Ali Ataie – Having the Type of Gratitude That Changes Your Life into a Central Qur’anic Theme
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AI: Transcript ©
All praise is new to Allah
the lord of the worlds,
the creator of everything,
the one who has absolute power and perfect
knowledge,
the one who does what he wills and
answers to no one,
the one who describes himself as indiscriminately
compassionate
and intimately loving,
And peace and blessings be upon his final
messenger, our master, Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
Beloved of Allah, the seal of the prophets,
and the mercy sent to all mankind.
I want to remind all of you to
perform the Uthira,
also known as the Qurbani.
If you haven't already done so or have
someone else to do it for you, this
is extremely important.
Also, to remind you of the additional Takhtirat,
which you will do after every thong salah.
And this will
take place.
We do this continuously,
today and in the following 3 days called
the Ayamat Hashaf.
So on Monday,
Asar time, that's when you'll stop doing the
bittakk bivakk. And this is also a logic.
There's also no fasting today, obviously,
or in the following 3 days. So the
first available day to fast is on Tuesday.
In
So this is what I wanna talk about.
One of the greatest theological virtues,
in our tradition, the virtue of shukr or
gratitude,
and its place or its centrality
in the Quran. Many of the urama nowadays
speak a lot about shukr, a lot about
gratitude due to our current state,
as a Muslim community in America. I'll get
back to that a little bit later.
The trilateral root shekhar
from,
where Shukr comes from, appears 70 times 75
times in the Quran.
46 times as a verb and 29 times
as a noun.
In Surah Ibrahim, Allah
says,
He says, if you just show a little
bit of gratitude,
just
a little bit of gratitude.
Very strong language,
very heavily emphasized in the Arabic. And I'm
also kind of going to have it here.
He uses the first person as opposed to
a royal clerk
to further emphasize
the point that if you show a little
bit of gratitude,
certainly I will increase you. And notice here
there's no specifying element, there's no 10 years.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala doesn't say, doesn't specify
or increase you with knowledge or in wealth
or in deed or dunya.
He leaves it open. So, conceivably, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, if we show a little bit
of gratitude,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will increase us in
all good things. We should have a good
opinion of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
So, to show gratitude not only to Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, as the Irlam Masaid, but
to show gratitude.
To show gratitude to human beings as well.
The prophet he
said,
Whoever does not show gratitude
to human beings has not showed gratitude
to Allah.
So we thank Allah
for different niam, for different blessings, for the
blessing of the prophets of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. We thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for
the blessing of our teachers.
We thank, Allah
for the blessing of our employers.
We thank Allah
for the blessing of our civic leaders. We
ask
Allah
for the blessing of our friends and relatives.
1 of my teachers said that this ayah,
the inshaqatim that is i'dendakum,
this is quote a spiritual law,
a spiritual equation,
that gratitude equals increase.
We'll come back to this ayah inshallah to
Allah. But let's define gratitude.
Ahmad ibn Ajeebar Rahimahullah
to Allah in the famous lexicon.
He defines gratitude. Shukm. He says, gratitude is
the joy of the heart and receiving some
benefaction.
Along with using the limbs of the body
to obey the benefactor, al Munirim,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And humbly acknowledging that
the benefactor is Allah
in one's heart and mind. So he goes
on to say that gratitude has 3 expressions
based on 3 degrees.
The first degree is shukun nigrisan,
is expressing gratitude by verbal
expression, by acknowledging the gift, the nie'mah, the
blessing of
Allah with humility and lowliness.
He says. And he says about this,
So he says the common people, the laity,
they express gratitude to Allah
by verbal praise. Only by verbal praise. This
is how the Amma, this is the laity,
the commoners.
Right? So they simply say Alhamdulillah.
This is one of the quickest and easiest
ways of showing gratitude to Allah
We say on the tongue, Alhamdulillah.
But then the second degree, the higher degree,
he says, shukruum bilbadan
is to express gratitude
with the body by its eagerness to serve.
It is.
And he says,
He says the gratitude of the elect. So
So you have the gratitude of common people,
which is just to say, Alhamdulillah
with the tongue. But then he says, there's
a gratitude that is shown by the Khafsa,
by the elect.
And this is by service to the pillars
of the religion.
So the elect, the Fassa are motivated by
their gratitude
to action. Ihmanu. Allah
says, Ihmanu a laddamu.
And
just a few
are my servants that show gratitude.
And then the 3rd degree he says,
is a type of gratitude
that is manifested into the heart and witnessing
the benefactor in the in the benefactor.
He says, a deep internal appreciation
and love for the
The Munyan is
Allah So he says,
He says that gratitude
expressed by the elect of the elect. So
you have gratitude of the common people, just
to say, alhamdulillah on the tongue. You have
the gratitude of the elect, which is to
say, alhamdulillah
on the tongue, and then be motivated to
good action, righteous action. And then he says,
the gratitude of the elect of the elect.
Is literally an immersion and absorption
in the witnessing of the giver, al mannam.
Allah
So the tongue, the body, and the heart.
So for example, you get a pay raise
at work, you say, Alhamdul baybali. Then they
should motivate you, give some extra sadaqa
as a gesture of thanksgiving. You don't have
to give Allah. Just as a gesture of
thanksgiving that Allah has
given you a meirma. And you wanna show
shukla, you wanna show gratitude.
And then in your heart, you try to
preserve that deep feeling of appreciation and love
for the Munir,
for Al Madan.
The urnama tell the story of the isolated
Abdul Allah
That there was a man who was in
isolation
for a 100 years who made nothing but
a bad death. He never disobeyed Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
And he died on Alayomathayama.
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said to him, enter
my paradise.
By my mercy. And he said, no, my
lord. Be amended by my works.
So then Allah
took all of his good deeds, all of
his righteous actions that he had done throughout
his entire life, and put them on one
side of a nizan,
one side of a scale. And then he
took one nie'mah,
the blessing of eyesight,
just one nie'mah. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
put that on the other side of the
scale. And as soon as he placed that
in no anthropomorphic way on the other side
of the scale, this man's good deeds flew
up into the air.
And the Allah
said, do you wish to continue this type
of reckoning?
And the man said, By
your mercy by your mercy, I shall enter
paradise.
Say, who is the one who created you
and bestowed upon you hearing and sight and
understanding?
Little little thanks do you show. Oftentimes
in the Quran,
Allah
will list his niam,
his blessings,
his gifts, and either say definitively,
That I did all of these things. I
gave all of these things to you, our
humanity, in order for you to be grateful.
In other words, to use them properly. This
is another definition of circle.
To use the blessings of Allah
in ways that are pleasing to Allah
Use your eyes in a way that is
pleasing to Allah
This is a form of shukkuk.
Use your hands, your words, your talents in
a way that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
Or he says it as an interrogative. He'll
rest his he'll rest his nam, his blessings
and his gifts, and he'll say,
will they not show gratitude?
Will they not show gratitude? In other words,
will they not utilize these blessings
correctly as a Jumeet said? Gratitude is that
Allah is not disobeyed
by means of his gifts.
And that you are salallahu be narrated you.
Gratitude is of Allah is
not disobeyed
by means of his gifts.
Now the reason I wanna talk about shulub
is because as an American Muslim community in
these days, we have to be very very
careful about our etiquette
of Adam with Allah And
usually on Eid, a lot of young people
come out. This is directed
mostly towards the young people in high school
and college.
This is a time when there's a lot
of zeal, a lot of energy, but very
little wisdom. It's a deadly combination.
A constant complaining,
that constant criticizing
is dangerous
to our spirituality.
We have to put things in perspective.
If we look around the world,
look into our past, what do we really
have to complain about?
Allah
says, remember this. He says that he showered
you. Literally, he poured down upon you his
blessings, his favors,
apparent and hidden.
That criticizing
is for the learned, not for the highly
motivated.
It's for the highly learning.
If you're going to criticize something,
a people,
or a group, or a race, or an
institution,
You're going to throw words around like bigots,
and misogynists,
and racists, and nazi. If you're going to
march around the streets and wave signs at
people. If If you're going to do that,
you better make sure that the evil is
truly out there and not in here.
You better make sure
that the evil is truly out there and
not in your own heart.
When everyone can remember the faults of others,
first think about your own faults. To make
definitive statements
about complex issues based on anecdotal evidence and
incomplete information
is the height of hubris and it's harmful
to society.
It's harmful to specific individuals.
It's harmful to our spirituality.
