Khutbah Giving Thanks to Allah ~ Shaykh Dr

Khutbah: Giving Thanks to Allah

Shaykh Dr. Yasir Qadhi

Opening

Verily, all praise is due to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We praise Him and we seek His help. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the consequences of our actions.

Indeed, whomever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah chooses to misguide, none can guide him back to the straight path. I bear witness and I testify that there is no deity worthy of our worship other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And I bear witness and I testify that Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Arabi is the final prophet and the most perfect worshipper of Allah.

As to what follows, our Lord has reminded us in the Quran to always be conscious of Him. As He says:

O you who believe! Be conscious of Allah as He deserves that you are conscious of Him. And do not die except in a state of Islam.

The Countless Blessings of Allah

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, the blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has bestowed upon us cannot even be counted. As Allah says in the Quran:

If you were to try to count the blessings of Allah, if you were to try to enumerate the blessings of Allah, you would never be able to finish that list.

And some of these blessings we can think of and know. And there are yet many blessings that we are not even aware of. In other words, many blessings of Allah, we cannot even imagine them.

We don't even know that they are blessings. As Allah says in the Quran:

And I have enveloped you. Asbagh is a beautiful verb. I have enveloped you. I have immersed you in my blessings. Some of them are open and clear, Zahira. And some of them are Batina. You don't even know them, they are hidden. And they are secret to you.

The Purpose of Creation: To Thank Allah

So dear brothers and sisters, in light of these blessings, what is our wajib? What is required of us? Many are the things that are required. But today's khutbah will concentrate on one of the most important characteristics of the believer. And one of the most important manifestations of appreciating Allah's blessings on us.

And that is being thankful to Allah. The concept of shukr, the concept of being thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In fact dear brothers and sisters, one of the purposes of being created by Allah, one of the purposes of us being here, one of the divine wisdoms of our existence, is to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah says in the Quran:

We have created man from a mixture of fluids, so that we may test him. And we have made him hearing and seeing.

We showed him the path. The choice is his. We created him. We gave him hearing and seeing. We showed him the path. And now the choice is his. There are only two options. (إِمَّا شَاكِرًا وَإِمَّا كَفُورًا) Either he shall be grateful, or he shall reject and be kafur.

Shukr and Kufr: Opposites in the Quran

Now notice here, and this will be a theme of our khutbah, that shukr and kufr are actually opposites in the Quran and in the Arabic language. Shukr and kufr are opposites.

Either you are thankful to Allah, or you reject Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by being ungrateful. Why is kufr the opposite of shukr? Because the greatest ingratitude is to deny the worship and the existence of Allah. The greatest ingratitude is to turn away from submitting to Allah.

And that is kufr. To not be a Muslim is kufr. So the greatest ungratefulness is to simply not accept the religion of Islam.

And hence shukr and kufr are antonyms, they are opposites. Either you are thankful or you reject Allah, and you are therefore a kafir. And therefore, kufr also translates as ingratitude, ungrateful.

The First Commandment of Gratitude

Why? Because the height of being ungrateful is to reject the worship of Allah, which is to reject being a Muslim. And remember one of the very first commandments that Allah Azza wa Jalla has in Surah Al-Baqarah:

Remember me, I shall remember you. And thank me and do not commit kufr against me.

Once again, shukr and kufr are made opposites of one another. (وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ) Be thankful, be appreciative, and do not commit kufr of me.

The Story of Sulaiman

In fact, every blessing that Allah has given us, one of the main purposes of that blessing is so that we thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Think about that and let that sink in. We are blessed, and we are continue to be blessed. And Allah continues to shower us with blessings, in order to see whether we are thankful for those blessings.

In the beautiful story of Sulaiman (peace be upon him), when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed him with all of these powers to control the creation and to speak to the ants, and to cause the jinn to do this and that. And we know in the story of the queen of Sheba, he brings forth by the pleasure and the will of Allah, he asked the jinn to bring this chair, this throne. From Yemen to Jerusalem, the throne is transported in the twinkling of an eye.

And when he sees this majestic throne, and he sees the blessings that Allah has given him, what does he say?

This blessing that Allah has given me, it is from Allah (هَٰذَا مِن فَضْلِ رَبِّي) It is from Allah's blessings upon me. Why? (لِيَبْلُوَنِي) So that he may test me. (أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُ) Once again, the antonym is what? To thank or to do kufr.

Once again, the opposite of shukr is kufr. Because if you do not thank Allah, then you have committed kufr.

