بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ
قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
ثم الصلاه و السلام علی محمد عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون
اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
The Fourteenth Sign of the Righteous:
يُمْسِي وَهَمُّهُ الشُّكْرُ
He brings the day to night while he is thankful.
One of the signs of piety is to give thanks for divine blessings. Their daily occupations and their fatigue do not neglect their attention to the essence of God and His blessings.
Truth of thanksgiving
Allamah Tabataba’i writes in the commentary of al-Mizan: “The truth of thanksgiving is the expression of blessings, just as disbelief means to conceal the blessing and cover it up. And the expression of blessing means to apply the blessing in its place, where the giver intended it, and also speak of the blessing, and to thanks the giver of the blessing. To Say, and to remember it in his heart and in his memory, and do not forget him. “
Imam Sadeq (peace be upon him) says:
أَدْنَى الشُّكْرِ رُؤْيَةُ النِّعْمَةِ مِنَ اللَّهِ، مِنْ غَيْرِ عِلَّةٍ يَتَعَلَّقُ الْقَلْبُ بِهَا دُونَ اللَّهِ، وَ الرِّضَا بِمَا أَعْطَاهُ، وَ أَنْ لَا تَعْصِيَهُ بِنِعْمَتِهِ وَ تُخَالِفَهُ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ وَ نَهْيِهِ بِسَبَبِ نِعْمَتِهِ.
The least thanksgiving is to know that the blessings is from God without forgetting it in your heart. And also to be content with what God has given you, and not to sin against the blessings God has given you, and to disobey Him by His blessings. (Mesbah al-Sharia, p. 4)
Thanksgiving in the Holy Quran
In many positions of the Holy Qur’an, God praises the truth of thanksgiving and the Shakir people, saying:
وَ مَنْ يُرِدْ ثَوابَ الدُّنْيا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْها وَ مَنْ يُرِدْ ثَوابَ الْآخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْها وَ سَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ. (آل عمران:١٤٥(
Whoever desires the reward of the world, We will give him some of it; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter, We will give him some of it; and We will reward the appreciative.
ما يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَ آمَنْتُمْ وَ كانَ اللَّهُ شاكِراً عَلِيماً. (نساء: ١۴۷)
What would God accomplish by your punishment, if you have given thanks, and have believed? God is Appreciative and Cognizant.
The Holy Quran says in the description of Abraham, who is considered to be the greatest divine prophet after the Prophet (PBUH):
إِنَّ إِبْراهِيمَ كانَ أُمَّةً قانِتاً لِلَّهِ حَنِيفاً وَ لَمْ يَكُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ؛ شاكِراً لِأَنْعُمِهِ اجْتَباهُ وَ هَداهُ إِلى صِراطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ ( نحل:١٢٠-١٢١(
Abraham was an exemplary leader, devoted to God, a monotheist, and was not of the polytheists. Thankful for His blessings. He chose him, and guided him to a straight path.
Thanksgiving as a matter of piety and servitude is so important and effective that the devil’s whole endeavor is to keep humans away from it:
قالَ … لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِراطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ؛ ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَ عَنْ أَيْمانِهِمْ وَ عَنْ شَمائِلِهِمْ وَ لا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شاكِرِينَ؛
He said, “Because you have lured me, I will waylay them on Your straight path. Then I will come at them from before them, and from behind them, and from their right, and from their left; and you will not find most of them appreciative.”
In response to this impudence of the devil and his promise, God says:
قالَ اخْرُجْ مِنْها مَذْؤُماً مَدْحُوراً لَمَنْ تَبِعَكَ مِنْهُمْ لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنْكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
He said, “Get out of it, despised and vanquished. Whoever among them follows you—I will fill up Hell with you all.
And in another verse in the Qur’an God says:
وَ قَلِيلٌ مِنْ عِبادِيَ الشَّكُورُ (سبا ۱۳)
but a few of My servants are appreciative.
Thanksgiving effects
Among the results of thanksgiving is a promise made by God in the Holy Quran:
وَ إِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَ لَئِنْ كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذابِي لَشَدِيدٌ (ابراهیم ۷)
And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will grant you increase; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe.”
Amir al-Mu’minin says:
إِذَا وَصَلَتْ إِلَيْكُمْ أَطْرَافُ النِّعَمِ فَلَا تُنَفِّرُوا أَقْصَاهَا بِقِلَّةِ الشُّكْر؛
Whenever you come around to the benefits of the blessings, do not take it away from yourself with a little tahnksgiving. (Nahj al-Balaghi )
Imam Sadeq says:
مَكْتُوبٌ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ اشْكُرْ مَنْ أَنْعَمَ عَلَيْكَ وَ أَنْعِمْ عَلَى مَنْ شَكَرَكَ فَإِنَّهُ لَا زَوَالَ لِلنَّعْمَاءِ إِذَا شُكِرَتْ وَ لَا بَقَاءَ لَهَا إِذَا كُفِرَتْ الشُّكْرُ زِيَادَةٌ فِي النِّعَمِ وَ أَمَانٌ مِنَ الْغِيَر؛
It is written in the Torah: Be grateful to the one who has blessed you and bless to the one who thanks you. And the blessings do remain as long as you are greatful for them. thanksgiving causes a great deal of blessings and the safety of their conversion to torment. (kafi).
Thanksgiving is a means of divine grace
In thanking God, one should pay attention to the fact that the Almighty God compels his servants to thank the intermediaries for the blessings and otherwise they do not give thanks to God; Imam Sajjad says:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ قَلْبٍ حَزِينٍ وَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ عَبْدٍ شَكُورٍ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى لِعَبْدٍ مِنْ عَبِيدِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَ شَكَرْتَ فُلَاناً فَيَقُولُ بَلْ شَكَرْتُكَ يَا رَبِّ فَيَقُولُ لَمْ تَشْكُرْنِي إِذْ لَمْ تَشْكُرْهُ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَشْكَرُكُمْ لِلَّهِ أَشْكَرُكُمْ لِلنَّاسِ
Verily, God loves every humble and grateful servant, on the day of resurrection God says to one of His servants: Have you thanked that guy? And the servant says: O my Lord! (I didn’t thanked him, but in return) I thanked you, God says: Because you didn’t thank him, you didn’t thank me either. Then Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said: Your most grateful to God is your most grateful to the people. (kafi). “