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(016:018) - Count Your Blessings - Talha Ghannam #FridayReminders #QuranReflections
Video: https://youtu.be/a_x6uKbynes
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/quranclub
People have a habit of focussing on the negatives. Bad news sells, both on newspapers and in our lives. Yet Allah ﷻ states in the Quran
وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ
“If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to enumerate them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (16:18).
Our blessings are infinite, yet these never get "reported". Why? This verse points out a number of important considerations:
1 - Many never consider it
The verse begins with وَإِن - "If you tried". Many of us never even try to count the number of blessings we have. We often worry about the difficulties looming over us, but how often do we sit to think about all the gifts we’ve been given?
2 - Response to Negativity
The statement both suggests and encourages us to attempt to count our blessings, almost as a response to someone saying “My life is so difficult”. The verse indicates that many of us are so focussed on and consumed by the negatives in our lives that we forget to look at the blessings
3 - Source of the blessings
The source of all our blessings is Allah ﷻ, not ourselves. When describing the blessing, He calls it نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ – Allah’s blessing. It’s easy to attribute our successes to our own hard work and struggles. Every athlete who ever wins gold puts it down to their years of hard work beforehand. Very few see the countless gifts Allah ﷻ placed for them on their way to enable them to realise their success.
4 – Universality:
The verse’s statement is universal; every single person has been given an endless number of blessings they cannot encompass – including those in severe hardship. We look at other people’s gifts and wonder why we don’t have the same, forgetting that we too have an endless list of gifts ourselves.
5 - Thanking Allah ﷻ :
The impossible nature of the task extends not only to the number of blessings you have, but the inadequacy of ever truly thanking Allah ﷻ for all that He has given you. How can you thank Him ﷻ for things you never knew you had?
6 - Increase through gratitude
There is an indication in the verse that counting and thanking Allah ﷻ for blessings will bring more blessings, i.e. if you counted all your blessings, you could never take them all in as it brings more blessings. Allah ﷻstates in surah Ibrahim (14:7),
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ
And ˹remember˺ when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’” (14:7),
7 – Ending in Mercy
A common response to ingratitude is to withdraw one’s gift. Why should I gift a person who fails to even thank me? Yet, Allah ﷻ is not like us, ending the verse emphatically by stating He is “Surely” “the Most forgiving” and “most merciful”. Allah ﷻ knows our nature as human beings, aware of our shortcomings and is prepared to forgive them each time we err. Rather than chastise our ingratitude and withdraw His blessings; He reminds us that He ﷻ will always forgive and show mercy.
So take a moment to count your blessings. Bad news sells, but good news is gifted is gifted endlessly each time you are grateful. Count the countless gifts within your life and consciously thank Allah ﷻ for them – you will find yourself overwhelmed by all that He has given you.
Talha Ghannam
www.quranclub.org
View all episodes
By Talha GhannamVideo: https://youtu.be/a_x6uKbynes
Podcast: https://anchor.fm/quranclub
People have a habit of focussing on the negatives. Bad news sells, both on newspapers and in our lives. Yet Allah ﷻ states in the Quran
وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ لَا تُحۡصُوهَآۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَغَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ
“If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to enumerate them. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (16:18).
Our blessings are infinite, yet these never get "reported". Why? This verse points out a number of important considerations:
1 - Many never consider it
The verse begins with وَإِن - "If you tried". Many of us never even try to count the number of blessings we have. We often worry about the difficulties looming over us, but how often do we sit to think about all the gifts we’ve been given?
2 - Response to Negativity
The statement both suggests and encourages us to attempt to count our blessings, almost as a response to someone saying “My life is so difficult”. The verse indicates that many of us are so focussed on and consumed by the negatives in our lives that we forget to look at the blessings
3 - Source of the blessings
The source of all our blessings is Allah ﷻ, not ourselves. When describing the blessing, He calls it نِعۡمَةَ ٱللَّهِ – Allah’s blessing. It’s easy to attribute our successes to our own hard work and struggles. Every athlete who ever wins gold puts it down to their years of hard work beforehand. Very few see the countless gifts Allah ﷻ placed for them on their way to enable them to realise their success.
4 – Universality:
The verse’s statement is universal; every single person has been given an endless number of blessings they cannot encompass – including those in severe hardship. We look at other people’s gifts and wonder why we don’t have the same, forgetting that we too have an endless list of gifts ourselves.
5 - Thanking Allah ﷻ :
The impossible nature of the task extends not only to the number of blessings you have, but the inadequacy of ever truly thanking Allah ﷻ for all that He has given you. How can you thank Him ﷻ for things you never knew you had?
6 - Increase through gratitude
There is an indication in the verse that counting and thanking Allah ﷻ for blessings will bring more blessings, i.e. if you counted all your blessings, you could never take them all in as it brings more blessings. Allah ﷻstates in surah Ibrahim (14:7),
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ
And ˹remember˺ when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more. But if you are ungrateful, surely My punishment is severe.’” (14:7),
7 – Ending in Mercy
A common response to ingratitude is to withdraw one’s gift. Why should I gift a person who fails to even thank me? Yet, Allah ﷻ is not like us, ending the verse emphatically by stating He is “Surely” “the Most forgiving” and “most merciful”. Allah ﷻ knows our nature as human beings, aware of our shortcomings and is prepared to forgive them each time we err. Rather than chastise our ingratitude and withdraw His blessings; He reminds us that He ﷻ will always forgive and show mercy.
So take a moment to count your blessings. Bad news sells, but good news is gifted is gifted endlessly each time you are grateful. Count the countless gifts within your life and consciously thank Allah ﷻ for them – you will find yourself overwhelmed by all that He has given you.
Talha Ghannam
www.quranclub.org