Almost Satisfying Music
Being Aware of Blessings
When you look around you, your eyes focus on dozens of objects one after the other,
within seconds.
They turn towards the blue sea, boats, the opposite shore, the bridge, flying birds and
many other things.
Even before I uttered this sentence, your eyes have been repeatedly engaged with dozens,
even hundreds of details.
When I enter, dozens of details catch my eye again, each one more beautiful than the other.
These trinkets, eye-catching flowers, and this beautiful clock on the wall.
Allah is the creator of each of these details.
All of these images, which go on and on in harmony with each other, constitute our whole
life.
Our destiny is made up of all these moments.
A Muslim should know that Allah has created every detail he sees and every image he encounters
in his destiny.
This increases his submission to Allah and adds depth to his understanding.
Allah has given us understanding so that we may contemplate his creation, realize his
beautiful presence with deep intimacy, and draw close to him in reverent fear and strong
love.
Allah says so in Surah Al-Insan.
I seek refuge in God from Satan.
Has there not been over man a long period of time when he was nothing, not even mentioned?
Verily, we created man from a drop of mingled sperm in order to try him, so we gave him
the gifts of hearing and sight.
As it is stated in the verse, we are all being tested.
Every morning when we wake up, Allah gives us life again and grants us consciousness
and memory.
He organizes every process happening in our body at every moment.
He controls our blinking, heartbeats, body temperature, immune system, sensitive values
in our blood, and every process happening in our cells, even those we are not aware
of.
Therefore, we must trust in Allah from the moment we open our eyes in the morning.
The first thing we should do when we wake up is to express gratitude to Allah for granting
us the opportunity to wake up with all these blessings.
Human beings live every moment of their lives in need on Allah.
They are dependent on what Allah has created and bestowed upon them in every aspect of
life.
From the air they breathe, the food they eat, the use of their hands and feet, their ability
to speak, their shelter, to their laughter and joy.
However, a large majority of people do not realize inabilities and that they are in need
of Allah.
They think that everything happens spontaneously or that they have achieved what they have
as a result of their own efforts and endeavors.
This is both a great mistake and a great ingratitude towards Allah.
Some people who do not know how to thank even a person who buys them a small gift live their
lives ignoring the countless blessings Allah has given them throughout their lives.
However, they owe everything they have to Allah and they should be grateful to him alone.
Allah gives us so many blessings that we cannot end with counting.
He creates various foods and drinks that we like.
Allah created the fragrance of coffee and the flavor of the food we eat at lunch.
When we open our window, we are encountered with fresh air.
Allah created the clean water that flows from the tap every time we open it and he is the
one who sends us fresh water from the sky.
He heals us when we get sick.
He creates the medical knowledge, doctors and medicines that enable us to be healed.
Allah creates various cleaning and care products, perfumes, beautiful clothes and sparkling
packages for us.
Allah creates for us fruits and vegetables of all colors and different flavors that come
out of the same brown soil and the vitamins and minerals in each of them are adjusted
exactly to our needs.
In the 18th verse of Surah An-Nal in the Quran, I seek refuge in Allah from Satan.
If you would count up the favors of Allah, never would you be able to number them for
Allah is oft-forgiving, most merciful.
Surah An-Nal, 18.
It is not possible to count Allah's blessings even by dividing them into classes as reported
in the verse.
Allah creates for us technological marvels such as telephones, computers, airplanes,
the latest model luxury cars and yachts.
The flowers on your balcony are also created by Allah for you.
Kilometers and hectares of forests, rivers, mountains, blue skies, white clouds, every
fish in the seas, lions, tigers, giraffes in the forests, the cat, dog and bird in your
house are also created by Allah for you.
Along with these, the most important thing is that Allah gives us the intellect to believe,
the conscience to distinguish right from wrong and the sensitivity to love.
He creates with us the Quran, which is a guide for us to live a beautiful life in the world
that Allah will be pleased with.
But he does not create all these blessings and leave us alone in this world.
As our protector, Allah is constantly protecting and watching over us.
We cannot thank Allah enough for all these blessings.
Only a very few of which we have mentioned here in general.
Therefore every day we should start our day with excitement, thinking about what good
things Allah has wished for us that day, and we should start our day with more closeness
to Allah.
We must be attentive in order to see the wisdom and the details of the succession of moments
in our destiny.
Attention in this direction will lead to a deeper understanding and to gain Allah's
pleasure and closeness.
Gratitude means to thank the giver of a blessing, to express satisfaction and gratitude, to
know the value of the blessing given, to appreciate it.
To be grateful to Allah is to realize that Allah is the sole owner of all blessings,
and that everything comes from him alone, and to express this with the heart and tongue.
