SPIRITUALITY & GRATITUDE

The Prophet Muhammad has said that, “One who does not express his gratitude to other human beings will never be thankful to God.” Thankfulness is a state of mind which cannot be compartmentalized. If it manifests itself in one place, the chances are that it will do so in other places too. If a man shows gratitude to one person, he will surely show it to others likewise. When a man does someone a good turn, it is something quite obvious—a tangible direct experience. On the contrary, God’s kindness, being an indirect experience, is not at all obvious. One has to be perceptive, and reflective to be able to realize the favours granted to man by God. While the favours a man does are observable, God’s favours can be realized only by thinking about them. One who fails to perceive an event which is directly observable cannot be expected to grasp something which can be apprehended only after a great deal of cogitation. If the recipient of a favour fails to acknowledge it for fear of belittling himself in the eyes of his benefactor, he does himself nothing but harm. It is more a question of being belittled in the eyes of his own conscience than falling down in others’ eyes—a course by far the more injurious. An even greater disadvantage of an ungrateful attitude is that it produces a mentality of non-acknowledgement. Failing at first to acknowledge the favours of one’s fellow men leads on to failure to give wholehearted credence to the Lord of the universe. There is no greater loss in this world than one who has failed to acknowledge his Creator. Thus, Islam inculcates the spirit of gratitude towards one’s fellow beings and towards God. True spirituality is the elevation of the human condition to a plane on which the mind is focused on the higher, non-material realities of a Godly existence. The sign of a person being spiritual for sure is that he will contribute positively towards humanity, will be compassionate, kind to the animals as well and will not harm the environment. He will be self-motivated in doing this. o If a person wants to find God, he shall first have to make himself deserving of this by serving others. This paves his way to spiritual progress. Only those who have elevated themselves spiritually will find God.