And I can't even go to an interfaith
dialogue anymore.
Interfaith dialogue is when we come to these
platforms of spewing ingratitude.
People are just complaining about how terrible things
are, how terrible the country is. This is
what it is now. I remember a time
when we used to talk about Allah and
his messenger.
We used to give to Allah. It's all
based on anecdotal evidence anecdotal evidence. No real
data. For example, they yell up in this
oh, I was walking in the mall one
time, and somebody said, hey, Osama. Go back
to Islam land.
You know the
prophet
in Medina
heard words from people.
In Medina, his own city, the prophet
we really expect this place to be better
than Medina?
We're gonna talk about anecdotal evidence.
In the last 20 years or so,
in my life, maybe 3 or 4 times
I can remember something, some incident happening to
me that I would describe as racist or
bigot. I mean, 3 or 4 times in
20 years, That's pretty good. Right? You need
to put things in perspective.
Wanna talk about anecdotal evidence?
I've lived, I've traveled on the Muslim majority
world.
I've been harassed.
I've been threatened.
I've been discriminated against because of where I
was born, because of what my name is,
because I have a beard.
This is our state. This has happened all
over the world. We have to put things
in perspective. We don't know how good we
have it, to be honest with you. Is
this a perfect society?
Of course not. It isn't. We have to
take a look around the world.
You take a look around the world. Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
Don't be angry. Put things in perspective.
Now the Nasir Badabawiyah,
the prophetic advice,
practical steps on how to,
increase in our shukr. The prophet
he said, look up for 'afira and look
down for dunya.
Look up for 'afira. Don't look down for
'afir. In other words, don't say to yourself,
I pray 5 times a day, but this
cousin of mine, the only prayer is Jumah.
I'm I'm better than him.
It it breeds complacency.
It makes oneself congratulatory,
conceited, and arrogant, delusional. Look up for Aqirah.
I pray 5 times a day, but this
other person over here, he's memorizing the Quran.
He studies 3 hours a day. This is
the right attitude.
And look down for dunya.
Right? Don't look up for dunya.
Look down. And so you you might say,
well, I have an apartment. This person has
a house. It doesn't mean you can't think
about,
improving your condition. But what we're talking about
here is this constant obsessive
discontentment
with one's wealth and one state, one's status.
This engenders ingratitude into the heart. You live
in an apartment with people that are homeless.
Looking up for doing it causes animosity
and self victimization.
Eventually, you start thinking to yourself, I'm not
as good as this person. What's wrong? Someone's
holding me down. It must be that you
become a cynic, and an in break, delusional,
self entitled.
Remember what the prophet
said to Mu'adh? He came to Mu'adh and
he said, oh Mu'adh, I love you, and
I exhort you to say at the end
of every prayer, Allahumma'aniyahadzikrikah
washubrikah
wushriyahab.
That's it. We should learn this du'a if
you don't know it. This is a du'a
that was taught to Mu'a by the prophet
himself after he confided his love in du'a.
He took his hand and said, I love
you. Learn this du'a. How incredibly powerful is
this du'a? Oh, god. Help me.
Help me to remember you. Help me to
be grateful to you, and help me unify
your worship.
You know, there was a certain king who
had it all except Manan,
contentment.
And he would dress up sometimes as a
commoner and walk around the wilderness around this
castle. It just so happens he saw a
pauper, a very poor man
in the distance. And this popper was was
singing the pre thinking of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. You're saying SubhanAllah. SubhanAllah.
SubhanAllah.
So this king approached this man and said,
why? What makes you so joyous?
And the prophet said, why shouldn't I be?
I have clothes that cover my nakedness. I
have a glass of water. I have scraps
of, bread. A blue sky. Birds are chirping.
I have the dhikr alamah spinning on my
tongue and in my heart.
Why shouldn't I be? Why shouldn't I give
gratitude? And the king said, no. I'm the
king of this kingdom,
and I'm just depressed.
So, the pauper said to him, you know,
if you drink half a glass of water
and you were not able to excrete that
water, and it was going to cause infection
and eventually kill you. How much would you
think to be able to just get rid
of that half a glass of water from
your system, from your body?
