Sayyiduna Hasan bin Abu Hasan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه comments, “Mankind is immensely ungrateful. He counts his problems but forgets the bounties he was given.”^[1]

On the other hand, our pious predecessors would thank Allah Almighty in good health and when unwell, in times of ease and difficulty, and in happiness and sadness. In short, they thanked Allah Almighty in every possible circumstance.

A thankful servant

Dawat-e-Islami’s publishing department, Maktaba-tul-Madinah, has released a translation of the famous work of Imam ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Jawzi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, originally entitled Bahr al-Dumoo’ (River of Tears). On page 211, we find the story of a man named Abu ‘Abd al-Rab, who was the richest man in the whole of Damascus. He set out on a journey and came across a river. As night set in, he set up camp in a meadow close to it. He began to hear a voice ringing out from an unspecified direction; someone was exclaiming the praise of Allah profusely. Abu ‘Abd al-Rab set out to find the origin of the voice and found a man wrapped in a mat.

Giving salam, Abu ‘Abd al-Rab asked who the man was. “A Muslim”, he replied. When asked why he was wrapped in a mat, the man said, “This is a bounty, and it is necessary for me to give thanks.”

“You are wrapped in a mat,” Abu ‘Abd al-Rab inquired, “What kind of bounty is this?” The man began to explain: Allah created me, brought me into this world safely, and I was born and raised as a Muslim. He made my body healthy and concealed what I do not like to speak of. Who has more bounties than the one who lives this way?

Abu ‘Abd al-Rab said, “May Allah have mercy on you. Would you like to come with me? I am staying at the riverside not too far from here.” The