The opposite of gratitude is described in the Quran by the term kufr, which means ingratitude.
This definition alone is sufficient to show how important gratitude is in the sight of
Allah and how bad a position it puts a person in when he turns away from it.
Gratitude is an important worship reported in many verses of the Quran.
The Quran mentions the importance of gratitude and reminds the believers to be thankful.
Examples of thankful and unthankful people are given.
Gratitude is one of the greatest indicators of faith and tawhid, monotheism.
In one verse, gratitude is mentioned as one of the conditions of serving Allah alone.
O ye who believe, eat of the good things that we have provided for you, and be grateful
to Allah if it is him ye worship.
In another verse, gratitude is mentioned together with worshiping Allah as the opposite of polytheism.
But it has already been revealed to thee, as it was to those before thee.
If thou wert to join gods with Allah, truly fruitless will be thy work in life, and thou
wilt surely be in the ranks of those who lose all spiritual good.
Nay, but worship Allah, and be of those who give thanks.
Believers thank Allah for every blessing they have, thinking how helpless and needy
they are.
Wealth, property, and possessions are not the only blessings for which believers thank
Allah.
Believers, who know that Allah is the owner and judge of everything, are grateful for
their health, beauty, knowledge, wisdom, love of faith, dislike of disbelief, being among
the people of guidance, being with the pure believers, having understanding, prudence,
and discernment.
They thank Allah for a beautiful sight they see, or when their work is done easily, when
something they want is realized, when they hear a good word, when they receive love and
respect, and when they encounter many other blessings, they immediately thank Allah and
think that he is merciful, compassionate, merciful, and gracious.
There are some secrets in the Qur'an about those who are grateful.
Allah has given some secrets to the believers in the Qur'an.
Some of these secrets are for those who are grateful.
In return for the believers' gratitude, Allah gives them the understanding to see and understand
the verses in the Qur'an and in the outside world.
This is stated in the verses as follows.
We sent Moses with our signs and the command, Bring out thy people from the depths of darkness
into light, and teach them to remember the days of Allah.
Verily in this there are signs for such as are firmly patient and constant, grateful
and appreciative.
From the land that is clean and good, by the will of its cherisher springs up produce,
rich, after its kind.
But from the land that is bad, springs up nothing but that which is niggardly.
Thus do we explain the signs by various symbols to those who are grateful.
Surah Al-A'raf 58
Being among those who are grateful is an indication of one's closeness, friendship,
and love for Allah.
Grateful people always have the understanding and ability to see the beauties and blessings
created by Allah in every event.
An unbelieving or ungrateful person always sees deficiencies and flaws, even in the most
beautiful environments, and becomes unhappy or uneasy with them.
As a wisdom of Allah's creation, these people are always confronted with events that seem
to be wrong, and images that are not beautiful.
However, for people who have a beautiful and sincere view, Allah always shows beauties
and blessings by increasing them.
Another secret revealed in the Quran for the thankful is that Allah will increase his favors
for the thankful.
For example, if a Muslim is grateful for his health and strength, Allah will increase his
strength and health.
Allah gives more knowledge and property to those who are grateful for their knowledge
and property.
This means that they are among the people who are content with what Allah has given
them, who rejoice in the blessings they have, and who are sincere and friends with Allah.
Allah has revealed this secret in the Quran as follows.
And remember, your Lord caused to be declared publicly, If he are grateful, I will add more
favors unto you.
But if he show ingratitude, truly, my punishment is terrible indeed.
In many verses of the Quran, Allah has foretold that he will repay gratitude, increase his
favors to those who are grateful and reward them.
Allah declares this beauty in Surah Shashurah as follows.
That is, the bounty, whereof Allah gives glad tidings to his servants who believe and do
righteous deeds, say, No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near
of kin.
And if anyone earns any good, we shall give him an increase of good in respect thereof.
For Allah is oft-forgiving, most ready to appreciate service.
It is one of the secrets of the Quran that Allah increases his favors to those who are
grateful.
Of course, this gratitude must be done with true sincerity.
An expression of gratitude that is not sincere, that is not directed towards Allah, and that
is not done with a feeling of the ecstasy of his infinite compassion and mercy, and
that is expressed for show, is an extremely insincere behavior.
Let us not forget that our Lord, who knows what is hidden in the essence of the hearts,
is the witness of this insincerity.
Those who give thanks in such a state of mind do not realize that Allah knows every intention
they have, every thought they conceal, and the secret of the secret.
It should not be forgotten that sincere believers are thankful even in the most difficult circumstances.
A superficially thinking person may see a reduction in the blessings that the believers
have.
However, the believers know that there is a good in every event and every environment
because they can see the blessing in it.
