In the month of Ramadan which is a mercy, blessing and beauty for all Muslims, we sit to break our fast and we give our thanks to God for each and every meal, every provision He has provided us with. As a matter of fact, we should display the same level of gratitude for all the blessings bestowed upon us everyday and always. We should remember, not only in Ramadan, but in every waking moment of our lives that every provision given to us by God, every beauty, our family members and friends whom we meet at the Iftar table, the air we breathe and everything around us exist as a gift to us from God.
Most of us surely have a childhood memory where we had been offered a candy while paying a visit to a neighbor or relative, and our mom asked us "Did you thank the host?" Thanking someone who has done us a favor is one of the most fundamental rules of etiquette, which teaches us to respect and appreciate those who help us and do nice things for us.
In this period where people are becoming more and more selfish and even rude, thankfulness is an increasingly valuable trait. Thanking is not only crucial for the one who receives the favor, but for the one doing the favor as well. Thanking is a major indicator of the fact that one's actions are being appreciated.
The person who helps us warm up when we are cold, who feeds us when we are hungry, or who takes care of us when we are sick suddenly becomes the most precious person in the whole world. Despite the passing years, we never forget the ones who did us these favors, and remember them fondly.
Imagine a person who has given you clothes to wear and means of transportation to ease your travel. Moreover, imagine that this person has provided you with medications and doctors that would treat your illness, and laid at your feet breathtakingly lovely gardens with flowers of all colors and birds of all kinds in them, and offer you the freshest fruits and most delicious meals. And imagine that all these do not merely last for a few days, but for a lifetime.
How would you thank the person who offered all of them to you? The One Who offers all of them and more to us every moment and Who created the earth and all living beings on it is the Almighty God. God reminds us in the Qur'an the fact that He created countless blessings for us thusly:
"If you tried to number God’s blessings, you could never count them. God is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’" (Surah an-Nahl, 18)
All sorts of food we eat and the soils that grow them, the Sun heating our world, animals we consume as nutrients, rains that bring blessings, crops stretching as far across the plains as eyes can see; all of these are blessings that God has bestowed upon us. Each of them are a gift from God so that we can show Him how much we love Him. Each of these blessings are a means for us to be eternally grateful to Him.
In return for myriad blessings He provided us, God only asks one thing in return, and it is for us to direct our love for Him in the sincerest manner, in other words, to thank him for the blessings He has granted us.
It is He Who made the sea subservient to you so that you can eat fresh flesh from it and bring out from it ornaments to wear. And you see the ships cleaving through it so that you can seek His bounty, and so that hopefully you will show thanks. (Surah an-Nahl, 14)
Thankfulness is one of the greatest blessings God has ever bestowed upon us; the more we show our thanks to God, the more blessings we earn from God.
And when your Lord announced: "If you are grateful, I will certainly give you increase, but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe." (Surah Abraham, 7)
Throughout the month of Ramadan that we are in, by observing the prayer of fasting, preparing fast-breaking dinners for our loved ones and the Muslims in need, coming together with Muslims in tarawih prayers, we earn God's approval while drawing further away from satan's influence. The month of Ramadan is a sacred period that brings Muslims closer, strengthens the bonds of love and solidarity among them, and urges them to pay more heed to the voice of their consciences.
Adnan Oktar's piece in BERNAMA: