Guarding Our Gratitude

You know, my brothers and sisters, one of the unique aspects of Islam that truly sets it apart is that it delivers people to the details of their well being.

For instance, gratitude, gratitude is a good thing. No one will deny this.

But how do you actually become a grateful person?

This is where all the magic is, if you will, this is where all of the wisdom is.

See in our prophetic tradition, for instance, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam actually taught us how to guard our gratitude from disappearing.

When he said to us, either another hadoo Camila man foot Villa Allah if duniya fall Jamboree, Isla man who has Philomene who for that he can edge a lettuce, their own Yamato Allahu Aliko. He says, when one of you

looks at to those that have been preferred above him in the worldly sense, in some worldly matter, they have better reputation than you. They're better looking than you. They have better financial situation than you, whatever it may be. When one of you is looking, and we all look right, but when you catch yourself staring basically, when you're overly focused on those that have been preferred above you in some respect or another in worldly matters, he said, then quickly look at those beneath you.

For that will make it less likely that you discount you disregard Allah as favors over you.

You know, nowadays, they talk about the dilemma and the challenge of social comparison, we see so much that you're locked into this negative mindset that I'm shortchange that I'm deprived that I don't have. Islam didn't just come and say 1400 years ago, be careful of the psychology of comparison view were of no, it's telling you compare, but compare with the right people. Right? It doesn't just tell you turn off your social media and stop staring at those that are showing you only their highlight reels, but it's telling you not take a walk to the hospital and see those to neutralize it to effectively. You know, equalize offset that ingratitude that will set in when

you're only staring upwards, look downwards as well go do that. Just as much. You know.

That is how you guard yourself against ingratitude. One of the ways at least that Islam guided us to, if a person were to walk through the hospitals, he would realize how many treasures he has. She has that they're totally oblivious to. The Arabs, they used to have this adage, the saying that good health is a crown on the heads of the healthy that can only be noticed by the sick.

You're a king, you're a queen because of your health. You're on top of the world, but only those that don't have what you have. What do you consider the little things or you may not even notice them to begin with? You don't see it, but they see it. Once you go and visit them, it helps a lot.

The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said men also have income admin and physiotherapy. Any one of you who wakes up in the morning secure in his home?

More often fee Bethany has been spared. He's healthy in terms of his body. You can get up and walk to the door and walk out. Neither are your legs immobile. Nor are you in a prison cell where you're not allowed to open the door and just leave. Those are humongous blessings. Whoever Have you wakes up in the morning secure

in their home, spared in their body and in their whole go to Yomi he possessing today's meal or today's expenses for Canada nema. He's at LA who duniya behalf Vidya it is as if he said sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it's as if this entire world from its farthest corners has been collected for him.

That's why you know when a man came to UNICEF and obeyed Rahimullah one of the early Muslims

and great worshipers and scholars, he said to him like times are really rough, economically speaking.

I'm broke I don't have anything and he said would you sell me those eyes that you see with for 100,000 said no, I wouldn't do that. He said to him, how about your legs? Those two legs that take you places would you sell me those for 100,000? It's both no like I would never sell any of my body parts.

He said and then he counted Allah's basic favors for him. And he said to him are in deca, Mina, ooo Finn wattage could hijack? Well, from where I'm standing the way I'm calculating it right now after this conversation, I see that you have hundreds of 1000s you're rich, you have fortunes, and then you telling me you're broke? I don't get it. So that mindset shift that lens, you know, they say that your cognitive lens, how you process things? What do you notice? And what do you don't? Do you have that deficit mindset? Or do you have that abundance mindset, I have it.

Islam told you, you need to take an active role in guarding your lenses in guarding what you are, and aren't looking at if you want to be grateful, because also Islam told us that human nature is that you're going to be forgetful, you're going to forget these things. It's normal. It's normal, that you love this world. And once more of it, it's normal that you just forget things and tend to overlook them. Those are both parts of human nature. So there has to be a very intentional effort to make sure those don't bleed into your life and more importantly, your faith. You know, in the Hadith, and Sunnah, and it's getting me to this point about human nature, it's always been a part of

us. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, when Allah created Adam Alayhis Salam, he showed him his offspring. And then one of you know, his offspring, his descendants was very radiant in the face. And he said, Yeah, Allah, Who is this? He said, that is one of your children, great, great grandchildren that will come at the end of time. And of time, name that would Ali Salam.

Can you imagine where we are now? He says, Oh Allah, how long will he live? Oh Allah give him 40 years from my life.

And so, when it was time for Adam alayhis salam to die, the angel came and the angels only take permission from the Prophets out of just respect for them. This is an honor Allah gave them no distinction. He said to him, Can I take your soul? He said, No, no, hold on. What do you mean take my soul I have 40 more years, Allah told me I have this span.

And so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam commented on that initial resistance of Adam Alayhis Salam, for Jahad, the Adam for Jihad Judaism. Adam denied donating those 40 years it was it's been a while right? So his offspring naturally deny.

He says when ESEA Adam fantasy NESEA Daria to who and Adam for God and likewise his offspring will be bound to forget.

And he said What up?

Rhea to and Adam made a mistake. And likewise, his children will be bound to making mistakes. It's part of our nature and therefore there has to be a very deliberate project on how we work against it. That's the blessing of Islam. It gave you a framework to make sure you don't get destroyed by those tendencies, especially when shaitan also knows those tendencies and has promised to put them in the crosshairs. He's very methodical, very careful knows what he wants to do. Allah told us his words into the law raft to warn us against it. That shaitan said to Mala at Siena. hoomin benei ad he moment, Khalifa Himalayan Imani, I'm going to come to them every direction, front back, right

left.

sumela tells you to check it in. And you will find most of them are going to fail at being grateful. I'm going to distract them and make them forget, I'm going to come from every direction. Notice, by the way, he didn't say I'm going to come from above them. Because he knows he can't come between a person and their Lord, right. He said, I'm gonna come from front and back and right and left. But between you and your Lord is a connection that saves you. Part of that is his care for you and watching over you every single day. Part of that is the revelation he sent down to you. The wisdom in the Islamic framework that helps you get through those hoops gets gets through those hurdles. So

that's the first thing Islam told you. guard yourself against those human tendencies that will give you that deficit mindset that will make you ungrateful, push back against it, guard your mind.

And this, by the way, before I sit down shows you and you can see it without my explanation, but the futility and you know the the shallowness of thinking you will be grateful by just you know, setting one day in the year called Thanksgiving or we're going to remember to be thankful. No, this gratitude has to be an approach you take to life at the attitude of gratitude. They call it right. And that's why it's no wonder that's why it's no wonder that this is the day that we overeat as a culture. And this is a day that people over buy things they can't afford to impress people they don't even know as they say right and they go further and further into interest bearing debts with

credit card and otherwise, it you cannot be grateful when you're trying to remember one day you've reduced gratitude to one day in the year it won't work. I'm not talking about whether like you

to religious holiday or not and permissible or not, but I say this and I will continue to say this. You know about Thanksgiving about Mother's Day about Father's Day that whole concept you know people say but you know it's better than nothing at least or remember it No, it's yes, it is better than nothing. One day is better than no days I agree with you. But what you actually mean with it's better than nothing those who say this is that it's good enough it's not good enough.

The Muslim lives to higher standards were gratitude is a way that we live.

And that way is called Islam shows you how to be grateful so that you meet Allah and He is pleased with you. And enroute to meeting Allah YouTube will enjoy actual meaningful gratitude so you will be pleased they will give you pleasure in this life as well. A call the call we have our stuff for Allah Allah Morocco.

Al hamdu Lillahi wa Salatu was Salam ala Milena via bad Chateau La ilaha illallah wa ala Sharika or shadow anna Muhammad Abdul who whenever you who are pseudo.

Another sacred teaching that Allah has revealed to us in order to guard our gratitude.

Number one is to be protective of our mindset and what affects it and what imprints on it. The second one now is to take advantage of your favors. You see a problem many people have they think gratitude is a feeling.

And you can feel grateful, yes. But where does that feeling come from? How do I get it? You can't strong arm it's gonna be grateful. It doesn't work, right? Gratitude is a lifestyle. It's an approach. If you act like these are blessings that I didn't have to have and will not have forever, you treat them that way, then you will start feeling their value. When you act like this food. I'm not inherently better that I have my meal and someone else doesn't. This is from God. Right? When you treat it that way, by not throwing it out. If I couldn't eat it, I'm gonna put it away safely or I'm gonna find a bird to eat it. But I'm not just going to neglect it. So when you don't act like

your time is unlimited when you don't act like your food is unlimited. When you don't act like your guidance is just automatic. You're supposed to be guided when you don't act like the sun is supposed to come up in the morning, right? That's when you start feeling the value of these things. When you take advantage of them. Otherwise, most people get cheated for them. They cheat themselves for them as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to favor as most people get cheated for as slatwall for our free time, right? You act like you have no free time. You waste your time then you wonder like why don't I feel you know, my day is not a pleasant days, not a productive day. I'm not

contented my day.

And he said ASLHA good health.

You know, even when I said the Sun, the Prophet SAW Selim called our attention to the sun. In that famous Hadith he said Eleazar you know where the sun went? He said Allah and His Messenger know best he said when to prostrate under the throne of God, when the sunset it went to prostrate. Of course, this is not flat earth theory. And all of the Sahaba knew the earth was round as even a husband and it's a me and others mentioned, but they understood it meant in a way we can't understand the Quran says everything glorifies God, we're lacking let us call it us behind we just can't understand how they glorify God. So we can't understand fully in that other dimension, what the sujood of the Sun

looks like. That's why they didn't ask like What house did you have, but isn't the earth because they knew it was round. So they understood he meant something else. So they just took the lesson from it and they said, We don't know where it went. We don't fully comprehend right? The orbiting of the sun.

So he said to them, it went to prostrate under God's throne and seek permission to come up right goes down from the west seeks permission to come up from the east the next morning. And Allah permits it. It's not automatic, it's not a given. Allah permits it to come up one more day permits it to come up one more day, until a day will come when Allah who will not give it permission and say go back where you came from. And that will be the final day on this planet in this universe when the sun comes up from the west.

To see it that way. Changes everything you take advantage of your day. That is why Abdullah and Mr. Rude about this he used to say I don't regret anything, the way I regret another sun setting another sunset, in which my terms getting shorter, and my deeds aren't becoming greater. Like if I ever wasted a day that's my biggest regret because I don't take them for granted. I see it for what it is.

To see that you were born into a Muslim family or brought in contact with Islam and converted to it. This is not a given. Take advantage of that to feel its favor to feel that the treasure you have you got to act first. The feeling comes after the function.

I remember one brother I used to listen to as a teenager in the most

somewhere else he was, you know, in a dark path, he cut school one day also. And he they broke into a youth center and it was closed at the time and they were going into the pool. And he slipped, actually. And he, he hid his neck at the ledge going into the pool, and he's paralyzed for life from the neck down. I'm not sure if he's still life. No, we're not. And they asked him, like, Do you ever wish for something? If you had a wish, like in this world, what would it be?

He said, sometimes I just wish I can get out of this chair and just put my head on the ground. You know, especially all those times I used to skip prayer when I was physically capable of break. Right? And he said, Sometimes I wish I can just get up one day.

He said, I eat or something, and kiss my mom's hand kiss my mom's head. Because everything she does for me, right? She's washing the filth off my body. She's carrying me to the bathroom. This is a grown man. Right? And she's still taking care of me until today like I'm a baby.

So to act like you have parents and not everyone does to act like you have the physical ability to flex down into sujood and humble your body and say Glorified is Allah the Most High. That is how you feel blessed. And you will become pleased in this world and find Allah pleased with you in the next you and then you look for what skill Allah gave you what strength Allah privileged you with now, and you channel it for His pleasure. And I'll close with this incident. One of the books I was working on years ago, translating a famous preacher was traveling around his country collecting funds to build the Masjid. He says, we got to this town where we were seeking out a particular wealthy

philanthropist, businessman and charitable man. We sat with him for a while spoke to him about our project, he wrote us a generous check. And as we're getting up to leave, he takes out a vial of pills. medication. So he said oh and sha Allah here, right? Yes, yeah. And hamdulillah is fine. It's just that I can't sleep without these. I've been living on these for forever. I have insomnia. And there's I become dysfunctional about these pills, but I can't sleep at all. So we made that for him that Allah make this a means of elevation for him and we prayed for his health and we left. He says it was like in the middle of the night and we're driving back to our town. And as we're exiting the

city getting on the freeway, he says there was a big construction site on the highway.

And they had these huge loud generators, pumping powering those lights that they work on at night. work off of Rhonda at night, he says, and right next to the generator generator we're driving past it's so loud, we have to cover our ears. It's deafening. He said there was a piece of dirty cardboard right next to the generator. On top of that dirty cardboard is a barefoot guy taking a nap. This is the night guard of the construction site, sleeping right through it Subhan Allah and Allah chose this man for wealth and he's using it correctly donating for the path of Allah but he can't sleep. Allah didn't give him that ability. This guy is at the bottom of the totem pole,

financially speaking, and he can sleep through a warzone. Right? So what did Allah give you? Channel it for his sake, to be able to taste that treasure you have? May Allah azza wa jal forever allow us to thank Him and worship Him and remember him correctly, every night and every day, and make us of those that never feel like he shortchanging us or depriving us may we be of those who best assume of Our Lord always. And may Allah azza wa jal make us of those who properly rely on him always. May Allah forgive those that have passed and may Allah forgive those that are living. May Allah heal those that are sick and have mercy on those that have died. May Allah aid those going through trials

and ease their exit from it. Allahumma Amin was Salah who said nobody kind of dnm hunting to do it. He was like Ah, man