Allah declares in the Quran that he will try mankind with a little fear, hunger, and loss
of life and property.
In such a situation, the believers rejoice and give thanks, hoping that Allah will reward
them with the blessings of paradise if they are patient with them.
They know that Allah will never burden them with a burden beyond their strength, and they
are patient and grateful with the confidence and submission of this.
Even if they are in hardship and difficulty or in comfort, they wake up every morning
with the same enthusiasm and zeal of faith, thanking Allah and striving for Allah's sake
with the same enthusiasm.
Surah An-Nisa states that Allah will surely reward those who give thanks.
What can Allah gain by your punishment?
If ye are grateful and ye believe, nay, it is Allah that recognizeth all good and knoweth
all things.
The wisdom of these signs and evidences of Allah can only be understood with the understanding
and sensitivity of those who are grateful.
Ungrateful and insensitive people cannot understand the wisdom of Allah's verses and do not even
realize them.
Allah has constantly advised the prophets to be grateful.
For example, it is reported in a verse that Moses was told,
Allah said, O Moses, I have chosen thee above other men.
By the mission I have given thee, and the words I have spoken to thee.
Make then the revelation which I give thee, and be of those who give thanks.
The fifteenth verse of Surah Al-Ahkaf shows the importance of gratitude and the example
of a believer asking Allah to be grateful for his blessings in his prayer.
We have enjoined on mankindness to his parents.
In pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth.
The carrying of the child to his weaning is a period of thirty months, at length when
he reaches the age of full strength and attains forty years.
He says, O my Lord, grant me that I may be grateful for thy favor which thou hast bestowed
upon me and upon both my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as thou mayest
approve and be gracious to me in my issue.
Surely have I turned to thee, and truly do I bow to thee in Islam.
Knowing Gratitude
The Qur'an informs us that one of the most important goals of Satan is to distract people
from being thankful.
Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their
left, nor wilt thou find in most of them gratitude for thy mercies.
It will always be one of the main aims of Satan to prevent people from seeing and being
grateful for the blessings of Allah and to make them ignore them.
In order to be able to be grateful, first of all, it is necessary to have the consciousness
to comprehend the importance of gratitude.
A grateful person knows that Allah is the true owner of the blessings he possesses,
and that Allah is the one who gives them to him, and that he knows his helplessness before
Allah.
The gratitude of a person who ignores the greatness and majesty of Allah and cannot
feel this obvious truth in his heart is equally superficial.
People who do not believe or whose faith is weak only remember Allah for a short time
when a calamity is removed, but then they forget that they prayed to Allah and return
to their lives of disbelief.
In the Qur'an, the situation of people who pray when they are afflicted with calamity
and commit polytheism when distress is removed from them is reported as follows.
Say, Who is it that delivereth you from the dark recesses of land and sea, when ye call
upon him in humility and silent terror?
If he only delivers us from these dangers, we vow, we shall truly show our gratitude.
Say it is Allah that delivereth you from these and all other distresses, and yet ye worship
false gods.
There is no limit to gratitude.
Man can use every opportunity he gets as an occasion of gratitude, just like Prophet Ibrahim.
All believers should realize that Allah is the one who gives them food and drink, and
they should be grateful to Allah for this.
There are countless blessings that people benefit from throughout the day but often
do not think about and only realize their value when they lose them.
Allah has given us eyes and ears to realize these blessings and to thank him.
What people should do is to realize these blessings before they are taken away and to
be grateful.
It is he who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing, and
he gave you hearing, and sight, and intelligence, and affections, that ye may give thanks to
Allah.
It is he who brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when ye knew nothing, and
he gave you hearing, and sight, and intelligence, and affections, that ye may give thanks to
Allah.
Allah has foretold this fact in his verses.
It is He who has made the sea subject, that ye may eat thereof flesh that is fresh and
tender, and that ye may extract therefrom ornaments to wear.
And thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves, that ye may seek, thus, of the
bounty of Allah, and that ye may be grateful.
Surah An-Nal, 14.
Among his signs is this, that he sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, giving you
a taste of his grace and mercy, that the ships may sail majestically by his command, and
that ye may seek of his bounty, in order that ye may be grateful.
Surah Ar-Rum, 46.
It is Allah who has subjected the sea to you, that ships may sail through it by his command,
that ye may seek of his bounty, and that ye may be grateful.
Surah Al-Jatiyah, 12.
The believer's gratitude for the blessing given to him is a proof that he is entitled
to this blessing.
In this way, not only does he do justice to the blessing, but with Allah's permission,
a path opens in front of him for a higher blessing.
While Allah has declared that he will increase his blessings to his servants who are grateful,
he has also foretold that those who are ungrateful will be responded with punishment.
