Ungrateful to the Creation: Ungrateful to the Creator
Delivered by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 6th November 2020 at Al Kawthar Academy, Leicester
Gratitude is an important part of our lives which should not only be shown to the Creator, but also to the creation. Many aḥādīth emphasise the need to express gratitude towards others and how this can be done is explained in this talk.
The first step is identified as expressing verbal gratitude and making du’ā’ for the person. But even before that, it is emphasized that we must develop the ability to recognize favours in the first place. This is because ingratitude, and the selfishness it stems from, is part of human nature. A number of verses of the Qur’ān are cited to show this ingratitude, as well as real life examples of human self-entitlement, even in religious matters. All of this occurs despite being recipients of other people’s favours.
Simple deeds such as smiling and pouring water from a jug are mentioned as acts of charity and how these can be a form of gratitude themselves.
Below are some of the timecodes and topics for this talk:
0:00 – Intro: Importance of gratitude towards creation
8:15 – How “JazākAllāhu khayrā” is different from “Thank you”
17:32 – Ingratitude and self-entitlement towards one’s parents
21:40 – Selfishness in religion
32:35 – Stories of ingratitude
39:45 – Smiling being an act of charity
49:30 – Selflessness of animals
56:02 – All of us are recipients of favours
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