Truely Thanking Allah

From the moral and manners of the Salaf was that they would testify against themselves that they had not really thanked Allah. That is because they would see all their praise for Him as another of Allah’s favours upon them; the favours of Allah remaining and unending, impossible for anyone to catch up with.

Abu Bakr ibn Abdullah al-Muzani (rahimahullaah) said, “Never does a slave say alhamdulillaah (Praise be to Allah) without more thanks becoming required for him!”

Wahb ibn Munabbih (rahimahullaah) would say, “If your thanking Allah the Most High is a favour to you from the favours of Allah then in reality there is no such thing as true thankfulness. All your thanks mean that you have realized Allah’s abundant favours upon you, and that you cannot praise Allah enough for them.”

Sahl at-Tustari (rahimahullah) said, “Showing thankfulness to Allah is not to disobey Him with His favours. The whole body is from the favours of Allah and His gift, so do not disobey Him with any of it.”

Mujahib and Makhul (rahimahumallaah) used to say about the statement of Allah, “Then you will be asked that Day about the enjoyment” 1,“Indeed this is the cool drink, the shelter of a home, the satisfaction of one’s belly, the perfection of features, and the joy of sleep.”

If Sufyan ath-Thawri (rahimahullaah) passed by a policeman he would fall down in prostration to Allah the Most High saying, “Praise be to Allah who did not make me a policeman or a taxman.” Then he would say to his family, “Sometimes a person in trouble passes you by. He may be rewarded through his trial, but you ask your Lord to protect you (from it). But then some of those oppressors pass you by, sinning in their tribulation, but you do not ask for Allah’s protection!”

Al-Hasan Al-Basri (rahimahullaah) used to say about the statement of the Most High, “Verily mankind is ungrateful to His Lord” 2, “This means that he remembers the tragedies that befell him but forgets the blessings.”

Awn ibn Abdullah (rahimahullaah) used to say about the statement of Allah, “They recognize the blessings of Allah and then they deny them” 3,“This means they see that the favours are from Allah but then they attribute their origin to the people, ignoring Allah the Most High. They say if it was not for so-and-so then these favours would not have come to them.”

Footnotes:

1. At-Takathur (102): 8

2. Al-’Adiyat (100): 6

3. An-Nahl (16): 83

• Transcribed from: From the Ways of Our Pious Predecessors | Adapted from Ahmed Fareed’s Min Akhlaaq-us-Salaf