DISCOVER THANKSGIVING
The Prophet of Islam has said:
Man lam yashkur-an-naas, lam yashkur-Allah.
One who fails to acknowledge man,
he will surely fail to acknowledge God.
SHUKR (acknowledgement) is a great virtue. If one lacks this virtue, he will be ungrateful towards man, and consequently, towards God Almighty. But Shukr is not a ready-made thing. We have to apply our intellect to discover it; otherwise, we will fail to be grateful towards both, man and God.
Here is an example to illustrate this point. When one enters a room and turns on a switch, suddenly, the room becomes full of light. Certainly, this calls for shukr; but people generally take it for granted, and therefore fail to acknowledge.
Shukr (acknowledgement) is a great virtue. If one lacks this virtue, he will be ungrateful towards man and, consequently, towards God Almighty.
In ancient times, for several thousand years, there was no electricity. Several Western minds experimented over a long period of time and eventually invented the electric light bulb. Then came Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931) who invented the first commercially practical incandescent light.
For him it was not an easy task. He worked on about 3,000 different versions of the light bulb before he found the one that would work best. He experimented with more than 10,000 different types of materials to find a suitable one.
However, it is difficult to find a man or a woman who, as they turn on the switch of the electric light bulb, sincerely acknowledge its inventor. And when they fail to acknowledge man, they also fail to acknowledge God and remain ungrateful for divine blessings.
We live amidst countless bounties of God but seldom can we find a person who lives in thrilling shukr. Why is this the case? Because, of a failure to acknowledge man, and consequently, a failure to acknowledge God. According to Islam, shukr is the highest form of worship. Only those people will find entry into paradise who live in this spirit.
Like the electric light bulb, there are numerous examples in nature as well as in the industrial world that should evoke awe in us. Every moment, we are surrounded by one of these wondrous creations. Shukr is a response to these divine blessings. It is not just lip service. We must develop the habit of contemplation leading to intellectual development. This will make us worthy of God's blessings, and eligibility to gain entry into paradise, in the world hereafter.
If one is unmindful of God, one will react
in whatever manner one's own desire and interests demand.
If, however, one's faith is strong, each and every event
throughout life reminds one of God; the entire range of emotions
is then concentrated not on oneself, but on God.
Revenge may set on a chapter of chain reaction;
that is revenge-after-revenge,
while forgiveness ends this chain.
Forgiveness implies that you have put a full-stop;
while revenge in this case, effectively means
you have only added commas.