If you do not acknowledge and accept and appreciate what Allah has given you, you are not a Muslim, this is kufr. So, Sulaiman says, Allah has blessed me with all of this to test me whether I am thankful or I am ungrateful. And the word again for ungrateful is kufr.

The Relationship Between Shukr and Iman

Therefore brothers and sisters, shukr and iman are synonymous in many ways. In other words, if shukr and kufr are opposites, and iman and kufr are opposites, follow me, right? Shukr and kufr are opposites, correct? And iman and kufr are opposites, correct? So then what becomes the same or homonyms? Iman and shukr become the same. They overlap with one another.

If you believe in Allah automatically, there's an element of shukr. Automatically you've acknowledged Allah has blessed me. And the more you believe in Allah, the more you will thank Him.

And the more you thank Allah, the more you will believe in Him. So iman and shukr are related to one another. In fact, one of our scholars of the past, Al-Fayruz Zabadi, said that shukr is one of the highest levels of iman.

Shukr is one of the highest levels of iman because it incorporates within it many other pillars of iman, such as belief in Allah, and affirming Allah's power, and affirming that Allah has the right to be worshipped, being content with what Allah has given you. If you think about it, if you have reached the level of shukr, you have automatically passed by many other levels that must be believed and to be a believer. Shukr is one of the highest levels of iman because you cannot climb to the level of shukr without going over many other necessary requirements of belief.

Yet you can have those requirements without getting to shukr. So shukr is at the top of the pyramid of iman. And if you have it, then automatically you have many of the other pillars of iman.

The Pillars of Shukr

Now we understand from the Quran and even logically that Allah جل و عز deserves to be thanked. The fact of the matter is we don't really need Quran, we understand even here, that even if there were no verses in the Quran about shukr, it's understood that we thank the one who has blessed us. And the question therefore arises, how is the shukr to be done? What is shukr? And this leads me to my next part of the khutbah.

Shukr consists of many pillars. Al-Fairuz Abadi says there are five pillars of shukr. But in reality these are a partial list, others have added other things. Ibn Qayyim has a detailed discussion of shukr. Imam Al-Ghazali in his Ihya, he has discussed shukr. And we don't have time to go to each and every one, I've summarized basically many of these great intellectual giants of our tradition.

First Pillar: Humility

These scholars and others, they mention shukr has a number of pillars. Of those pillars is to humble yourself in front of the one who has given you those blessings. You know, we feel this amongst us human beings as well.

If somebody does us a big favor, and we are good people insha'Allah, how do we feel when the person does a big favor? We acknowledge, we appreciate. Well, how about the one who has done us each and every favor? (وَاللَّهُ الْمُثْلُ الْأَعْلَى) How about the one who bestows the favors, and he bestows upon us the one who gives us favors? Even the people who help us, Allah has given us those people. How should we feel towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? So shukr requires humility.

Shukr necessitates humbleness. You cannot be shukr and be arrogant, can you? Think about it. You have to be humble in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Second Pillar: Love

This is of the requirements of shukr. Of the requirements of shukr is that you appreciate and therefore love the one who has bestowed that blessing upon you. Automatically your heart opens up, as Ibn Qayyim says, that the hearts have been created to love the ones who show love to it.

The hearts have been created to love the ones who show love to it. So how about the one who is al-Wadud? The one who bestows his love upon us unconditionally. How can we not love the one who is named al-Wadud?

Third Pillar: Appreciation

Of the manifestations of shukr is to feel that blessing. And this is not arrogance. Because arrogance is to deny and negate the one who has blessed you. To appreciate the blessing, to feel blessed, is a part of being thankful.

You should appreciate, your heart should acknowledge, you should see and appreciate each and every blessing that Allah has given you.

Fourth Pillar: Using Blessings Properly

Of the manifestations of shukr is to act upon those blessings in a manner that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In other words, imagine if somebody gave you a car as a gift.

Would you then use that car, astaghfirullah, to intentionally crash into his house and damage his property? What type of thankfulness would this be? So a part of shukr is to use the blessings that Allah has given you in order to please Allah and not to displease Allah. How can we use Allah's blessings? In a manner that is displeasing to Him. And then think that we have perfected shukr.

Shukr requires us to conform our lives, and our lifestyles, and our bodies, and our limbs, and our eyes, and our ears, and everything about us. It should be in conformity with the laws of Allah. That is one of the most simple, and one of the most logical, and one of the most Quranic manifestations of shukr.

Fifth Pillar: Mentioning Allah's Blessings

And of the manifestations of shukr as well, is that in appropriate circumstances, not at all times and places, in the right audience and with the right attitude. And we'll talk about this later on, inshaAllah wa ta'ala. And the right attitude is humility, and the right audience is those who will benefit and appreciate from you.

Of the manifestations of shukr is to mention the blessings that Allah has given you, as I said, with these two conditions. The first condition is humility, and the second condition is to have the right audience. Because if you don't have humility, it is arrogance.

And if you don't have the right audience, you open up the door for jealousy. So you have to be careful. If you have the right audience, and you have humility, then what does Allah say?

You may tell the people of Allah's blessings upon you.

Narrate to the people. Because a part of shukr, once again, imagine in our world, and I give these examples so we understand, if somebody gave you $10,000, somebody gave you your college loan, somebody gave you a car, don't you think that it will be pleasing to that person, that you tell others, oh, mashallah, this brother helped me out here. It will make that person recognize, you know what, he appreciates my gift.

To Allah belongs the best example, and Allah loves to be praised, because Allah is worthy of being praised. So to mention the blessings of Allah upon us, in the right audience, and with the right intention, is a part of being thankful. If one of those two conditions is not right, then it should not be mentioned.

If you say it with arrogance, this is not shukr, this is kibir. And if you say it in the wrong audience, then you open up the door for people to have jealousy, and that's also not wise.

Ibn Al-Qayyim's Definition of Shukr

Ibn Al-Qayyim mentions, Ibn Al-Qayyim writes in his Madarij As-Saliqun, he says, shukr to Allah implies, shukr to Allah implies manifesting the effects of Allah's blessings on you.

Think about this definition. The blessings that Allah has given should be shown. Now how is that done? Ibn Al-Qayyim says, so the heart, and the tongue, and the limbs, three things.

So the heart witnesses these blessings, and appreciates and loves Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the blessing. That's what the heart must do. The heart must take a tally, it must count.

The heart here also means the mind. It must recognize, Allah has blessed me with health, with wealth, with children, with iman, and you keep on going it. And not only that, but this should then generate love in the heart.

The tongue should then acknowledge and praise Allah for those blessings. And the limbs should conform and submit to Allah because of those blessings.

So the heart acknowledges and loves. The tongue testifies and praises. And the body submits and worships Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and obeys Him. This is a manifestation of shukr.

Shukr is an Active Verb

And this shows us that shukr is not just something that is theoretical. Shukr doesn't just mean, oh, thank you O Allah. There's no such thing as, Allah doesn't need our thanks.

Thanks is the beginning of shukr. Thanks is to recognize that Allah has given us. What do you do based upon that recognition? That is real shukr.

To say, oh, I appreciate what Allah has given me. Okay, now what? Show us that appreciation. And this leads me to my next point here.

And that is that in the Quran, shukr is an active verb. Shukr necessitates actions. In the story of Dawud and Sulaiman, and Allah mentions all that He gave Dawud and all that He gave Sulaiman. And think about it, what blessings was Dawud given? Dawud, the mountains would praise Allah along with him. (يَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِي مَعَهُ وَالطَّيْرَ) And Allah taught him metallurgy, the science of bending metal.

Mankind did not know this until Allah taught Dawud alayhis salam.

And Allah gave him a kingdom, of the greatest kingdoms ever that any prophet was given, was the kingdom of Dawud. To this day, the Bani Israel marvel at that kingdom. And Sulaiman, what was Sulaiman given? Subhanallah, he was given a kingdom like no other human being.

And Allah mentions these blessings, then what does He say? Allah says, after mentioning these blessings:

Work, O family of Dawud, work upon shukr. Notice Allah makes shukr into an amal. (ٱ

The Greatest Blessings

And before we conclude the first khutbah brothers and sisters, a quick reminder of some of the greatest blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us. But again remember, any list that we give, what did Allah say? لَاَ تُحْصُوهَا We can never finish that list. But a brief reminder, what does the Quran tell us are of the biggest blessings?

The Blessing of Islam and Quran

No doubt the biggest blessing is the blessing of Islam and the blessing of Quran. No doubt this is the biggest blessing. There is no other blessing that compares with that blessing. And we need to appreciate and show shukr to Allah for having guided us to Islam.

We are thankful to Allah that He guided us to this. Because if Allah had not willed, we would not be guided.

The Blessing of Intelligence and Faculties

And of the blessings that we should be thankful to Allah for, is our consciousness and intelligence, our knowledge and our senses of perception. In other words, our faculties, our brains, and our hearing, and our seeing, and our consciousness and our thought processes. We are not like animals, we are better than animals. We are the best of Allah's creation in this world.

And Allah mentions in the Quran that Allah is the one who has caused you to leave the wombs of your mothers and you knew nothing:

Allah gave you intelligence, Allah gave you brains, Allah gave you hearing, Allah gave you seeing, why? لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ So we should thank Allah for our faculties that Allah has given us.

The Blessing of Conveniences

Of the blessings that we should be thankful to Allah for is the conveniences that He has created for us in this life. How easy is life for us, our food and our drink. In the Quran Allah mentions that look at the animals, some of them you ride them, some of them you eat, and you have yet other blessings.

You eat them, you drink them. أَفَلَا تَشْكُرُونَ Won't you thank me for these blessings I've given you? And in our times this technology that Allah has blessed us with, what a blessing it is this technology. We sit in these air-conditioned rooms, we have the convenience of our cars, our cell phones, all of these blessings that previous generations did not have. This requires thankfulness on our part.

The Blessing of Health

Of the blessings that Allah has given us, in fact of the greatest blessings is the blessing of health. How fortunate we are when we can breathe with peace. Imagine those who cannot even breathe. How fortunate we are when we live disease-free lives, when we are alhamdulillah in aafiyah. And those of us that are tested with some disease, thank Allah that it is not worse. Because that test is a test you can bear.

So we thank Allah for whatever level of health we have. And the Prophet shallallahu alaihi wasallam said:

(Bukhari hadith 6412)

Two are the blessings most people are clueless about them. They're deceived, they don't appreciate them. Number one is health, good health. And what is number two? That's yet another blessing, free time.

The Blessing of Free Time

Of the blessings that we should thank Allah for, is that inshaAllah so many of us, if not all of us, we don't spend 24 hours a day having to earn our food and drink.

Alhamdulillah, we have time to do something productive. We go to work, then we come back home, and we have some quality hours. There are many people in the world, they have to labor maybe 20 hours a day just to get their luqmah, just to get their food for themselves and their children.

The Blessing of Peace and Security

They have no time except to eat and drink and go to work and that's it. Thank Allah that many of us have that luxury. That's the second blessing.

Two are the blessings people don't think about them, health and free time.

The Blessing of Peace and Security

And of the blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us as well, is the blessing to appreciate in this land and all and many lands of the world, the blessing of peace and security. The blessing of peace and security.

How many of our Muslim brothers and sisters do not have this blessing? Look at what is going on in Syria as we speak. As we speak, the Rohingya Muslims of Burma are being massacred. Entire villages are being razed to the ground.

And we make du'a that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alleviates their suffering. And we also appreciate on us the blessings that we have. Because one of the biggest blessings is to be stress-free when it comes to the troubles and the chaos and the wars and the bloodshed.

This is a blessing. It is a blessing that many of us take for granted. وَآمَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ And this is of the greatest blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us.

Practical Tips for Being Thankful

I conclude the first khutbah with a beautiful hadith of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that reminds us that being thankful to Allah can potentially be just as rewarding as the one who is deprived of the blessings and is patient. Being blessed and thankful can be equivalent to the one who has tested and tried and was patient. Think about it, you have wealth and you're thankful versus your dirt poor and you're patient.

Which would we rather be? We all know that the one who is very difficult and what not, that the sabr for him will earn him a high rank. But we don't want that trial. We don't want that tribulation. رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً We want to live a good life. What did our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam say?

(Muslim hadith 2999)

The one who is fed and is thankful can reach the level of the one who is hungry and patient.

So if your thankfulness is perfected, then you have reached the level of the one who has demonstrated sabr in the face of adversity. So perfect your thankfulness, brothers and sisters, so that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can perfect His ajur to you.

We have a large crowd outside. فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

Please move forward and leave no gaps.

Second Khutbah: Five Practical Tips

From the ahadith we learned some practical tips for how to be thankful to Allah. I will only mention five and then Inshallah we will conclude our khutbah.

Five practical tips on how to be thankful. How to demonstrate shukr.

Tip One: Don't Be Greedy

Number one, don't be greedy for more. Be happy with what Allah has given you. The one who is greedy, how can he be thankful? Think about it. The one who is greedy, you're never satisfied.

You have a thousand dollars, you want ten thousand. You have ten thousand, you want a hundred thousand. Then how will you ever be thankful? How will you ever be thankful if you're never content with what Allah has given you?

Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:

(Ibn Majah hadith 4141)

Be content. You shall be the most thankful of people.

Tip Two: Monitor Your Blessings

Number two, of the ways to be thankful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to constantly monitor and be aware of the blessings Allah has given you. Allah mentions in the Quran that Nuh (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was عَبْدًا شَكُورًا He was a thankful servant. Allah calls Nuh شَكُورًا

Our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) explained, Nuh would never raise one morsel of food to his mouth, or drink one sip of water, except that he would say الحمد لله. In other words, he's conscious this morsel is from Allah, I have to thank Him. So start being aware, don't take it for granted.

When you sit in your car, thank Allah, alhamdulillah I have this marqab, this sayyara, I have this car here. When you're able to breathe, when you're disease-free, when you have these beautiful children that you have to take care of, when every blessing that you have appreciated, how can you be thankful if you don't even acknowledge and appreciate? So number two, be thankful of each and every blessing, start monitoring them, look around you, see what Allah has blessed you with.

Tip Three: Look at People Below You

Number three, number three, remember an advice of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) reported in At-Tirmidhi:

(Tirmidhi hadith 2513)

Two things whoever does them will be written amongst the shakireen and the sabireen. Two things if you do them, you will be shakir and sabir. What are those two things? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, to look at people above you when it comes to religion, and want to be like them. And to look at people below you, when it comes to this world, and to thank Allah that you are not tested like them.

This hadith is a practical lesson in how to be thankful. Rather than salivating over the lifestyles of rich and famous, rather than wanting to be like the billionaires and millionaires, that's not Islamic.

Look at our brothers and sisters in Syria right now.

Look at the Rohingya Muslims right now. Look at what is happening across the world. And you will say, Alhamdulillah we are in aafiyah.

Alhamdulillah Allah has blessed us. How can you be thankful if all that you're looking at in the dunya is people who are higher than you? Stop it. Look at people below you and when it comes to this dunya, and you will be thankful.

Yes, when it comes to the religion, look at the righteous, look at those who pray in the masjid, look at, yes, in the religion, look at those above you. But when it comes to this world, look at those below you, and you will be thankful.

Tip Four: Make Dua for Thankfulness

Number four, how to be thankful? Make dua to Allah to be thankful. Because if you don't make dua, you don't want it. If you don't want it, you're not gonna get it. Always make dua.

The famous hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal reported in Abu Dawood:

(Abu Dawood hadith 1522)

O Mu'adh, I love you. So make sure that you make this dua after every single salah.

Memorize this dua, brothers and sisters. Memorize this dua and say it after every salah:

Help me, O Allah, to remember You and to be thankful to You and to worship You excellently. وَشُكْرِكَ If Allah does not help you to thank Him, then you're never gonna thank Him. أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ

Tip Five: Thank Others

And the final point, and with this inshaAllah we will conclude. The final point to thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to also appreciate the blessings that Allah has given you through other people.

The one who is arrogant to thank other people for their good, is going to be arrogant to thank Allah for His good. Every person in your life who helps you, you need to thank that person and also thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for blessing you with that person. Nothing happens without Allah's will and pleasure.

The one who is too arrogant to thank others, will never thank Allah. As our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:

(Tirmidhi hadith 1955)

Whoever is not appreciative of other people, will not be appreciative to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And therefore, one needs to show appreciation and shukr to every single person who has helped you out.

Your parents, your siblings, your brothers and sisters, your family, show shukr to those mentors, your teachers, show shukr to everybody that has given you any favor. This is a part and parcel of being shakir. If you're not gonna thank others, how can you thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? When you humble yourself in front of others, you will humble yourself even more in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and realize brothers and sisters, and with this we conclude our khutbah.

Conclusion

You can never thank Allah, and I can never thank Allah as He deserves. That's not even possible. Imam Al-Shafi'i said, O Allah, how can I thank You properly when my thanks of You deserves yet another thanks that You blessed me to thank You? Think about it, it's infinity.

The very fact that You allowed me to say alhamdulillah requires another alhamdulillah. How can I ever thank You enough? How can I ever thank You enough when when I thank You, that thanking deserves another thanks? I cannot.

This is what our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said. We cannot praise You the way You deserve, only You can praise Yourself the way You deserve. But still we try. And of the names of Allah is Ash-Shakur.

And Ash-Shakur is the one who when you try with very little, with very measly, when you try with small amounts of things, Ash-Shakur accepts these small things, and he makes them much bigger and much more rewarding. And that's why of the names of Allah is Ash-Shakur, because He will take our measly shukr, He will take our small efforts at shukr, and He will give us much more than what it is actually worthy of. Because the one who is Ash-Shakur will not care about the quantity, he will look at the quality of our shukr.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us of the shakireen.