Shukr – Look Down and Feel Up

Alhamdulillah, our lives are full of blessings. We have the blessing of Islam, the blessing of health, the blessing of safety and security, the blessing of nice food and clothes, the blessing of education. Countless blessings that Allah has gifted us with Alhamdulillah.

How many of us reflect and contemplate on the many blessings that we have? It is a good practice to reflect and spend some time acknowledging, appreciating and thanking Allah for all the blessings in our lives. Unfortunately, we have become people who are forgetful of the blessings that we have and this often leads us to becoming unappreciative and ungrateful. When we turn to social media, we see those who appear to have so much more than us and thus become upset and disappointed with our own lives. When we visit someone’s house, we might dislike our own. Sometimes, when we even see someone with a more advanced phone than us we resent our parents because they didn’t buy us a more expensive one. Society today has alarming levels of depression and ungratefulness is one of the root causes of unhappiness in our society.


Now what solution has Islam given us to resolve this? Alhamdulillah, Islam has provided a way for us to be more mindful and grateful for all of the blessings in our lives. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Look at those who are inferior to you and do not look at those who are superior to you, for this will keep you from belittling Allah's favour to you.” [Muslim]. What is this hadith teaching us? One of the ways to be grateful is by looking at those who are less fortunate than us. So for example, for you to appreciate your health you just need to remember the days you were very ill and you couldn’t even take a sip of water without it hurting your throat. If you find yourself not being grateful for the food, clothes and house you have then you should remember that there are millions of people who live in tents not knowing when their next meal is. Social media is definitely causing a lot of issues; sometimes it is a very good idea to delete people who boast their flashy lifestyles for all to see. Ultimately, if an individual requires followers, likes and views to feel valued then there may be a deeper issue within. No one in the right state of mind will share every moment of their life and many so called ‘celebrities’ and ‘influencers’ who appear to be living the best life later admit having severe issues with depression and addiction. 

There is no limit to the material possessions of this world and if you continue to really look up and up and up then the ladder does not stop. You might think the richest person in the world has reached the limit, however greed has no limit. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "If Adam's son had a valley full of gold, he would like to have two valleys, for nothing fills his mouth except dust. And Allah forgives him who repents to Him." [Bukhari]. Some of the people who live the happiest lives live the simplest ones. It is important for us to leave the materialistic illusions of this world behind us and truly be content and grateful for all of the blessings Allah has bestowed upon us.

The world recently came to a standstill when we were all tested with the COVID pandemic. We were tested in ways that nobody would have imagined: many of us fell ill, could not visit our families, and lost loved ones. Alhamdulillah, Allah gave us the ability to make it through. This global pandemic allowed us to truly appreciate all the blessings, both big and small, that Allah has given us. Some of us only truly appreciate something when it has been taken away from us but we must contemplate and be thankful for everything before this happens.

Whenever we find ourselves in unfortunate situations or when we get bad news it is easy to get upset and angry. However, as Muslims we know that everything is from Allah. So no matter what situation you find yourself in, we should always be thankful to Allah. We always look at the bright side and we compare ourselves with those that are less fortunate than us. This is so that we appreciate all those blessings bestowed upon us. 

If I was to ask everyone, how many blessings do you have? Count them and give me a number. The truth is, we will never be able to appreciate all of the blessings that Allah has given us. Allah says, 
وَءَاتَىٰكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلۡتُمُوهُۚ وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآۗ إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ لَظَلُومٞ كَفَّارٞ
“And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favor of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful” (14:34). 
No one is saying that you are not going through difficulty. We all go through different levels of hardship. But constantly comparing yourself to people above you will not solve anything. If you are struggling with something, then get help. Ask someone reliable for help and build the skills and techniques needed to come out from the difficulty. Whilst at the same time be grateful for everything you have. Let us deal with difficulty and hardship by learning from a man who is the best of examples. A man who was tested by Allah in every way possible. This man is our beloved prophet Muhammed (ﷺ). Let us see how he would show his gratefulness to Allah. Aisha reported: “If the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saw something he liked, he would say,
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي بِنِعْمَتِهِ تَتِمُّ الصَّالِحَاتُ

“Praise is to Allah Who by His blessings all good things are perfected. 
If the Prophet ﷺ saw something he disliked, he would say, 
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ
“All praise is due to Allah in every circumstance.” [Ibn Mājah]

In conclusion, we have all been blessed in our lives Alhamdulillah! From our health, our youth, our families, and our wealth - we all have something to be grateful for. It is important for us to always appreciate the blessings that Allah has bestowed upon us in this life. The secret to doing so is to look to people who have less than us to truly appreciate the gifts that Allah has given us. Let us leave the illusions of this Dunya behind us and be grateful for all that we have Alhamdulillah.

We thank Allah for the blessings of Iman and Islam. We ask Allah to give us the Tawfeeq to be grateful in good and challenging times. We ask Allah to allow us to be amongst the Shakirun who are grateful and truly worship him alone.