And remember, your Lord caused to be declared publicly,
If ye are grateful, I will add more favors unto you.
But if ye show ingratitude, truly my punishment is terrible indeed.
Surah Ibrahim, 7.
Being Among the Grateful.
We are surrounded by blessings.
We should ask Allah for understanding in order to realize these blessings.
We should pray to Allah to see the miracles in the creation of these blessings, and to
experience the excitement of these blessings.
The continuous creation of these countless blessings in our lives should not form a habit
of seeing them as ordinary, because it is only by seeing the wonders around him, by
understanding their subtleties and details, that man can have a high level of faith and
appreciate Allah's worth, that is, his superiority, his glory, and his art.
Of course, we also ask Allah for the ability to appreciate him.
Solomon, who was given the office of prophet, asking Allah to inspire him to be grateful
should be an example for all believers.
Because Satan tries to prevent people from being grateful by approaching them from in
front of them, behind them, to their right and to their left, and by tricks such as making
them forget, giving them a sense of familiarity with the blessings and making them ignore
them.
People sometimes regret when a blessing that they consider great or important is taken
away from them.
This bemoaning may magnify the heedlessness into which a person falls and may lead to
rebellion against Allah.
We honor Allah, but those who believe know that Allah is the creator of all things and
he is the true owner of all things.
Humans can possess all this property belonging to God only temporarily in the capacity of
trustees.
It is within the knowledge and discretion of Allah that we may benefit from that blessing
temporarily or that we may never attain it.
What we need to do is to thank our Lord for the countless other blessings he has given
us, knowing that everything we have has been given to us with wisdom.
The favors given to human beings are not due to any superiority or characteristic in them,
but only as a blessing and a test.
It is not given to be proud, but to realize the blessings and be grateful.
If this is not understood, the property, which is one of these blessings, will not bring
happiness and salvation, both in this world and in the hereafter.
Property is given to be used for the sake of Allah, not to accumulate and pile it up.
Allah declares the end of those who do not do so in the Quran as follows.
And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah hath given them of
his grace think that it is good for them.
Nay, it will be the worse for them.
Soon shall the things which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted
collar on the day of judgment.
To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is well acquainted
with all that ye do.
A believer enjoys all the blessings of this world within the limits of the Quran, but
he never forgets Allah, the hereafter and living according to the morals of the Quran.
No matter how many opportunities such as luxury, splendor, money, and power he has, this does
not cause him to become lax, spoiled, arrogant in short, to abandon the morality of the Quran.
Because he realizes that all of this is a blessing from Allah as a trial, and that he
can take it back if Allah wishes.
He keeps in mind that the blessings in this world are temporary and limited, that he is
tested with these blessings, and that the real ones are in heaven.
For a person who lives the Quranic morality, worldly blessings such as wealth, property
are only a means for him to get closer to Allah and to be grateful.
According to him, having the blessings of the world, which he knows he benefits from
temporarily, is never the main goal.
For example, in a house, which is one of the longest lasting blessings that can be used
in the life of the world, a person will be able to live for an average of 70, 80 years
at most.
At the end of his earthly life, he will leave his beloved house in the world, which he has
worked all his life to own.
Wealth means a final separation between us and all the blessings of this world.
The believer knows that Allah is the true and sole owner of the favors given to him
and that they come only from him.
He does his best to express his gratitude, satisfaction, and appreciation to our Lord,
the creator of these blessings.
As it is stated in the verse,
All the blessings that Allah offers us have a purpose.
Blessings should direct the user of the blessing towards Allah, because everything given requires
gratitude in return.
It is necessary to give the maximum and most sincere gratitude to Allah, who gives the
best blessings to human beings unceasingly.
Gratitude is not only a great worship, but also protects man from becoming unruly.
Because when there is wealth or power in the soul of man, there is an inclination to become
cruel, tyrannical, and unscrupulous.
When some people become rich and have good opportunities, they begin to forget their
weakness and become arrogant.
Gratitude prevents this rampant behavior.
The grateful person knows that Allah is the giver of every blessing he receives.
He is obliged to use this blessing in the way of Allah, in the way our Lord wishes.
This is the real reason for the humility and maturity of prophets such as David and Solomon,
who were given great authority, greatness, and sovereignty.
Karun, who became unruly because of the property given to him, did not give thanks to our Lord
as he should, and he met with a bitter end.
Gratitude is a very important worship.
All the messengers, especially our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, are an
important example for the believers in this respect.
Our duty is to take the morals of the prophets as an example for ourselves, to live a life
that is aware of all the blessings that Allah has bestowed, to be among those who are grateful
at every moment, and to strongly avoid being ungrateful.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.