بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم
🌏 FAVOR AND GRATITUDE 🌍
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
Allah the Exalted says:
{And if you count the favor of Allah, you will never be able to count it. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and most ungrateful}
[Surah Ibrahim: 34].
Allah mentions that mankind is ẓalūm (extremely unjust) and kaffār (extremely ungrateful); he does not give thanks for the countless blessings granted to him.
Allah clarifies that gratitude is from light and faith (iman), while its opposite stems from darkness and disbelief (kufr). This is because the essence of gratitude is the acknowledgment of the Giver's favor with humility and submission. Whoever does not even recognize the blessing and is ignorant of it, then he is in the darkness of ignorance. Whoever recognizes the blessing but does not know the One who granted it, he is likewise. And whoever recognizes the blessing and the Giver but denies it—like the arrogant person who denies the benefactor's favor—then he has indeed committed disbelief in it. However, if one acknowledges and admits it, that is the beginning of gratitude.
Therefore, it is essential to have knowledge in the heart and action that follows that knowledge—namely, an inclination toward the Benefactor, love for Him, and submission to Him.
This is as mentioned in the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari from Shaddād ibn Aws, who said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“The chief of seeking forgiveness (Sayyidul-Istighfār) is that a servant says:
‘O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant. I abide by Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favor upon me, and I acknowledge my sin.’”
His saying: “I acknowledge Your favor upon me” includes acknowledgment and a return to Allah through servitude (`ubūdiyyah). For the word abūʾu (I acknowledge/return) comes from mabā’ah, which is a place one returns to—meaning a place of stability and residence. Hence, mabā’ah refers to one's stable place.
This is why the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever lies about me intentionally, let him take his seat in the Fire.”
Meaning: let him make that seat his mabā’ah—his place of return—where he stays and settles, not a temporary stop one visits and leaves.
Thus, the servant returns to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, acknowledging His blessings upon him and also acknowledging his own sins. He returns to Him with acknowledgment of both, in a return full of peace and reassurance, sincerely turning to his Lord. He does not return and then turn away again, but returns without ever turning away from his Lord. In fact, he constantly faces Him, for he cannot do without Him. He is his God, and his source of help.
There is no good for him except through worshiping Him. If He is not his object of worship, the servant will perish and be corrupted. And the servant cannot worship Him except with His assistance. Therefore, he cannot do without either of these two—worship and divine assistance—at all.
📚 Jāmiʿul-Masāʾil, vol. 9, pp. 380–381
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