Bukan mudah untuk tetap berada dalam kesyukuran saat diuji. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila Allah s.w.t. menguji kita dengan nikmat yang paling kita sayang seperti yang dilalui oleh saudara-saudara kita di Gaza 😢

Seperti Rasulullah s.a.w yang bersedih hati diejek oleh pakciknya sebagai seorang yang al-Abtar (terputus zuriat keturunan) pada hari pemergian anak-anak lelaki Baginda s.a.w., Allah pujuk Baginda s.a.w. dengan surah ini agar Baginda s.a.w. tetap bersyukur atas nikmat-nikmat Allah s.w.t. yang tak terkira.

The meaning of Eid and Arafah can't be captured by only following the observances, because we must also internalize and embody the core values that it represents, such as charity, generosity, sacrifice, sincerity, and communal solidarity ... and one powerful reminder that came to my mind is the value of gratitude.

We have to be grateful and we have to include it in our worship as well. It's a good thing to worship out of obedience, for forgiveness, for rewards, for guidance, etc., but I think that a higher level than those is to worship out of gratitude. Allah says, "Indeed, We have granted you (O Prophet) abundant goodness" (108:1), which entails gratitude, and therefore He says, "So pray and sacrifice to your Lord alone" (108:2). And that connection between gratitude and worship reflects the hadith where we are told that when Aisha (ra) asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) why he would pray so much at night even though Allah had already forgiven all his past and future sins, he responded, "Shall I not be a grateful servant?"

On one hand, I think that there is a type of gratitude which is more explicit and it is expressed in our prayers and with our tongues. And yet, I think that there is a deeper level of gratitude which shapes our character even and how we interact with others. When you are grateful at that level, I think that it has a positive but an unconscious effect on others because they will be able to unconsciously "feel" your gratitude by just the way that you behave, walk, and talk, because gratitude has become etched into the fiber of your personality. 

I also think that the nature of gratitude, in contrast to other emotions, is something more self-activating and more instantly accessible: for example, to experience love, you need someone to appreciate you, care for you, or remember someone who was very good to you. To experience sadness, something needs to happen in order to make you feel that way. To experience guilt, you must have done something to make you feel bad about that. But again, to experience gratitude, you don't really need anything. You can be grateful for the fact that you are simply alive at this moment. 

And yet it is something that is not found in most people, as Allah says, "Only a few of My servants are truly grateful" (34:13).

#BeautifulShukr        

The 2 surahs are back to back and have interesting contrasting verses.

Surah Al kawthar starts by mentioning Allahs generosity in giving the Prophet Mohammad SAW the abundant goodness.  Surah al Maun on the other hand starts by mentioning the oppisite virtue of generosity, stinginess! It does so  by mentioning the one who pushes away orphans and doesnt help feed the need.

Allah swt in Surah al Kawthar then commands the Prophet SAW to pray for Allah swt, while Maun mentions the one who delays his prayer and prays for other then Allah, i.e. to show off.

Allah swt in Surah al Kawthar then commands the Prophet SAW to slaughter sacrifical animals for the sake of Allah swt, while Al Maun ends by mentioning the one who refuses to help with the smallest favors.

To top it off, Subhanallah,  Al Kawthar means great abundance , while Maun means the smallest goodness... So even in their titles we find a contrast in meaning.

Itqan by AlSyuooti

*Can anyone else spot any more contrasts?