Page 58 - The Basic Concepts in the Qur’an

Giving Thanks to Allah

Being grateful to a fellow human being who has shown favour, is to render one’s thanks to
express appreciative sentiments. The concept of being grateful to Allah (shukr), on the other
hand, is to grasp and emphasize the fact that every kind of grace and favour is granted
exclusively by Allah. In the Qur’an, the opposite of being grateful is defined by the term
“disbelief”(Kufr), which is synonymous with ingratitude. Only this definition indicates the
importance attached to being grateful as a form of worship and the detrimental consequences
its neglect may have for a believer.
Gratefulness to Allah is one of the concepts principally emphasized in the Qur’an. In
almost 70 verses, the importance of rendering thanks to Allah is stated, examples of those who
are grateful and ungrateful are given and the end their requital in the hereafter is described. The
reason why so much importance is given to this concept is simply that it is a sure indication of
one’s faith and affirmation of the Oneness of Allah. In one of the verses “being grateful” is
described as “worshipping only Allah”:
O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be
grateful to Allah, if it is Him you worship.
(Al-Baqara, 172)

In another verse, giving thanks to Allah is described as the opposite of idolatry:
But it has already been revealed to you, — as it was to those before you, — “If you
were to associate other gods with Allah, truly fruitless would be your work (in life),
and you would surely be in the ranks of those who lose (all spiritual good)”.
Therefore, worship Allah, and be of those who give thanks.
(Az-Zumar, 65-66)

Satan’s defiant statements to Allah (on the day of his refusal to bow to Adam) emphasize
the importance of giving thanks to Allah:
“Because you have cast me out I will lie in wait for your servants as they walk on your
straight path: Then will I assault them from in front of them and from behind them,
from their right and from their left. Then you will find most of them, ungrateful for
Your mercies.”
(Al-Araf, 17)

As stated in the verse above, Satan out of sheer pique, devoted His life to misleading
people. His ultimate aim is to make people be ungrateful to their Creator. When this ultimate
purpose of the Satan is considered, it becomes more comprehensible how a man goes astray
when he does not render thanks to Allah.
Gratefulness is a part of the test by Allah. Man is surely endowed with His favour, and is
informed about how he should benefit from it. In return, he is expected to assume a submissive
attitude towards his Creator. However, it is again only man himself who chooses to be grateful
or ungrateful to Allah:

We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, in order to try him. We gave him the
gifts of hearing and sight. We showed him the way: whether he be grateful or
ungrateful .
(Al-Insan, 2-3)

As the verses suggest, the choice of the human being whether to go grateful or ungrateful,
is explicit sign of his faith or disbelief.