BG-Social Learning Center

I am sharing the text of the previous Friday khutbah. So you can read it. May Allah benefit all of us. Let’s go back in time. Back to Madinah, through the masjid and to the Prophet’s home. We see him there, in the darkness of the night, praying to his Lord. He is crying as he reads the ayat of the Qur’an. He has been standing for so long you see that his blessed feet have swelled and the skin is cracking. Many of us would think what A’ishah, his beloved wife, asked him afterward. She said, “O Prophet of Allah, why do you undergo so much hardship despite the fact that Allah has pardoned for you your earlier and later sins?” He responded, “Afala akuna abdan shakura? Should I not prove myself to be a thankful servant?” Thanksgiving is a holiday when the family comes together. Thanksgiving Day centers around principles such as being thankful, thanking God(Allah swt), keeping family ties and feeding others. None of these values contradict the teachings of Islam. Islam not only teaches us to thank God, but we are also told to thank our parents, our spouses, our friends, neighbors and all those who surround us. According to Islam, one of our foremost duties is to be grateful to God for all of His blessings. We can describe three levels of thankfulness: 1. To realize and appreciate all blessings by and within the heart. 2. To say thanks with the tongue. 3. To express gratitude by doing righteous deeds. In other words, the first level is the appreciativeness and gratefulness that we feel in our hearts. Then we fortify that thankfulness through our speech. And the third level is when we prove by our deeds that we are truly thankful to God. As we open the Quran, the first chapter starts with ‘Alhamdulillah’ which is generally translated as “all praise is for God.” In reality, the word Alhamdulillah signifies gratitude in our everyday lives. Hence, when someone asks how we are, Muslim often respond with, “Alhamdulillah.” Similarly, Islam teaches us to be thankful throughout the day: for waking up from sleep, after eating our meals, drinking water, etc. In this way, one’s entire life revolves around gratitude to God. In Chapter 55 of the Quran, titled “The Lord of Mercy,” God asks the same question thirty-one times, “Which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” God has created us and then made this world for us. We are getting benefits from all of His creations such as the sun, moon, clouds, rain, air, grasslands, animals, plants, rivers, oceans and countless other bounties of the natural world! After realizing all this abundance, how can a sensible person be anything but thankful to God? God reminds us, “The seven heavens and the earth and all who dwell in them give glory to Him. There is not a single thing that is not chanting His praise yet you cannot understand their praise. He is ever forbearing, forgiving” (Quran, 17:44). Ironically, we humans are the only ones who forget to be grateful to Him. God ends the above verse by emphasizing that He is forgiving. It’s for this reason that we are not punished right away. Rather He gives us time to realize our mistakes and make amends. Naturally, at times we may wonder whether it is truly beneficial to be grateful to God. In the Quran, God answers, “If you are thankful I will add more (favors) unto you but if you show ingratitude then my punishment is terrible indeed” (14:7). This verse proves that our gratitude is beneficial for us alone, and our ingratitude is harmful to us alone. The intelligent individuals who comprehend this basic teaching of Islam are referred to as those who are wise, who possess a mature and comprehending intellect. People are thankful for many things: the provisions, home, and family with which they have been favored; wealth and health; belief, knowledge of God, and the spiritual pleasures bestowed on them; and the consciousness with which God favored them so they could open themselves to the knowledge that they must be thankful. If those who are thankful for such a consciousness use their helplessness and destitution as "capital" and thank Him continuously, they will be among the truly thankful. It is narrated from God's Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, that The Prophet David, upon him be peace, asked God Almighty: O Lord. How can I be thankful to You, since thanking You is another favor that requires thankfulness? The Almighty responded: Just now you have done it. In many places in the Quran, Allah compares the terms shukr and kufr. "Then remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and do not reject Me" (Al-Baqarah 2:152). Iman (belief) implies shukr or gratefulness as opposed to kufr or ungratefulness. A kafiror disbeliever is ungrateful to the Being Who has given him everything, whereas a Believer is one who is ever thankful for all that Allah has given him. Everything that happens to us - even events that we may consider to be personal afflictions or natural disasters-are from Allah. Therefore, in times of calamity and distress, there will be some good for us, provided we respond appropriately. The Prophet said: "How wonderful is the case of a Believer! There is good for him in whatever happens to him -and none, apart from him, enjoys this blessing. If he receives some bounty, he is grateful to Allah and this bounty brings good to him. And if some adversity befalls him, he is patient, and this affliction, too, brings good to him" (Muslim). Every person’s shukr is would be different. If you are wealthy your shukr is to spend your wealth in the way of Allah. If you are intelligent use your intelligence in the way that it pleases Allah.

11th Annual Community Picnic Monday, Sept 3rd, 2018 Wind Gap Park, Wind Gap, PA Starts at 12:30pm Everyone is Welcome! Join in and have FUN!