The Prophetic Remedy 05 – The attitude of gratitude
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Channel: Yassir Fazaga
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We live in a shakedown already in Bismillah Alhamdulillah wa salatu salam ala Rasulillah. In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be upon our beloved prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi salam, I begin by greeting you all Assalamu alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh who made the peace and the blessings of Allah be upon you, your loved ones and all those who are around you, Europa Alameen it good to be with you again. So in sha Allah tonight, there's some reflections on the concept of chakra on the concept of gratitude.
The Quranic term used for the word gratitude is amongst others, the algo language is a very rich language, but one that is most common in the Quran is this idea of Schuco gratitude. And interestingly speaking, subhanAllah the word chukar appears in the Quran in over 70 Different places where we are taught that all the messengers of Allah were grateful. Adam was grateful. Musa Moses was grateful. Solomon Solomon was grateful Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was grateful, and and so on. But PGR Allah tonight would like to reflect on three key concepts about about this. One is when Allah introduces this personality to us, Lachman, Allah tells us well upon Archana Lachman
and HEC Mehta, and each core level, we have indeed granted Lachman wisdom now, Lacan the command was not a messenger of Allah, but rather they say that he was a he was a wise man. We have indeed granted Lachman wisdom. And then the Quran defines what that wisdom is inish Kodaly Allah be grateful to Allah subhanho wa taala. And then immediately the Quran tells us woman in your school, in your school, NFC and whosoever is grateful, they do so for their own good sense of how long gratitude is a matter of the heart. And truly grateful people are more spiritually aware. And they are more likely to appreciate the interconnectedness of personal life to human interdependence, and
our ultimate dependence on our Creator, Allah subhanho wa taala.
And also interestingly, the Quran initiates into the conscience of the believer or the reader of the Quran from the very beginning, it is beginning us at Hamdulillah we have those who are grateful to Allah subhanaw taala, or singing the praise of Allah Subhana Allah God.
And then not only that, but gratitude is considered to be as a positive emotion. Not only that insha Allah throughout this hour will argue that the quickest way and the shortest distance between us and happiness lies in gratitude.
Gratitude is an important positive emotions that relate directly to our mental and spiritual well being. Remember, there was a study that was conducted by UC Davis, and they were looking into the transforming power of thankfulness and gratitude. And they concluded that gratitude and thankfulness may actually undo the effect of negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and so on. And they found out that having gratitude and thankfulness having these feelings, it was found that it was found to have a tremendous value in a person's achieving a positive sense of the self.
And those who feel gratitude are also found to be generally happier people. And the Quran actually says that household remember we said that Allah introduces Lachman as a wise man, and that wisdom was defined by the grateful
dollars per dollar. And then immediately Quran says, Woman Yes score, the enum is good enough See, I've also ever is grateful, they do so for their own good for their own selves. Why is that because they say that people who express gratitude actually become happier, which is Subhanallah incredible because the Quran is telling us that when we extend gratitude to somebody else, we would think that the recipient of gratitude, you know, feels good, because somebody is, you know, appreciating what they have done to him or to her. But the Quran tells us that may be the case, what amongst those who will immediately read the positive impact effect of gratitude or those who are actually extending
gratitude? So Allah says, one way, yes, the enamel, yes, oral enough, see, if you are grateful, you do so for your own good. And that is that is
an incredible
pointed.
And then the other thing also that the Quran tells us
that gratitude in Islam and in the hotel is not something that is recommended. Now granted that it is a virtue, and it is a beautiful virtue. But the Quran does not just stop there. The Quran actually makes it a duty. When speaking to us through the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, Allah tells us, when in love I would walk conveyed a shattering. It says that may worship none but Allah and B there is a command. That's why we say it's a duty, we're calling. And we have those who are grateful, we're calling, minute shattering.
And then the Quran tells us something else.
So the Quran tells us that gratitude is a duty. And then more over the Quran tells us what is the vocal the inch according to the as either sort of Ibrahim Allah proclaims to people,
if you are grateful, I shall truly increase you.
The beautiful part here is that
the Quran does not say, increase you inward. The Quran says, Be grateful, and I shall increase you.
And the question here is increase you can work.
And there are generally speaking three different opinions regarding to God and this
one opinion says,
will increase you in whatever it is that you're grateful for. So if you're grateful for this blessings that you have, Allah will increase you in that blessings. And that may or may not happen many times people can be very grateful for their health and then you know their health goes down, people can be very grateful for their wealth and then they lose their wealth. So be grateful for what you have. But the idea that if I am grateful for it, it will always be there or it will increase. This is something that may or may not happen.
Other people have said if you are grateful, Allah will increase you in contentment,
which is not bad. That's not a bad interpretation at all. And now this idea people do not necessarily measure their success by how much they have or how much they have accumulated. But they you know, this this notion of
this this idea of contentment, they be in more peace with themselves, which is again, definitely a possibility.
Other people have said,
if you are grateful to Allah, for some things, Allah who will increase you in the ability to see more blessings that you would be grateful for. And then if you're grateful for these blessings, Allah will increase you with the ability to see even more of the blessings that you will be grateful for. And if you're grateful for them, Allah will increase you again in the ability to see more of how blessed you are so that you increase in your sense of gratitude. Allah knows best, Allahu Allah. I really really like this interpreted
And that is, when we think of gratitude. The tendency is that we tend to be grateful for big things.
And many times, little things, we don't necessarily treat as a blessing, we start taking it for granted, until we actually miss it. A good example in point would be what's going on nowadays, a good number of people hated their jobs. But now, man, I can't wait to go back for
a good number of people, you know, the idea of this being out the idea of so many of these blessings that we were taken for granted, and not even preceding as blessings. Now we start, you know, the idea of this being out, without having to worry whether the person next to us is infected with the virus, they're going to pass it on this end of this feeling Subhan Allah save, that I can be out without any concern for viruses, nobody, or I shouldn't say nobody, very few people will have thought of this as this is something that I need to be grateful for. So now most of us are engaged in wanting to practice gratitude. When we think of big things that are happening in our lives, I'm
grateful for my health. I'm grateful for my family. I'm grateful for this. And I'm grateful for that, which is good. And please continue doing this. That is why the Quran challenges us were encouraged to not Allah elaborate sober. And if you attempt to enumerate the blessings of Allah upon you, you will never be able to count them. It doesn't mean you shouldn't cry. But there is just so much out there that we ought to be grateful for. And sometimes we forget, we forget about this.
And the Prophet salallahu Alaihe Salam would remind us of these of these things. So the Prophet peace be upon him, you know, he would say, in the Lucha lair, and Abu Dhabi is a kind of sharing of Shabbat, the mother who Allah, truly Allah who is a is pleased with the service of his him or her, that when they have a plight, or a morsel, or when they take a sip, they are grateful to Allah subhanaw taala. In other words, we don't necessarily wait for the big things to happen in order for us to express gratitude.
For in the Hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would say, but as an NPC to be more of an eagle than we are in the Hoko to meet up at that level, and also ever wakes up in the morning in the state of
permanent PCB feeling, feeling safe, feeling safe 130, but then he helps me in his physical
be, and they have their sustenance for the day, it is as if that this whole world has been presented to them. Because by the end of the day, many people do not have these basic necessities. And if we did not have these basic necessities, such as a sense of safety, in the state of well being, and having enough to sustain for the day, life would become incredibly, incredibly difficult.
Or the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would go to bed, and before going to sleep, he would immediately say, Alhamdulillah, the apartment was up on what I wanna work Asana, for covenant Malama we are all praise is due to Allah to private Medina, who has given us food for the day, given us water for the day from the apartment, or Sahara, or Awana. And who has given us shelter, work. Now, some people say that love was to kill for us. And then he said, Allahu alayhi wa sallam will say, for Where are many who are spending the night with no shelter, with no food, with no drink, and with no loved ones, to care, to care for them.
So, the more gratitude we we express, the happier we become, but only the happier we become, the more pleasant we become. Because remember, a person who is grateful is a person who is constantly busy with what they have, and not necessarily consumed by what they do not have. Remember, the idea is not that you shouldn't look forward to things that that that is, that is not it. But generally speaking the ACT
A group of people who are grateful is that they are just constantly consumed by this assumption, perception. Attitude is like, they are just blessed, no matter how others may perceive their,
their life.
Graphically, people who are grateful, and that is their attitude in life, they are actually pleasant people.
They're pleasant people simply because it is positive energy that they radiate.
They there is nothing wrong with complaining. But people who have taken this approach in life, where they're just constantly, you know, consumed by what they do not have that this becomes a very problematic, problematic way of, of, of living life. And not not only that, but the company is usually not greatly appreciated by those who are around. And that is why it's very crucial, you know, this, this notion of
having that pleasant personality, we, where the people around the actually enjoy your company, it is not necessarily by how much we give them. It has a great deal to do with also by the kind of attitude, and the atmosphere that we create. When people are around us. This notion of feeling blessed. I remember Subhan Allah, one time I was, I was walking towards early in the morning, and I passed by, you know,
by this elderly African American woman. And I said, you know, we greet each other. Good morning. Good morning. And then I said, passing by VHS, how are you doing? And you know, unfortunately, nowadays, most of these,
most of these things are a cliche, meaning that I don't really mean what I said, I really don't care for the answer. And I really don't expect anything from the other question, Hey, how are you doing? Find it, we just move on, hey, what's going on? What's up, and we just, it is done out of politeness. But this is what we call a cliche way of communicating, where I don't mean it, nor am I expecting any answer. And the other person also knows this about me. And this is just how it is. So I am walking paths in Good morning, good morning, I said, How are you doing? And then this is what this woman said. She said,
I am blessed. And I remember.
She said, I am blessed. And I love the conviction in her voice, the energy by which she said it, the way that she was walking, and just the emphasis in that statement. I've never heard somebody say it that way.
So miss it, I am blessed
as Pamela, you know, tendency, again, is people say I'm doing good, everything is fine. Hey, you know and so on. What this woman just to scream, I am blessed. And man, I just love the Lord, I love the conviction that was in the voice and in the in the in the hole. And I said Subhanallah This is somebody who really feels who will feel blessed May Allah, Allah guide
me did you get the impression that this was a beautiful soul that you were
that you have that you have encountered
another point which is also very, very crucial.
When it comes to gratitude, please remember that gratitude is an absolute
meaning we should not be guilted into feeling gratitude. Give you an example. You give your child something to eat. And then the cat says no, I don't like it or I don't I don't want
and then we immediately worked into oh, you should be grateful. You know, there are kids in Africa, in Asia in South America who do not there are people out here who do not even have that
limit, especially when we are talking when we are talking to kids. Or you know here I come and my client wants a brand new phone. I tell you oh come on my God to be grateful. You know, some kids in Africa don't even have food to eat. So remember this as a child. Okay, I feel sorry for these kids who have nothing to eat. But why do what why? Why are you making me resent kids that I have not seen? No
I am not getting what I want, because somebody else does not have something to remember. It is a good point. But that is not how we teach gratitude. You do not guilt people into gratitude. Ultimately, many times, we have to think about how fortunate we are. And one of the ways that we believe that we are fortunate is when we consider people who are less fortunate than we are. That is one of the ways to become grateful. But it cannot be our lifestyle of practicing gratitude. I'm really hoping that I am making this I am making this clear. So So remember, it is one of the ways but it cannot be the only way. So the the Hadith the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was
approached by a Bowser, beautiful complaining of his abuser seizes the opportunity that we it was Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he says the Arasu Allahu Allah cine or messenger of Allah give me an advice. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, Come on, you know, it's nine different advisors that Nissa Allahu alayhi wa sallam gives him and then he said, over in Armand Brewer, duna, walla Tambo, elaborate homophobe, the indelicate edge, there are letters there in Yarmouth, Allahu Allah. He said,
when it comes to this worldly life, he said, consider those who are less fortunate than you are not those who have more than you do. Lest you belittle the blessings of Allah upon you. Because sometimes, when we are engaged in seeing what other people have, that we don't have, we tend to forget how blessed we are. So the prophets of Allah Azza wa sallam said, That is that is not
there is not, that is not good. Because in so many ways, we are so unbelievably blessed. Again, not to guilt the people, like I said, gratitude is something that is done. You know, it's that sense of duty and exact positive emotion and what have you, but don't, don't get into because you're feeling good. It's one of the ways, but it cannot be the only the only way. So just to give you an example, sometimes we forget how blessed we are.
percentage wise,
how many people in the world out there hold a bachelor's degree?
And how many what's the percentile in the world like the number not not the number the percentage of people who hold a bachelor's degree
less than 5%
less than 5% You know, that means if you have
a bachelor's degree,
you are doing at least academically
on paper, you are doing better than 95% of the entire population of the earth. Just think just think about that like there is how blessed you are, you are doing better than 95% of the people on planet Earth. That is incredible.
So one of the ways that we can imbibe gratitude and consider gratitude is this idea of, I am so blessed in what I have. I am so blessed in comparison to those who are less fortunate than mine. But that's not the only thing that we are to be grateful for. There are there are other ways of
feeling gratitude. So for example,
you know, they say that Be thankful and I really don't know who said said this, I apologize I did not find who said this, but it's beautiful. I want to make sure that I attributed to the sale we say the beasts and food that you do not have that you do not already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to
one of the blessings is we do not have everything that we desire, because if we did, the idea of looking forward to something would actually not be good. Now have you thought of this like this is a blessing that I need to be grateful for you know, that idea of suspense and just looking forward to do something to get something and
if that was not there, life would be absolutely boring.
Okay.
Be thankful they say that you don't know everything.
For it gives you the
opportunity to learn, if we knew everything, then what would be there for us to
learn,
they say Be thankful for your limitations, because they give us the opportunity to improve,
return to when you are tired and weary. Because it means that you have tried to make a difference, be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character, and so on. So the point is, you know, the practice of finding things to be grateful for is just unbelievably
gorgeous. And it is an it is beautiful, and it is a talent.
And the more we practice of it,
and the more we find out how blessed we are, then you start finding all these little things to be to be grateful for. Remember, one time, I was at
a bookstore. And here I am, and looking for different books. And I remember I grabbed this book, and it said 365 things to be grateful for.
And the book was, was in the form of pictures, there wasn't really much that was said, but it was in the form of pictures, you know, we just say like, we will have a title, and then whatever, you know, that that corresponds with.
And I remember, number three was chocolate chip cookies.
Number seven,
was Tom in jail. And I remember I was going through the book, and I feel like this was the silliest thing ever.
And then after a while I started looking back and say, See, what this person was trying to tell us is that it is our ability to be grateful
for these
little things that will give us the opportunity to be grateful for the big things.
And subhanAllah. Again, I don't mean to really repeat this, but I really want to make sure that Insha Allah we drive this home tonight, those of us who think of gratitude for the big things only, or I'll be happy when I get my promotion, when we buy a new car or when we move to the big house or how often it is going to happen or when I graduate, how, how often is this going to happen. So, sometimes we limit our opportunities for for the, for the to feel that happiness. By having these small erroneous perceptions. The fastest way to be happy is to express gratitude.
The easiest way to bring positivity in your life is to practice gratitude. One of the quickest ways to imbibe a lesson personality would be to practice gratitude. One of the ways to attract positive energy and give those around you positive energy is to practice gratitude.
One of the names of Allah subhanaw taala is a Shaku
along with is grateful.
Now we being grateful, we understand,
why would Allah be grateful? You know, we, we there is that sense of gratitude that you know, we have been the recipients of something meaning that I received the blessings from Allah, Allah, Allah a favor from this person they get from that person. So for me to practice, gratitude is understandable. Totally understandable. I have received something and I'm expressing my appreciation by gratitude.
Why would Allah be grateful Subhana mortality, because there is nothing that we can give him. He's not the recipient of of anything. And as we've been saying, We cannot make Allah greater than how great he already is. There is nothing that we can offer Allah's product, there is absolutely nothing that if we do we would make a lot greater. There is nothing that we can do to diminish the greatness of Allah, Allah and that is one throw out the Quran. Allah Subhana Allah tells us woman just got in NEMA is calling us if you're grateful you do so for your own good man Jeremiah, the neffs, whosoever struggles to become a better ex for you
All good and and so on. So what is Allah grateful for some final guide. In that sense we would say that Allah Subhana Allah appreciates the effort that was done by his servants, and he gives them back. Now check this out this little thing with language you. So they say that initially Shankara that's the root verb of the word shall call or gratitude in an hour Ravi Shankar they say that this was a language that was used by the farmers, where a farmer would say that I have a tree on my tree is very Shakira, it is very grateful.
And he will say, little maintenance and little water, but it gives me that abundance, in in, in fruits, meaning that the effort that I have put into this tree does not really equal, what I am reaping of this of this tree. So the person would look into that tree and say, this tree is very, very grateful for the little that I am giving it, it is given me a lot in return. So Allah Subhana Allah says, Even though what you have done
does not benefit me. But for that effort, Allah Subhana Allah says, I will appreciate the effort that you have done, and I will reward you with with this. And now here the idea is Allah subhanaw taala is not looking for a lot of things. But rather Allah Subhana Allah tells us that what we what will make a difference for us is a huge complex and
Who amongst you is going to have the best of deeds, not the most of deeds, but rather, the best of deeds and that's what we ought to be looking for and that's what we ought to be
destroyed striving for. So, please remember that, that that this idea of gratitude is not something that we
that we go into by by job and then the last point as I am looking into Allah into the garden, any questions, the last point that I hope inshallah we can we can do is
having a family meeting and just asking people, what it is that you are grateful for, you know, get your family together, get your
get your kids and spouses and they speak about you know, what is it that you are grateful for, you know, have
have people write about, you know, what are the things that they are thankful for and what happens online be amazed by the kind of response that
that you that you will go there
okay
so, yes, so yeah, please do if you have a question, then this is where we can go inshallah to type in your, your online questions, online questions, that way you can go to type in a question, and I think you can write on the chat, as well. For right now. And then finally, gratitude is this beautiful
virtue that is seldomly practiced the teachings of the poor
what happens? The Quran tells us, we're commonly known, whenever the short
time it is very few of my servants, who actually practice gratitude.
And that is, and we really want to be amongst the few that practice gratitude.
Give you an example. There was a study that was conducted, they had 400 people
on the week and they gave them a task.
And the task was, find somebody in your life that has done you something good. And you do not think that you have felt them enough. If you have or that you just did not get the opportunity to send them. And throughout the weekend, we want you to identify 10 people in your life. And we want you to write them a write them a thank you letter. That is at least one paid.
So 400 people
and here's the thing, they gave the task to 200 of the 400
If so 200 people were given that task. And the other 200 people were not given any task.
When they studied the same people,
after the weekend, it turned out that the 200 people who had the task of identifying somebody in their life that they were thinking of expressing gratitude to, were actually happier than the people who were not given that task.
Because now what happens is that this person is thinking throughout the day, you know, I'm just going to find somebody, I'm going to write them this note, and I will be telling them about this. And I will be telling them about that, it turned out that these people would actually have
alone an invitation to myself, and to all the brothers and sisters out there listening, see if you can practice this, see if you can practice it as a family and practice it as, as an individual, finding people that we have not expressed appreciation to be teachers, doctors, friends, family members, parents, even if that person is no longer with us, they have passed away, may Allah bless their souls, you know, you still want to write that letter of appreciation to them.
And I remember a friend of mine, and I said, you know, why don't we do this? Why don't we identify somebody every month, and just give them a call. And let them know how much we appreciate them, what difference they got in our lives, and how it is because of them, you know, I am, where I am, or how it is that they have.
Now remember, the response was
amazing.
And what I remember here is, you know, the, the recipient of the appreciation was really happy. But then the impact that it had on those who in practicing it, I bet you it was a lot more than the recipient and the recipient.
And that's where I always remember this idea of where Allah Subhan Allah, please, when they score in your schools. And if you are grateful, you do so for your own good. Let's appreciate our loved ones, our family members, our friends, our teachers, coworkers, you know, the people around us, there's a lot when we went when this is how we behave, you know, that that attitude of gratitude. Like I said, I believe that life becomes happier, it becomes more positive. Those who are around us they would really consider our company to be to be to be a joy. May Allah subhanaw taala make us amongst those who are grateful you're Brown and may Allah subhanaw taala give us the ability to see more and more
things that we are
that we are grateful for
him here's a question from an atheist it has nothing to do with the with the topic, but he's talking about you know, what the religion is in Makkah how the people living at post Cray
and fast annex April this brother is our brother in humanity.
So, you know, there is this idea of in Makkah, so what makes me special is, remember, Mirka hosts, we first house that was built and dedicated to monotheism by Ibrahim ralawise. So when all believers pray, and they pray toward smoker, the idea is that we are orienting ourselves to the way of Ibrahim Abraham, Alec the salah is the father of monotheism. So that is that is what we are doing, orienting ourselves to the way of Ibrahim Alayhi Salam. And we pray when it is time to pray. So you pray when it is time to play in your region, not when it is time to pray in Makkah, so every region has its own time. And of course, everybody is directing themselves towards Makkah, depending on on on where
they are. But thank you for listening and thank you for your thank you for your question.
And again to all the people who have allowed us to spend a part of the evening with them. Joseph Murphy
and as we always like to do, you know, pray for those of us who are struggling. So if any of our if any of us or our loved ones
is not feeling well. Well if my brother granted a speedy recovery, if any of our loved ones has passed away in May Allah, Allah bless their souls. If anyone is going through difficult times may Allah subhanaw taala ease the pain, they are blossoming. And please do continue watching us every night within our
massages in the Memphis area. We have something going on every night and many times we have also other activities that are taking place through the through the date. Please look into that and inshallah we will see you tomorrow. I believe it is going to be Sheikh Mohammed brochettes. Anwar. So inshallah with this we say a Salam alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Y'all have a blessed Good night.