Thursday, November 23, 2017

Perspective: Being thankful at Thanksgiving | Shehla Ahmad


Those servants of God who strive for service to humanity in recognition of His favors upon them and recognizing it their responsibility are recipients of God’s pleasure. “And God will certainly reward the grateful” (3:145).

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Inside Nova
By Shehla Ahmad | November 22, 2017

The real virtue is when we help the needy considering it as their right.

“If you are grateful, I will, surely, bestow more favors on you” (14:8) is a message of God in the Holy Qur’an which is truly a guiding light for us in everyday life. The Qur'an expects Muslims to be thankful to God for the countless blessings he has bestowed upon each and every one of us. The Holy Qur'an states, “And God brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing, and gave you ears and eyes and hearts, that you might be grateful” (16:79).

But this realization is not limited to the gratitude for the Creator. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "One who is not grateful to others is not grateful to God.”

A person is truly grateful when he acknowledges and reciprocates goodness by means of a better return. This is the subject of kindness. God states in the Holy Qur'an, “Verily, God enjoins justice, and the doing of good to others; and giving like kindred..." (16:91). This verse teaches us that there are three levels of goodness. First is doing good to those who do good to us, this is justice. Second level is doing good to others regardless of how others deal with us. Third and highest level of goodness is when we do good to others just like we do for our close family members.

One may wonder how can we give our thanks to God who is the Lord of all the universe. One way to be grateful to God Almighty is to share what He has bestowed upon us with fellow human beings. The real virtue is when we help the needy considering it as their right. True servants of God are those who help the needy without being asked for help. The Holy Qur'an elaborates this subject as follows, “And those in whose wealth there is a recognized right. For one who asks for help and for one who does not” (70:25-26). Local chapter of Ahmadiyya Muslim Women's Association organized a food drive and donated 17 boxes to Salvation Army Old Bridge Road before Thanksgiving with the same spirit.

Those servants of God who strive for service to humanity in recognition of His favors upon them and recognizing it their responsibility are recipients of God’s pleasure. “And God will certainly reward the grateful” (3:145).

For me stopping for another car on the road and giving others way as far as possible is my way of thankfulness to our local community and fellow citizens for their contributions for making our neighborhood and cities a place we call our home.

If we are not grateful to God for all He gave us and are not thankful to our fellow beings how can we attain contentment and satisfaction?

Shehla Ahmad
Stafford County


Read original post here: Perspective: Being thankful at Thanksgiving | Shehla Ahmad


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