Dear Brothers and Sisters!

One of the most important concepts of our religion, Islam, is undoubtedly the concept of gratitude. Gratitude; is the respect shown to the one who gave this blessing by word, deed or heart. It is appreciating the value of goodness and showing this feeling to the one providing the blessing by remembering the blessing and praising its owner. In the face of the countless blessings given to us by Allah (swt), the Lord of the worlds, it is a necessity of reason and conscience to honour and respect Him. We are incapable of counting the goodness and blessings of Allah (swt) towards us.   Allah (Swt) mentions in the Quran: “And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favour [i.e., blessings] of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful.”[1]

Dear Jama’ah!

The blessings given to us requires gratitude back. If this does not happen, it is certain that what is given will be taken back or reduced. In the words of our past scholars, “The Divine Blessing wishes for gratitude to continue; to be more. Otherwise, if the blessing does not receive gratitude, it will go away.” Allah (swt) says in the Quran: “And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’.”[2] Although it is not possible for us to be grateful for the grace and bounties bestowed by Allah (swt), we must know we should always be on the highest level of gratitude. Prophet Muhammad (saw), who is at the peak of this consciousness said; “I cannot fully praise You, for You are as You have praised Yourself.”[3]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The gratitude of the servants begins with the remembrance of Allah (swt). It continues by not forgetting him in the flow of life and showing sensitivity in our prayers as he commanded. One should achieve this goal by spending the bounties given properly and using them in the way of Allah (swt). One should not waste the blessings of Allah (swt). If the granted health and wealth are destroyed in places that we are commanded to keep away from and sin is committed, then they are truly ungrateful. Also in another hadith Rasulullah (saw) said; “Whoever is not grateful to the people, he is not grateful to Allah.“[4] In accordance with the meaning of this hadith, we should be able to thank people for the favours we receive from people. Those who do not thank people cannot show their gratitude to Allah (swt).

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The conditions of the pandemic, which descended on the world like a nightmare, reminded us of the value of the blessing of health and freedom. Let’s not withhold our prayers to all the servants of Allah living on earth to get over these troubles. May Allah, the Most Merciful, treat all humanity with his mercy. May Allah (swt) allow us to remember the blessings bestowed on our health and well-being, which we realized during this difficult process. May Allah (swt) make us one of his servants who are patient with the difficulties we face and who are duly grateful for the blessings given. Ameen.

[1] Surah Ibrahim, 14:34

[2] Surah Ibrahim, 14:7

[3] Müslim, Salât, 42, H.No: 486

[4] Tirmizî, Birr, 35, H.No: 1955

Khutba-Gratitude Is The Key To Blessings