At the Very Least, Be Grateful

By Andrea Umm Abdullah | Saudi Life
Monday, 14 November 2011

THERE are so many programs and books about how to be happy that it makes me wonder if we have forgotten to simply be grateful. Gratefulness and patience go hand in hand; being grateful helps one to be patient (because maybe things aren’t so bad and after all, things could be worse) and when a person is grateful and patient then there is contentment, insha’Allah.

There are probably a lot of things in your life right now that you don’t prefer, from small, insignificant things to bigger things.

Some days are full of things gone wrong. Even some months, we can look up and think, “This is not where I want to be right now.”

I’ve realized we don’t have to necessarily want everything that happens to us, let alone like it, but at the very least, we need to be grateful.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us:

"Look at those who stand at a lower level than you but don't look at those who stand at a higher level than you, for this would make the favors (conferred upon you by Allah) insignificant (in your eyes)." (Sahih Muslim) And it’s true.

We look at all the things that have gone wrong and think about people who don’t have to deal with those things, and as a result, we forget about all we have or we consider it small.

Just the very fact that you are online reading this article already means you have so much more than so many other people in the world.

It can be saddening to even have the audacity to complain about our comfortable lives. If you are having a hard time at work, step back and say, “Alhamdulilah, I have a job.” If you are stuck in traffic, think “Alhamdulilah, I have the means to get around.” When the house is a mess and the dishes are dirty, say, “Alhamdulilah, I have shelter and food.”

I read a testimonial a few days ago. A woman said, “I remember eating a raw potato once, because I was so hungry and I had to eat since I was breastfeeding.” Subhanallah.

We want so much more. Well, maybe not so much, just a little bit more right? It’s okay if things aren’t perfect, but at least we should have basic luxuries. The fact that we consider these luxuries ‘basic’, makes us forget that they are still in fact luxuries that a lot of people don’t have. When I didn’t have running water in my house last week, my daughter and I both commented on how tough it was living like that and when it came back, we kept saying, “Alhamdulilah we have water”.

Be grateful now. Ibn Ata’Allah said, "If you do not know the blessings you have when you have them, then Allah will teach you about them by taking them away." Don’t wait until you are without, to appreciate what you have. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to "Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death." (Al-Hakim)

I remember a science project in school to teach us how useful our thumbs are. We had to secure our thumbs down across our palms and go about daily life that way, without being able to use our thumbs. It’s more difficult than you would think.

The reality is we can’t choose our tests. I find it amazing that our tests are individual-specific. Allah is Most Wise and when He tests one with poverty while testing another with illness, there is actually wisdom in it. Testing the first person with illness instead of poverty wouldn’t have the same affect.

There are enough verses in the Qur'an about how we will be tested so why then do I feel so unprepared when the test actually hits me? Why do we feel like we are being knocked off of our feet? Maybe it is because we are firmly grounded in this life.



“Whoever is mainly concerned about the Hereafter, Allah will make him feel independent of others and will make him focused and content, and his worldly affairs will fall into place. But whoever is mainly concerned with this world, Allah will make him feel in constant need of others and will make him distracted and unfocused, and he will get nothing of this world except what is decreed for him." (Al-Tirmidhi)

And that’s what happens. We’re always looking beyond what we have, looking for more. Humans are greedy. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valleys of gold, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him." (Al-Bukhari)

Think back to when we didn’t have so much stuff. Internet, kitchen appliances, apps on our phones, furniture… life was less cluttered, less busy, but we were still okay. Yes, it’s easy to have things at your fingertips, easier and quicker to chop onions in the food processor, convenient to look up things on your phone instead of books, but it seems the more we have, the more we want.

• Don’t use your blessings to accumulate sins. We can choose to use our tongues to backbite or dhikr. We can use our wealth for riba (usury) or sadaqa (charity).

• Don’t belittle your blessings by thinking, “Yeah I have this, but…” For example, “Yes I’m glad I have my food processer, but I need a bigger one so I can chop twice as many veggies and oh – I need one with the different attachments and the blender too.” Stop after you say, “Yes I have this” and allow that to be enough.

• Look at the big picture. Often times we compartmentalize our lives. I could say, “Yes, masha’Allah I was able to go back to my home country and see my family this summer, but I would have really liked to use that money to save for a bigger home.” Although they are two different situations and at first they seem not to have anything to do with one another, by keeping our life in little segments, we will never be content because there will always be some area that is lacking. By stepping back and seeing life as a whole, you can be content even when one area is not as fulfilling as you would like.

• Train yourself to be grateful for your tests. Contemplate what you could possibly gain from the trial instead of focusing on the pain.

Remember that Allah tests us with good and bad. In good times, be grateful and in hardship, be patient.

Challenge: Whether you are in a state of hardship or ease, offer a prostration of gratefulness and sincerely thank Allah for things that you have before you start to ask for things that you don’t.



SOURCE:
SAUDI Life
http://saudilife.net/islam/87-challenges/21193-at-the-very-least-be-grateful#comment-3016