Reflections of Peerless Men
Letter 159
Discussion
Join
In The Name of Allah The Most
Beneficent The Most Merciful
On the meaning of: "If ye are grateful, I will add
more (favors) unto you; But if ye show ingratitude, truly My punishment
is
terrible indeed." (Koran
[14:7])
My dear! Praying day &
night, subjecting the body to
obedience of the Lord is intended for offering Shokr (Gratitude) for
the Lord
i.e. fusing the body & heart. If the body is not busied offering
Shokr
(Gratitude) & obeisance to the Lord, dust shall pour over dust
abasing to Asfala
Saafelin (Lowest of the
Low, Koran [95:5]), flames flaring upon the flames
in Hell, gales blowing over gales into odious gusts, Fresh water drown
within
the salty waters of the seas i.e. all hell breaks loose!
Allah Almighty provides freely
the instruments of honor
& greatness e.g. wealth and plethora of other blessings, in return
the
person should observe the rights of the Divine over himself i.e. giving
thanks.
And if he does not observe these rights of the Divine and offers not
gratitude,
poverty shall strike him bewildered & wandering whereat his wife
&
dependants suffer with neediness.
Offering Shokr (Gratitude)
while consuming the blessings is
not merely saying “All Thanks to the Lord” and rub the hand over the
beard and
then get up and stand in prayers (Pir Jamaal is using the parody of the
average
Muslim man to describe mechanical worship). This worship is nothing but
cause
for failure & damnation of a curse!
My dear! Offering Shokr
(Gratitude) over the consumption of
a provision has three components:
- Observing the rights of the Divine
i.e. acts of worship and expressions of paean & praise
- Observing
the rights of the neighbor i.e. offering help in any form &
shape, offering respect & security
- Feeding & aiding the poor &
needy according to one’s ability
(First) Allah said, “Therefore, treat not the orphan
with
harshness”, (Then) Allah
said, “Nor repulse the
beggar (unheard)”
and finally you qualify to, “Proclaim
the blessings of your Lord”
(Koran [93: 9-11]). These verses were revealed about the man chosen
above the
Mankind Mohammad Peace Be Upon Him. (These verses were commandments to
the
Prophet to learn how to offer Shokr (Gratitude) in return for his
provisions as
an orphan and when he & his family were in need)
Similarly verses have been
revealed about Imam Ali (offering
gratitude), “And they
feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan,
and the captive” (Koran
[76:8]). Was-Salaam (Peace & Godspeed).
End.
©
2004-2002, Dara O. Shayda