Hal Shakart Allah Ala Niamihi
- Author died
- -
- Editions
- Dar Ibn Khuzaymah
Hal Shakart Allah Ala Niamihi (Have You Thanked God for His Blessings?) is an Islamic devotional treatise by the contemporary author Azhari Ahmad Mahmoud, focusing on the concept of gratitude (shukr) in Islam and calling on Muslims to recognize and show appreciation for divine favors .
Purpose and Themes
The work is structured as a direct exhortation urging the reader to engage in self-examination regarding God's continuous blessings . The author emphasizes that divine favors encompass not only external provisions like food, drink, and clothing, but also essential faculties such as sight and health, as well as the supreme spiritual gift of guidance to Islam and steadfastness in monotheism (tawhid) .
Citing classical scholars and early figures, the text explores several key spiritual dimensions of gratitude:
- The Primacy of Spiritual Blessings: Drawing on Mujahid ibn Jabr and Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, the work highlights the declaration of faith ( لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ , "there is no deity except God") as the greatest blessing bestowed upon humanity . It also cites Ibn al-Qayyim on the distinction between the gratitude of the commonality—which revolves around physical sustenance—and the gratitude of the elect, which pertains to faith and the spiritual nourishment of hearts .
- Gratitude for Gratitude (al-shukr 'ala al-shukr): The text explains that being guided to thank God is itself a blessing granted by divine enablement (tawfiq), requiring an additional degree of gratitude .
- Gratitude of the Limbs (shukr al-jawarih): The author stresses that authentic gratitude cannot be confined to verbal praise while one's actions disobey God . Relying on statements by Nasr ibn Muhammad al-Samarqandi and Abu Hazim, it details how every bodily faculty—including the eyes, ears, hands, feet, stomach, and private parts—must enact gratitude by engaging in righteousness and refraining from unlawful acts .
- Preservation and Increase of Favors: Citing al-Hasan al-Basri and Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the treatise notes that gratitude functions as both a preserver (al-hafiz) of existing gifts and an attractor (al-jalib) of unrealized blessings . Furthermore, relying on Quranic statements and a report from Ali ibn Abi Talib, it underlines that divine increase is tied to sustained gratitude, whereas ungratefulness leads to the loss of blessings and punishment .
Method and Sources
The booklet employs a hortatory style that blends Quranic verses, prophetic traditions, and narrations from early Muslims (salaf) . Alongside prophetic sayings regarding contentment and thanking God after food and drink, it includes anecdotes from figures such as Fudayl ibn Iyad, Yunus ibn Ubayd, Bakr ibn Abd Allah al-Muzani, and Sahl ibn Abd Allah al-Tustari to model practical ways of contemplating and expressing thankfulness .
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