Thanksgiving
Some verses of the holy Qur’an consider gratefulness to God as a requisite for having faith in God and serving Him. Other verses have in different ways encouraged or recommended people to be grateful to God.
The renowned Muslim exegete of the Holy Qur’an, Allame Tabatabaie, has written about the nature of gratefulness or thanksgiving and its types saying that the nature of gratefulness calls on the person to make use of a divine blessing in a way desired by the Creator who has granted such a blessing and also remember and praise God who has granted the blessings and in this way while using these blessings the person will remember the Creator and will not transgress the bounds set by Him.
Therefore, it can be said that optimal and rational use of diving blessings and observing moderation and refraining from wastefulness and extravagance and observing the limits set by God are all the needed instruments for being grateful to God.
On this basis, there are verses blaming human beings for their ingratitude and transgressing the bounds set by God reminding them of the consequences. By studying the verses that encourage people to be grateful to God it can be concluded that consumption in an Islamic society must have its specific direction. This means that consumption must not be merely focused on meeting material demands and it should also observe the divine limits so much so that members of the society through making proper use of the divine blessings are practically grateful to God and manage to express such gratefulness as well which manifest being the servant of God. Of course, being aware of God as the main source of these blessings is also an indication of one’s gratefulness to God that has also been mentioned in some narrations by the infallible Imams. But this article seeks to focus on the practical aspect of gratefulness to God.
Translated by: Sadroddin Musawi
Other links:
Moderation in Consumption
