مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُۥ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful,

Gratitude. 

Whenever a person expresses thanks to someone for something the feeling is always a positive one. Being thankful will never generate sadness but the very opposite. Let’s think of some scenarios:

1) Your mother cooked your meal when you got back from work. It was a hard and a laborious day and you were exhausted; 
2) A friend spends time listening to you whilst you are going through something very difficult;
3) Someone overlooks your mistake;
4) someone surprises you with a gift you wanted for a very long time and so on.

It’s a feeling of thanks, happiness and this generates appreciation and love. It’s often that when a person will show gratitude the relationship with whom he or she is grateful towards will grow stronger.

But what about our relationship with Allah? This is the most important relationship of all. He is the One who bestows upon us every single blessing and all these sorts of relationships.  If you will go back and contemplate every blessing we can see and perhaps cannot see goes back to Allah. 

We as human beings often need to reset sometimes. Too often our thoughts are regarding the things which are less important and in the grand scheme of things are often futile.

Take a step back and ask ourselves:

“Where are we heading? Whom are we heading towards?”

“How has life passed by? What were we before and what are we today?”

“How did we get here?” 

“Go back to the source of all blessings”

If a person is so preoccupied with life’s difficulties then one must see how he or she has been fashioned and this is even more evident when one becomes a parent. It is not we who feed the unborn child in the womb - it is Allah.

But it’s also the same in the world, Allah has given us hands and legs to facilitate attaining nourishment but where does the source of sustenance come from? Allah. 

Think about the process by which you have attained your meal, from a seed, sunshine, rain, the process of growth, to the farmer, to store, to the market and so on. It doesn’t cease there then we should contemplate how Allah has given us the mouth, teeth, windpipe, stomach and so on to eat and digest this food. 

We often overlook these things as little things, but they are not. To grow close to Allah a person must not be heedless of His blessings but one should be continuously grateful and be sure the relationship with Allah will improve. Gratitude will turn into a deep love, positivity and thankfulness manifested in action.

And Allah is the Most Appreciative of all, despite the fact we cannot truly express our gratitude the way He deserves. Yet, we must be thankful, for praising Him causes closeness and increases our awareness of Him.

Condemned are ˹disbelieving˺ humans! How ungrateful they are ˹to Allah˺!

He created them from a sperm-drop, and ordained their development.

Then when He wills, He will resurrect them.

But no! They have failed to comply with what He ordered.

and meticulously split the earth open ˹for sprouts˺,

all as ˹a means of˺ sustenance for you and your animals.

Then, when the Deafening Blast comes to pass—

on that Day every person will flee from their own siblings,

For then everyone will have enough concern of their own.

On that Day ˹some˺ faces will be bright,

Razia Zahra's Reflection on Surah Abasa:17 - 40

Personal Reflection – Surah Abasa

“He frowned and turned away…”
This verse makes me pause. How many times have I unintentionally ignored someone because I was focused on something or someone I thought was “more important”?

This Surah reminds me:
It’s not about how people appear.
Not about how much they know, how confident they are, or what the world sees in them.
It’s about what Allah sees in their hearts — and what He sees in mine.

Sometimes I find myself craving the attention of the popular, the powerful, or the successful. And yet, I might miss the quiet sincerity of someone right in front of me.

  I ask myself:
Have I ever made someone feel unworthy without  realizing it?
Have I looked away from someone who actually needed me just because they weren’t “impressive”?
Am I giving time to those who are humble seekers of truth, including myself?

The Day of Judgment imagery in this Surah shakes me.
Running from my own family — that scene makes me realize: no one will carry my mistakes, my excuses, or my laziness. On that day, it’ll just be me and my deeds.

So today, I pause.
I want to give value to people for the sake of Allah — not based on the world’s standards.
And I want to treat every moment of Qur’an and guidance as a personal invitation from my Creator, not something I push aside for later.

Points to ponder on ;

Today, who did I unintentionally ignore or treat as less important?
What is one way I can honor someone’s sincerity this week, even if they’re not close to me?
If I died tonight, what would I regret not doing sincerely — for Allah alone?
How can I make my heart more welcoming to the Qur’an and those who seek it?

Hj's Reflection on Surah Abasa

The final part touches upon “the stunning blast” and its fearful effects. The very sound of the words gives the impression of horror. It makes people unaware of anything around them. Their faces, however, provide a lucid account of what is happening to them. “But when the stunning blast is sounded, on that day everyone will forsake his brother, his mother and his father, his wife and his children: for each one of them will on that day have enough preoccupations of his own. Some faces on that day shall be beaming, smiling and joyful. Some other faces on that day shall be covered with dust, veiled with darkness. These shall be the faces of the unbelievers, the hardened in sin.” (Verses 33- 42)

A quick preview of the sūrah leaves a profound effect on the reader. Its message and its implications are so powerful that no human heart can avoid being deeply touched, even by a quick perusal of it. In the following pages we will attempt to illustrate some of the far-reaching effects certain parts of the sūrah have and which may not be immediately apparent.