About: The Wrappings of Gratitude

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

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The Wrappings of Gratitude

What are the Wrappings of Gratitude? They are a series of pages of reflections, observations, wisdoms and understandings, gathered over many years – all compelled by one purpose – that when one has mediated over the signs of God, the ones He has placed on this earth, and in the universe, of His existence – that when we consider in the very depths of our soul what it means to be alive – when we consider how many blessings we have recieved from God Almighty – then we are moved to want to show our gratitude to Him. Thus the Wrappings of Gratitude are our garments that show how gratitude and humility are intertwined, for out of humble hearts pours forth gratitude, and out of gratitude pours forth humility. And both of these may be realised in many different ways. Our desire to reflect and understand life at a deeper level is gratitude, reading is gratitude, writing is gratitude, helping others increase in their knowledge is gratitude, helping those less fortunate than us is gratitude, a smile is gratitude. And thus what we find emanates out of our gratitude to God is, as He says in the Quran:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَخْبَتُواْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

“[But] those who believe, and do good deeds, and have humbled themselves before their Lord, they are the people of the Garden, where they shall abide forever” (Qur’an, Hud 11:23)

We are told that the reward for reflecting, for thinking which leads to humility which leads to good deeds with a sincere heart, which leads to gratitude, is no less than Paradise itself, and that is a promise from no less than The Lord of the Worlds, God Almighty Himself. Gratitude is both a station we strive to achieve as well as a station granted to us by God for our desire to strive for it. What we seek to present here to you is in no way different in words, principles or understandings than what Allah has commanded in the Qur’an or the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) commanded through his actions – that of thinking about our existence and coming to realise that there is only One God. And when we realise this, we realise the greatest truth in the uniiverse, a truth that changes the way we percieve our entire existence, how we live our lives, and how we strive with what we possess to stand before Him on the day of judgement, a day about which Allah says in the Qur’an:

وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ

“And let me not be in disgrace on the Day when (men) will be raised up;
The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart”
(Qur’an, ash-Shu’raa 26:87-89)

These are not mere words to think about, this is The Truth, an exposition of what will happen one day. And that truth says that a humble heart, one that only speaks the truth, is the greatest of a believers possessions because only such a heart is able to comprehend the subtleties of God’s magnificent creation, to whom its secrets become evident, and it increases him in that single truth to which the entire universe, within and without testifies, that there is no god but God, there is only Allah. So it is, that in these pages you will find much mention of the heart and how we may guard it, protect it, use it wisely and one day return it to God in its purest state. Finally, in the words of the Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) when he said:

وَلاَ يَنفَعُكُمْ نُصْحِي إِنْ أَرَدتُّ أَنْ أَنصَحَ لَكُمْ إِن كَانَ اللّهُ يُرِيدُ أَن يُغْوِيَكُمْ هُوَ رَبُّكُمْ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

“My counsel, if I wished to counsel you, cannot profit you if Allah has decided that you should go astray. He is your Lord and to Him you shall be returned”(Qur’an, Hud 11:34)

We above all of God’s creation have been blessed and honoured with freewill, an ability to choose and shape our destinies for it has not yet been written for us and can change day by day, a story whose ending is open for us to write as we choose. But what we choose, and what we recieve in the end depends entirely on our sincerity. If we continue to believe in goodness, in love, in God and in paradise and continue to do so no matter what trials and tribulations befall us then we give ourselves a good chance of being successful both in this life and the next. But above all else if we strive to place Allah and His Messenger in our thoughts, intentions and actions, and place them before anyone else, with all of our heart and soul – then we give ourselves a great chance of success on the final day. May we all strive towards the highest stations of Paradise and seek no less. Ameen.

All praise belongs to Allah.