Being Thankful in the Presence of God, The Most Thankful (Ash Shakur)

by Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

The way of those whom You have blessed, not the way of those on whom is Your anger, nor those who are astray. (Qur’an 1:1 Al Fathia)

Dear Friends, dear lovers and servants of the Almighty , brothers and sisters in the family of Adam and Isaac , Abraham and Moses; Jesus and Muhammad, (peace be upon them all.)  It is said in our tradition, ‘God’s greatest gift to us is the gift of remembrance and our greatest gift to God is remembering God’s presence in all things and giving thanks for that gift.’

I am honored and grateful, indeed humbled to be asked to stand before you today as we turn our attention to God (Allah) in giving Thanks for the blessings of this life which come to us clothed in beauty and veiled in misery.  I am hopeful that our voices are heard and our inner most supplications attended to. 

Those who believe and whose hearts are made tranquil by the remembrance of Allah, surely – in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. Qur’an Al-Rad’a 13:28

At the very core of a Muslim’s belief is that all people are born essentially good, that our role in life is to manifest that goodness by serving God, through serving others and that our safety, and security and peace (al Islam) lies in living in remembrance and thankfulness to Allah (God), Out of whose attributes we and this world were created. God (Allah) is the Giver and The Most Thankful; Ash Shukur; in the sense that He/She rewards His creatures because of their Giving Thanks.  God is present. Present within our souls and hearts, present in our daily lives, present in our moment to moment thoughts and responses.  Present as the seeds of spring are hidden in the earth awaiting the right conditions for sprouting, as the essence of goodness lies in the core of the hearts of all women and men…  Waiting to be awakened in the right conditions, at the right moment.  And so as we sincerely give praise to God it is from that divine presence who is the giver of praise and the receiver of the Thankfulness. It is said in our tradition that the straight path to God is the path of Shukur…Thankfulness… which in Arabic also means gratitude and sweetness.  How sweet it is to be aware we are in the Presence of the Divine! 

The teaching has come to us that ‘The very heart of all matters is giving thanks…for giving thanks is to know that everything comes from God and then to use that thanks as a means of obeying God.  Indeed so important is Thanks-Giving that one who is ungrateful is likened to a disbeliever.

When combined with good works all states of awareness of the Divine Presence and all miracles are found in Giving Thanks to Allah.  To turn our attention away from our weaknesses and turn it toward gratitude to Allah (God) for what is before us in the moment, for where we are placed, for good acts we can perform is to awaken in the presence of the Divine seeing Her/ Him through the 99 beautiful Names/attributes…which are seeded within us.  The Giver and the Thankful is also the The Compassionate and the Merciful, the Just and the Peaceful, the Forgiver and the Guide, the Lover and the Hidden…Allah…God…the Present.  To the believer, God, Allah is Present Here and Now, and is the Giver and the recipient, the one, the only . La illaha il illah There is none worthy of worship but Allah. (God)

In the Holy Quran Allah revealed to the Prophet Mohammed through the Archangel Gabriel:

Qur’an 39: 7
If you are thankless, Allah is in no need of you; yet He is not pleased by ingratitude in His worshippers. And if you are thankful He is pleased by it in you….

So on a day like today, Allah as Ash Shukr The Grateful/ the Thankful is present to the degree we are conscious of and sincere in our gratitude.  To the degree we give our thanks to Allah (swt) He-She gives that thanks in return.

In the Qur’an Allah says: “I am with my believer…”  ‘They love me and I love them. Those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and establish regular prayers and pay charity, will have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. ) (Al-Baqarah 2: 277) 

Yes today, and insh’Allah (God-Willing) everyday we are so Thankful for the bounties bestowed upon us.  Whilst at the same time we must be ever aware of those whose lives are filled with loss and grief, who are victims of unwarranted disease and oppression and who suffer due to the greed and the ignorance, arrogance and irresponsibility of other human beings. 

We have had, here in So. Va. A glorious, beautiful Fall. The natural beauty is an opportunity for Thanks-Giving to rise from our soul; we are privy to the changing of the colors , the clear star-filled nights, the crisp breezes, all     harbingers of Winters’ pause and testimony to the magnificence and the beauty that is God.  Al Jamal, Al Jalal, The beautiful and the Majestic;

It is Allah Who hath created the heavens and the earth and sends down rain from the skies, and with it bring out fruits wherewith to feed you: it is He Who hath made the ships subject to you, that they may sail through the sea by His Command; and the rivers (also) has He made subject to you. And He has made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses: and the Night and the Day has He (also) made subject to you. And He gives you of all that you ask for. But if you count the favors of Allah, never will you be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.) (Ibrahim 14: 31-34)
It was only a few short months ago that hurricanes devastated our neighbors to the south, earthquakes took the lives of 80 thousand Pakistanis and left at least another 500 thousand injured, homeless and facing the   Himalayan Winter. The Tsunami in Indonesia , Floods and Avian Flu in China , Tornados in the Mid West; all bespeak of the natural patterns of life   and the responsibilities of men and women, children of God for one another.  We have all have contributed to relief efforts in the past year’s series of catastrophes, wept at the pictures of loss and devastation, turned inward to seek understanding and to find the words and the actions that would comfort those in loss and grief. God has been so present in our lives, in our love and compassion, questioning and faith, patience and surrender. 

  We must never forget that our duty lies beyond the formal worship.

Then we made you our representatives on the earth after them, that we might see how you would behave. Qur’an Yunnus 10:14

As a Muslim I pray five prayers a day, or as Christian go to Mass or services one or more times a week, or as a Jew to the Synagogue on Shabbat but unless and until I bring those 99 attributes into my daily life, my decisions, my work, my words, my thoughts ; Allah ( God ) remains unseen, unheard and virtually not present         .

Often one finds it hard to be Thankful at times when there seems to be so much tragedy and catastrophe, but we have to be grateful that we still have the ability to understand what our role and responsibility is: to be vice-regents (stewards),  caring for each other and creation with humility .

Those who securely believe and whose hearts have been made tranquil by the remembrance of Allah.  Truly in the remembrance of Allah the hearts find tranquility. Qur’an Ar-Ra’da 23:28

The Prophet, blessings of Allah and peace be upon him, said: “Never is a group seated in the Remembrance of Allah the Most High, other than angels surround them and mercy covers them and peaceful repose descends upon them and Allah remembers them to those with Him.”

Let us take a moment to contemplate our Lord and Creators’ Presence with us today as we turn our attention inward and seek the Divine names and attributes in the core of our hearts. 

(SILENCE)

I thank You for compassion for you are Ar Rahman The Compassionate

Asalaaam aleikum wa Rahmatullahe wa Barakatuhu– Peace and Blessings of the Compassionate Lord be with you. 

AMIN

This talk was given at an INTER-FAITH THANKSGIVING SERVICE SERMON on NOVEMBER 24, 2005 at Centenary United Methodist Church, Lynchburg Virginia

Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid is the director of The Circle Group.  Please visit their site at http://www.circlegroup.org/index.htm