Favours Of Allah
﴿ اَللهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ السَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِۦ مِنَ الثَّمَرَٰتِ
رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِىَ فِى الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْأَنْهَـٰر ﴾
Allah f is the One Who created the heavens and the earth, and sent down water from the sky, then brought forth from it fruits as a provision for you, and subjected to you the ships so that they may sail in the sea by His command
and subjected to you the rivers. [14:32]
Allah f reminds us of several of the favours that He has bestowed upon us. He reminds us of the fact that it is He who created the heavens and the earth, and it is He Who sends down rain from the sky. Through this rain we are blessed with His endless mercy and bounties.
Although Allah f uses the word ‘fruits’ in this Āyah, it encompasses all types of sustenance and shelter. The message being conveyed in this verse is that everything we possess is given to us by none other than Allah f Himself.
Allah f states that He has subjugated the ship that sails in the sea. Once again, although the word ‘ships’ has been used in this verse, it encompasses all forms of transportation, including motor cars, and airplanes. Allah f provides all that for our benefit.
Allah f repeatedly reminds us of His mercy and bounties; He has subjected the rivers to be of service to mankind. If there were no rivers in the world, we would have been devoid of drinking water.
Allah f tells us that He has subjected for us the sun and the moon, both of which continuously pursue their courses. The sun and the moon move with precision every day, every week, every month throughout the whole year. This has continued since the time of their creation and will do so until Allah f decrees otherwise.
Allah f asserts that He has subjected for us the day and the night. The question of fact then arises as to what would happen to us if we had continuous day or night, this is then addressed by Allah f in the following two verses:
﴿ قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ اللَّيْلَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَٰهٌ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُم بِضِيَاءٍ ۖ أَفَلَا تَسْمَعُونَ قُلْ أَرَءَیْتُمْ إِنْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَیْكُمُ النَّهَارَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَىٰ یَوْمِ الْقِیَـٰمَةِ مَنْ إِلَـٰهٌ غَیْرُ اللَّهِ یَأْتِیكُمْ بِلَیْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِیهِ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ ﴾
Say, “Have you thought that if Allah f made the night continuous for you till the Day of the Resurrection, who is the god besides Allah f who could
bring you light? Then will you not hear?”
Say, “Have you thought that if Allah f made the day continuous for you till the
Day of Resurrection, who is the god besides Allah f who could bring
night for you to rest in ? Then will you not see?” [28:71-72]
Allah f reminds us that He has given us everything that we have asked for as well as things we have not asked for. In the following verse, He states:
﴿ وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِیمٌ ﴾
And if you should (try to) count the Favours of Allah f you could not
enumerate them. Indeed, Allah f is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [16:18]
Allah f addresses mankind by reminding them that if they were to count the favours and blessings He has bestowed upon them, they would not be able to count them.
Allah f doesn’t use the term نِعَم nor does He use the term أَنْعُم (the plural Arabic forms of the word for favour).
Instead, He uses the singular form, emphasising that even if all of creation got together, from the beginning of time till the end of time (man and Jinn alike) they would not be able to express gratitude of the worth of a single blessing gifted by Him.
Imam Baiḍāwī r, a famous exegete of the Qur’ān, stated that mankind is unable to thank Allah adequately or worship Him with the worship due to Him, that is why He has described Himself as Oft-Forgiving in the above verse. Furthermore, He is Most Merciful because He does not remove the favours and blessings from man, despite his failure to recognise them, nor does He punish immediately for his ingratitude towards them. [1]
For a moment, let’s focus on the blessing of sight, this single blessing which allows us the freedom to do so much. Imagine being deprived of this mercy. How many hardships would we endure on a daily basis as a result of not having it?
Our sight helps us to visualize objects and also helps us in light perception, colour and depth perception. We perceive up to 80% of all impressions by means of our sight.
It is not only our eyes, but also our ears, our nose, our hair, and every single part of our body is a gift from Allah f and yet we remain ungrateful for them. Allah f says:
﴿ إِنَّ الْإِنسَـٰانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ ﴾
Indeed, humankind is truly unjust,
totally ungrateful. [14:34]
What must we do? We ought to show gratitude. We must strive to become like the Prophets p. Allah f reminds us of His servants who are grateful. Allah f says about them that they were:
﴿ شَاكِرًا لِّأَنْعُمِهِ ۚ ﴾
Thankful for His favours [16:121]
Allah f tells us that Sulaymān n said:
﴿رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِىٓ أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَىَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَٰلِدَىَّ
وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَـٰلِحًا تَرْضَىٰهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِى بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِى عِبَادِكَ الصَّـٰلِحِينَ ﴾
My Lord! Grant me the power that I may thank You for Your Favour which
You have bestowed on me and on my parents and that I may do righteous
deeds that will please You. And admit me through Your Mercy
among Your righteous slaves. [27:19]
We should recite the following du‘ā’ with complete conviction. The Prophet ﷺ taught a Companion h this du‘ā’ and instructed him to read it after every ṣalāh.
اَللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِك ، وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ
O Allah f, help me to remember You, give You thanks,
and perform Your worship in the best manner. [2]
May Allah f enable all of us to thank Him in a manner that befits Him. May He give us the ability to be amongst the grateful and thankful servants and save us from being from the ungrateful servants. Āmīn.
[1] Al Baiḍāwī, Anwār Al-Tanzīl wa Asrār Al-Ta’wīl, 3:223.
[2] Abū Dāwūd, 1522.
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“The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
