This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12

Transcript

We begin by praising Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala. We thank Him, We acknowledge that He is the only one worthy and deserving of all praise and thanks, and we ask Him to shower His most complete and abundant blessings and protection upon His noble Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, upon his noble family, upon his shining companions, and upon all of those that follow them until the end of time. We ask Allah to include us from among them. We ask Allah to teach us what will benefit us, to guide us through what He has taught us, and to increase us in knowledge and accepted actions. 

 In our 13th session, we are looking at the 13th Juz of the Qur’an, which contains the end of Surah Yusuf (Chapter 12), the entirety of Surah Ar-Ra’d (Chapter 13), and the entirety of Surah Ibrahim (Chapter 14). At the beginning of Surah Ibrahim and at the end of Surah Ibrahim, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala touches on a very important quality: the mindset and action of a believer. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says on the tongue of Prophet Musa Alayhi Salam, on the tongue of Prophet Moses. May God bless him and honor his legacy. 

Remember when your Lord had proclaimed and given the announcement: 

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌۭ  

And ˹remember˺ when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’” (Quran 14:7) 

 Meaning, Allah is saying, “If you are grateful to me, if you show appreciation, if you give thanks, then I will increase you; I will surely, absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, increase you. And if you are ungrateful, then know that without a doubt my punishment is extremely painful.

Very beautifully, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala says, “If you are grateful”, which is a generic statement. Allah doesn’t mention for what or to who. And then, on top of that, He says, “For sure, I will absolutely’; He makes it a very definitive statement, “I will increase you, I will give you more. But then Allah warns: If you are ungrateful, then know that my punishment is very severe. Allah doesn’t say, ‘I will punish you Allah says that know that my punishment is very severe may very well come.  

 At the end of Surah Ibrahim, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala again makes a very important, beautiful point pertaining to gratitude. Allah He says before even mentioning gratitude, that He, Allah, has already given you everything that you’ve asked Him for, whatever you asked Him, He’s given it.   

There may be some things that I you haven’t gotten. Allah, in His own wisdom, knows when and why to give and not to give. Maybe it’s due to our own deficiencies, because it’s bad for us, or maybe because there’s something better He’s trying to save for us. 

 But from the generic method, the fact that we are alive, we’re breathing, we have, we can see, we can hear-this, that we’re Muslim-He’s given us more than we can imagine. And then He continues: 

وَءَاتَىٰكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ ۚ وَإِن تَعُدُّوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَآ ۗ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَظَلُومٌۭ كَفَّارٌۭ  

If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to number them. (Quran 14:34) 

And then He continues. If you were to try and count, enumerate, list the blessings of Allah, the favors and gifts of Allah, you would never be able to count them. You would never be able to enumerate them. You would never be able to quantify or account for them both in terms of quantity and complexity. 

If I were to think that I can feel from my hands and each, I have eyes that can see, and I can see so many colors and things, I can smell so many things, I can taste so many things, if I was to count how many things I can do, I wouldn’t be able to, let alone be grateful for the complexity for a single follicle of hair that I have on any part of my body. Those follicles came from cells that were grown and developed, which came from the sperm and egg cell that were from my parents. Then, where did those cells come from? Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala created them from my parents, and where did my parents come from. Each one of them came from their own two parents and it goes on. I would have to go back to the creation of prophet Adam, our forefather. Adam alayhi salam (may Allah honor and preserve his legacy.

This is to be grateful for just a single follicle of hair.  

Then Allah comments, that humans are extremely oppressive. They are extremely ungrateful and or disobedient. It is very beautiful that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala mentions and highlights gratitude in the surah that He names after or that is given the name of Ibrahim because Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala He speaks elsewhere about Ibrahim alayhi salam, that if prophet Abraham, may God honor and preserve his legacy, he was grateful, he was appreciative for the blessings of Allah. He was grateful for the blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala had given him.  

This could mean either for some blessings or even the smallest of blessings that Ibrahim alayhi salam was able to come close to fulfilling real gratitude for even one, two, or three blessings. That isn’t to belittle his status though. That is to elevate his status; that you and I, if we were to be grateful for that one follicle of hair, we wouldn’t actually be able to be grateful for it. 

 And Allah is saying in the meaning of, He was grateful for some blessings. That yes, Ibrahim was actually grateful for some of those blessings. Or you can understand to be that he was grateful for the smallest of blessings, the tiniest of blessings. For example, this includes being grateful for the coolness of water on a warm day, the touch of a loved one, all these little things. Just say thank you, Allah, not when I get a million dollars or just when life’s good. But being grateful for those small, tiny, little things. And how great and powerful and amazing of a statement is the phrase that the Qur’an literally begins with Alhamdulillah: complete gratitude and compliments belong to Allah, the biggest thank you, the most beautiful praise belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, who is our Lord, our Master, our Creator.  

 This is a time for us to always think and reflect: am I grateful and appreciative of the blessings Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has given me? Do I thank Allah? Do I appreciate Allah? How do I respond to these gifts from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala? Am I thankful? And from one perspective, not that we should be selfish, but if I want to be selfish, it’s only going to come and benefit me. If I’m grateful, Allah will give me more. If I’m grateful, Allah will reward me. If I’m grateful, I will get an eternity in paradise, let alone what I will get in this life from Allah.  

 There’s a story that’s mentioned that a shaykh, a teacher, was teaching one of his students. There are a handful of adhkar, remembrances of Allah, like subhanallah (Oh Allah! You are so perfect); alhamdulillah (thank you, Allah); Allahu akbar (Allah you are far greater and more supreme).   

And the student went through this spiritual exercise remembering Allah, doing this series of litanies and praises. And after he thinks, “I’m the same. Nothing really has changed. I don’t find anything different.” The shaykh, the teacher, responded, “You should be grateful that you are able to have a habit and a routine of remembering and mentioning Allah.” Meaning, if I’m grateful for Allah I’m a Muslim, I may not be the best Muslim, not that I should be okay with that, but I should try and be better, but Allah, thank you that at least right now.  

 I say la ilaha illallah, like I’m not someone who is on the brink of saying la ilaha illallah or hates la ilaha illallah. Rather Allah, I say it right now. That’s such a huge blessing that it can save me from an eternity in the fire of hell.