The king said half my feet. And then
he said, if you were crawling through the
burning desert,
about to die of thirst,
and somebody offered you a half a glass
of water, which would save your life long
enough for someone to rescue you, how much
would you give? He said, half of my
kingdom. So so make it this straight. Your
all of your kingdom is worth a glass
of water.
He said yes. And the prophet said, I
have that. I also have bread.
I have clothes that cover my nakedness. I
have loose knives, birds chirping, and the thinking
of Allah spinning out like clogging in my
heart.
This is a hyperbolic example, but it gets
the point across. You need to put things
in perspective.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
that a man in the court of Sulayman,
alayhi salam, who is described as one who
have knowledge of the revelation, and then he
end the
This person made duas to Allah
and the throne of Bilqis, the queen of
Sheba, was brought to Sudayna al Hayyid Salam.
Imaqtawari Khotubi said this man actually uttered an
Ismuh Avam, the sacred name of Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala.
Ibn Masrut said this man is none other
than the enigmatic
Surah alaihissalam.
Imam al Razi says it's actually describing Surah
alaihissalam
himself. There's opinion regardless.
When the throne was brought
in the presence
of
what did he say?
He said, this is from the grace of
my lord. In order to test me, am
I grateful
or do I disbelieve?
So
in the Quran, in the rhetoric of the
Quran,
in Semitic rhetoric, in general, there is a
concept called binarity.
Binarity means dualism, very prevalent in Semitic literature.
And a very common type of binary is
called parataxis.
Judge to position.
Right? This is when the Quran presents 2
ideas or concepts,
intention or an agreement.
So we see from the Quran that Shukr,
gratitude,
and Kufr,
disbelief,
are juxtaposed
Parataxically,
they are intention.
They are antonyms.
They are opposites.
In other words, ingratitude
is a form of kufur.
To put it differently,
in the Quran,
the word for ingrate
is kafim.
The word for ingrate
is Going back to this ayah. As your
lord declared, if you show a little bit
of gratitude, I will increase you. What a
in kafartum.
Inna'aba'ilashadim.
So these two verbs, shakartum
and kafartum, are juxtaposed
because they are opposites. In other words, to
be ungrateful
is to disbelieve.
Now you see how grave
the issue is here. How grave the concern
is here.
How concerned we should be about this idea
of ingratitude,
constant complaining.
In another ayah, remember me so that I
might remember you.
Be grateful to me and do not disbelieve.
Literally. Be grateful to me and do not
be ungrateful
in meaning.
We show the human being the way. Is
he going to be grateful,
shakir,
or kafoor,
or ungrateful?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says,
What does Allah gain by your punishment?
Inshakartum
wa'amlantum.
If you should be grateful and believe, now
we have synonymous
juxtaposition.
In other words, to be grateful is to
believe
in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's
one of
It's one of the names of Allah
For Allah is, is appreciative
of your service. He's also called a shakur,
the one who is most ready to appreciate
service.
When it comes to ad insan,
the shakur is the one who is grateful
even when he's deprived.
Nuh alayhi salaam is called shakurah in the
Quran.
He marks everything in the w,
and he kept saying, Alhamdulillah.
Alhamdulillah.
The prophet shalallahu alaihi wasalam said,
shall I not be a grateful
servant shakur,
even when I'm deprived
even when I'm deprived.
You know the story of Ibrahim, Ibbu Adham
and Shaikh al Balfi. We'll end with this.
When Shaikh al Balfi saw Ibrahim, Ibbu Adham,
the great saints of the salaf, And he
said to him, Sheikh Ibrahim, give me some
words of wisdom. And Ibrahim said, why don't
you give me some first? And Sheikh Al
Barfi said, well,
this is what we say about shukar and
saber.
We say,
we say,
If we find what we're looking for, then
we show gratitude.
And if we don't find what we're looking
for, then we show patience.
So then Ibrahim, he said,
This is what dogs do.
This is what dogs do. So what do
you say?
Ibrahim ibn al Adhan, he said, Inwajatna,
Farna. If we find what we're looking for,
then we give it out freely of our
selfless, a very high station of
ibah. And if you don't find what we're
looking for,
then we show gratitude. If we don't find,
if we're deprived of something,
we show gratitude. Why? Because we have good
opinion of Allah SWT.
Allah knows exactly what's good for us. Maybe
he's averting something from us.
Have a good opinion of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.