O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah if it is Him ye worship. {Qur’an 2:172}
This time of year we are surrounded by the reminder to be grateful. Not just this month, or this year, but as a habit even during the mundane areas of life. This is what Islam teaches us.
You know the time I feel grateful the most consistently? When I take Little Miss to an indoor park and I’m sitting watching her, knitting, and sipping on a latte. It is in these moments that I feel so grateful that I’m able to be with my kids every day, soaking in their little personalities, and I get to be their primary caregiver. It is in these moments that I feel so grateful that Hubby goes to work every day, even though his drive is near an hour each way, and selflessly hands over his paycheck for our family to use each week. MashaAllah, this life has many comforts, even without living a life of luxury.
In sha Allah, our gratefulness will open the doors to Jannah. We should be grateful in times of hardship and ease. That is the true test, and what Islam encourages.
So eat of the sustenance which Allah has provided for you, lawful and good; and be grateful for the favours of Allah, if it is He whom ye serve. {Qur’an 16:114}
Being grateful is showing that we are serving Allah. When He has given us eyes, hands, ears, minds, and all other things which we have to live in relative comfort, who are we to focus on the negative aspects of life? Maybe through this hardship, Allah intends purification for us. Even in hardship, we can be grateful for the test.
Verily, with hardship there is relief. {Qur’an 94:6}
A Muslim takes this time of gratefulness and in sha Allah will implement it into their daily life, not forsaking it at the end of the “season.” This national holiday coming around the corner can remind us of our deen in which we should live each and every day, in sha Allah. This is one essence of Islam.
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