct. By reflecting further on this comparison, one can understand the immense loss suffered by those who have gone astray and forgotten Allah.

Among all living beings, the human being is the one most in need of the diverse forms of sustenance. Allah created mankind as a comprehensive mirror to all His Names, as a miracle of His power endowed with the capacity to weigh and recognize the treasures of His mercy, and as a vicegerent on earth equipped to evaluate the manifestations of all His Names and the subtleties of His artistry. For this reason, He gave humanity innumerable needs and made it dependent upon countless forms of material and spiritual sustenance. The means by which such a being may attain ahsan-i taqwīm is gratitude. If gratitude is absent, the human being descends to asfal-i sāfilīn and commits an immense injustice.

In short, the greatest of the four fundamental principles leading to worship and to attaining the love of Allah is gratitude. These four principles are expressed as follows: