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To Be Grateful…

By Hooriya Ikram

Gratitude is a trait that is admired by all religions and philosophies and is also deemed valuable by every individual. The term ‘gratitude’ means to acknowledge the benefit of something that grants value. In a broader sense, it doesn’t only mean to value something at heart or verbally rather it also means being content on whatever you have either more or less and to use that very blessing in an appropriate way.

It helps one lead a healthy and content life full of merriment. As we know that today’s corporate worldview has changed the whole perspective of our lifestyles, we do not earn to live rather we live to earn and hoard wealth in order to boast about our achievements. In such an individualistic society, we can never be satisfied even if we get mountains of gold until we learn to feel grateful on our little achievements. The era we are living in is full of vulnerabilities and economic threats as technology is replacing manpower and consequently job opportunities are growing lesser than ever before. We hear about these issues every now and then through media. Though we are badly being enveloped by day-to-day emerging problems, we need to consider them, ensure to prevent them and take measures to counter them, and not to prattle and complain about them all the time. In my view, our approach to problems is extremely counterproductive as our talk shows are loaded with the discussions on national issues but they aren’t adequately devising implementable solutions to them. From a bird’s eye view, the biggest problem of the contemporary world is that the focal point of everyone is to gain more and more and to ignore, belittle and be thankless on what is already there. If we, as a nation, learn to be positive by focusing on the blessings we have and by holding discussions about how to exploit them in a productive way, believe me, we can excel with a far greater pace than that of developed countries.

Many researches were conducted to determine the effects of gratitude on psychological emotions. Most of them have shown that grateful people are less prone to depression, anxiety, stress, sadness etc. One of such researches was conducted by a well-established psychology expert Martin Seligman from the University of Utrecht, Netherlands in which he sampled a group of students and asked them to remember those people of their lives whom they are grateful for and to list three things they are blessed to have. As a result, an apparent increase in the contentment of students was observed.

gratitude

Gratitude is given a lot of importance in the Divine religion of Islam as it has associated it with incentives that instigate its followers to observe it. For example, Allah, the Exalted stated in the Holy Quran;

“…if you give thanks, I will give you more..”  [14; 7]

“…soon We will reward the thankful..” [03; 135]

Throughout the Quran, Allah, the Exalted repetitively reminds us of His blessings and then incites in us the very spirit of gratitude.

“If you count Allah’s favours, you will not be able to enumerate them.” [14; 34]

We owe a lot to our Creator. Although we can’t pay His right at all, we may acknowledge His favors in true sense of words and actions. Every blessing we have, no matter how diminutive, is worth all we seek to achieve, yet we keep on whining about things we don’t have and ignore what we already have. The moment of whine is actually the time for gratitude. For instance, a scholar named Sa’di was once heading somewhere barefoot. He complained to his Lord about his state of deprivation. As soon as he arrived, he saw a man without feet. There and then he acknowledged the sublime blessing of feet and regretted his whining. Therefore, we infer from this very incident that we need to keep on going with fortitude and gratitude by seeking Allah’s help.

A relevant verse from the Holy Quran states;

“If you are thankless, Allah is in no need of you, yet He is not pleased by the ingratitude of his servants….” [39; 7]

This life is a test, we cannot lead an ideal life here. So we are supposed to learn to be happy regardless of what circumstances we face and accept ourselves the way we are, which cannot come true until we stop comparing ourselves to others.

The Prophet ﷺ said;

“When one of you sees another who is superior to him in point of wealth and creation, let him look to him who is below him. That is more appropriate that you hold not in contempt the favor of God towards you.” {Recorded in Bukhari, Muslim and Tirmidhi}

We are reminded of Allah’s eminent slaves so that we learn from their examples. These people, His renowned prophets, were tested either by hardships or by good times, but they remained grateful and patient at the same time, Allah extols them in His book with unrivalled words that shows his deep love for this trait. Our trials are incomparable to those of them, but they are there to set difficult examples for us to seek guidance relevant to our conditions. The most important thing we learn from these people is that only grateful people can sustain in difficult times and ingratitude is detrimental altogether.

Lastly, I would suggest a practical tip from the Quran that can help us remain grateful all our life. It is stated in the Quran;

“And do not extend your eyes toward that by which we have given enjoyment to (some) categories of them, [its being but] the splendour of worldly life by which we test them. And the provision of your lord is better and enduring.” [20; 131]

To conclude, I’ll say that In order to revel the fruits of gratitude, we are obliged to be satisfied on what we have and not to think wishfully about others’ blessings as it arouses envy and ingratitude.

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