Thanking Allah for Your Blessings

Thanking Allah for Your Blessings

Opening Supplications

"Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the wickedness of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, there is none to misguide him; and whomever He misguides, there is none to guide him. And I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partners; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger."

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]."

"O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer."

"O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment."

"Thereafter, the truest of speech is the Book of Allah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of matters are those that are newly invented, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah (innovation), and every bid'ah is misguidance."

Times of Change

When there's change in the air, we turn back our clocks. When the warm air of summer becomes chilly and the dreary skies come over our heads, we turn the clock back an hour. In the UK, on the last Sunday in October, we turn the clock back. Today in the United States of America, Americans will be turning the clock back more than 100 years. Why? It's inauguration day in the United States of America. It's the first day of Donald Trump's America.

One hundred years ago, people were judged by the color of their skin. They were not given the opportunities that others had because of race, religion, beliefs, or just because of the color of a person's skin. Times change. Times change. There was a lot of change that happened in the last 10 years or so.

The State of the Ummah

When we listen to the news, when we read the papers, we hear about so much oppression, so much killing, so much suffering in the Ummah. Yes, the Ummah in general, not just America, is going through great challenges. But we as Muslims, we always have to be positive and to try our very best to try to make a difference.

When you see in the news, when you hear and when you read the papers, we see that Muslims are suffering all over the place. And you want to make some change, you want to do something about it. What can we as Muslims, we're living in the West, what can we do?

Allah is Testing Everyone

Well, first and foremost, Allah is testing those who are being tested in Syria, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, Somalia, and other places in the world. They don't have what we have. They are making dua to Allah for many of the things we take for granted every single moment. They are making dua for peace, for a shelter over their heads. A person when I met, even said a couple of months ago, they didn't have food, and then when he first saw a piece of fresh bread, tears came down his eyes and he said, "For the last three months, we never had anything close to this."

We have so much, so much blessings, yet we don't appreciate and we're not thankful for the blessings that we have. Allah is testing them, those who are going through difficulties, and there are people who are put in situations that are unimaginable.

Stories from the Refugee Camps

Now, a couple of months ago, a close friend of mine went to a refugee camp, not in Syria, in Indonesia. A boat came into shore, and they put fences around that boat and it became a refugee camp, a boat. They had fled from Myanmar, which was called Burma before. Their villages were burnt. Young and old were killed.

A woman came—before I get to that, actually at the refugee camp, my friend said a man came with a young baby, a toddler. And he said, "This daughter here, this young girl here, is not my daughter. Her mother ran towards the boat that was about to leave shore." And they did not know, of course, whether this boat is going to survive or not. The borders were closed and they had nowhere to go except for that open ocean.

And she came with a baby in her hand, but the boat was full. There were already people hanging to the sides of the boat. And she knew that if she were to return, the likelihood—and Allah knows best— of her survival was very slim. So she said to this man who was on the boat, she said, "Please take my daughter and take care of her."

Imagine if that was, if that were our sons and daughters, our children. This is what, these are the situations that people are putting in the world right now. They're making dua for things we take for granted every single day. And Allah is testing them with difficulties.

We Are Also Being Tested

But what we fail to realize is that Allah is also testing us. Allah says:

"And We test you with evil and with good as trial."

All the blessings that we have is also a test for us. There are also trials and tribulations for us to see whether we're thankful for those blessings or not. And are we thankful for those blessings? Think about it and think about the situation of the people around the world right now.

A Lesson from Home

Sometimes we watch the news and we're saddened by some of the things that happened. My son, this is when he was younger, he was younger and it was dinner time. My wife said to him, "Son, finish your food." And he still had a little bit left. She said, "Finish your food. Do you know how many people in the world are suffering right now in Iraq, in Somalia?" This is what she was saying to my son.

And my son he wasn't being, quote unquote, smart or anything like that, it was just the natural instinct of children—but he was very smart. He said, "Mother, if I finish this, how is it going to help the children of Iraq?" And it took us, we were taken aback. He said, "You're right. We're going to eat a little bit less and we're going to try to save up and we're going to help those who are in need. And we're going to remember and we're going to be thankful to Allah by spending more of our wealth in the obedience of Allah."

The Real Problem

There are people who are suffering and they're being tested. But you know, we are also being tested. Our tests, our trials and tribulations—for most of us, of course, we all go through difficulties—but for many of us, we have so much blessings that we don't think about. There's so many things, so many things we have, yet we still complain. Yet we still write about, even posted on the internet, saying that we have this problem and that problem.

You know, most of the time, the problem isn't the problem. For most of us, the problem is thinking that the problem is greater than what it really is.

How to Be Thankful to Allah

And so, how can we be thankful to Allah? Being thankful to Allah requires us to remember Allah often, but also use those blessings that He has bestowed upon us in the obedience of Allah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari 3158, Sahih Muslim 2961)

The Prophet said: "It's not poverty that I fear for you. It isn't poverty, but what I fear is that the dunya will be opened up for you just like it was opened up for all the others, the other nations before, and it will destroy you just like it destroyed those before you."

That's the trials and tribulations of prosperity. When we're thankful for something, Allah increases it for us. When we're thankful for the health that we have and we use it in the obedience of Allah, Allah increases that for us. When we're thankful for the wealth that we have and we spend that wealth in the obedience of Allah, Allah increases it for us.

"If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]."

Using Our Blessings Properly

Being thankful to Allah requires us to use those blessings in the obedience of Allah. And that's why the scholars have said there's nothing wrong with amassing wealth in this world. There's nothing wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with being rich. Anything of this dunya that you have will not harm you if you're thankful for it. And that's why, whatever you have, it's good to have money, but spend that in the obedience of Allah when you have the opportunity.

So whenever there is a need—let's say, for example, there's a fundraiser for a masjid or for a school, or for those who are in need in the refugee camps, for the refugees leaving Syria or those who have arrived in Europe and they are in need—and you have that, you have the money to help, you don't have much but you do have some, and they're asking you for help. When you spend your wealth in the obedience of Allah, that shows that you're thankful for the wealth that you have. And that's when you pass the test, when you use those blessings properly.

The great companions of the past, like Abu Bakr, they had an abundance of wealth, yet they used that in the obedience of Allah to help in the advancement of Islam and the Muslims.

The Best Dua

And that's why every single day we should ask Allah, we should make dua to Allah to help us be thankful for the blessings that we have.

Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, he said, "I thought and I was reflecting about the best dua that a person could make." And he said, "And so what I realized was it was the dua that the Prophet taught us."

And that's why the Prophet used to teach this to the companions. In fact, one time he said, he said, "I surely love you." So, you know, when you love someone, you want the best for them. Like, he's telling, he said, "I love you, and I want the best for you." So he's going to give him advice from the depth of his heart so that it could benefit him in this life and the hereafter. "And don't ever, do not leave or abandon this dua that you should say at the end of every prayer." And some of the scholars said the end of every prayer before you say the tashahhud, but also at other times also.

"O Allah, help me to remember You, to be grateful to You, and to worship You in an excellent manner." (Sunan Abi Dawud 1522, Sunan al-Nasa'i 1303)

"Oh Allah, help me to remember You." You remember Allah, but you should always make dua that Allah helps you to remember Him, because no one can help you be righteous and pious and obedient to Him except He Himself. So continue to supplicate that Allah helps you to remember Him.

The Importance of Dhikr

And the remembrance of Allah is something that we can do at all times, whether you're driving or you're walking or you're working. You can always be in the state of the remembrance of Allah. This is so important that he says, "I love you, and I want the best for you, so continue and ask Allah to help you remember Him. Allahumma a'inni ala dhikrika, and also be thankful to You, wa shukrika, wa husni ibadatik."

And of course, we've been created to worship Him and also to perfect, to perfect our worship of You, O Allah. What, how can we do that? Because there are some people, they're getting old in age, but their prayer is still the same. They still don't know what they're saying in their prayers. In the prayer, they haven't memorized any new duas for the last 20 years in prayer. Ask Allah to help you perfect His worship. And the perfection of worship entails that we worship Allah sincerely and correctly-sincerely and correctly—husni ibadatik, doing well. And that's why focus, focus on excellence in our prayer and in our acts of worship.

And so the Prophet ordered us to do this after every prayer, at the end of each prayer, to be thankful, to ask Allah that Allah helps us to be thankful to Him.

The Danger of Losing Blessings

Al-Fudayl ibn 'lyad (rahimahullah) said, "Continue to be thankful for your blessings, because rarely is a blessing taken away from a people and then it's given back."

And that's why be thankful to Allah for the blessings that we have, but continue to be thankful for those blessings. If you're thankful for the money that you have, spend it in the obedience of Allah. If you're thankful for the children that you have, teach them to be obedient to Allah.

Being Thankful When Confronted with Sin

And whenever you are put in a situation where you're confronted with sins and you're thinking about committing a sin or doing something that is displeasing to Allah, think about your blessings. Think about the blessings that Allah has given to us. How can we use the eyes that we have to disobey

Allah? The ears, the faculty of hearing that Allah has blessed us with, how can we use that in the disobedience of Allah when He has given that to us? How can we disobey Allah with them? It is He who gave it to us.

And that's why when you are confronted with sins, confronted with a sin, like Prophet Yusuf (alayhi salam), when the wife of the Aziz came forward, "Here I am," and so he's confronted with this sin, what does he say?

"I seek refuge in Allah." (Quran 12:23)

No one can be saved from sin except, can save you from sin, except Allah. Seek help from Him. And then what does Prophet Yusuf say?

"Indeed, He is my Lord. He has made good my residence." (Quran 12:23)

Surely Allah, my Lord—and one of the two opinions, and this is the stronger opinion—rabbi here is my Lord, Allah has been so generous to me, so kind to me. He has provided me with so much. So the Prophet Yusuf is thinking about all the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon him. Think about all the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us. He has given you so much. How can you be disobedient to a Lord that has given you so much?

The Greatest Blessing: Faith

So be thankful to Allah in all situations and cases. But whenever you are confronted with a sin, think about the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us. The greatest blessing that Allah has given to us is the blessing of iman and faith. There's nothing greater than that. The blessing of Islam is the greatest blessing.

We can die and our children can die of thirst and hunger, but if they have (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - la ilaha illallah muhammad rasulullah) then they will insha'Allah still be successful. And they can have the whole world, and we can have the whole world at our hands, but if we don't have (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ - la ilaha illallah muhammad rasulullah) then all of that is worthless.

The greatest blessing that we have is our faith and our deen and our religion. And that's why living in this society right now, in the times that we are living in right now, we have to hold on to those, we have to hold on to this blessing. We have to hold on to our deen.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2260)

For the Messenger of Allah said: "There will come a time upon the people when one who holds on to his deen will be like one who holds on to burning coal."

Can you hold on to burning coal? It's difficult. But that's your success in this life and the hereafter. Your success in this life and the hereafter depends upon you holding on to this deen and you realizing that this is the greatest blessing that Allah has bestowed upon us.

Being Thankful for Our Faith

But how can we also be thankful for it? Being thankful for it entails that we put it into practice. Put it into practice. Learn our deen properly and then also share it with others. Show people what Islam really is in the times that we are living in right now, especially with the condition of the world right now where Islam has come to the forefront. People are speaking about Islam and the Muslims every single day. It wasn't like this 20, 30 years ago. But now it's come to the forefront, which means that we have the opportunity to show people what Islam really is. And that's why we have to take advantage of this opportunity by being the best Muslim that we can be, to show people what true Islam is.

What is True Islam?

And what is true Islam? True Islam entails that we become, that we have to be the best example for others, embodying the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah in our daily lives, following in the character, learning from the character of the Prophet Muhammad.

And that is why we have to be the best. We can no longer just be ordinary. We have to be extraordinary. We can no longer just be different. People out there