After a long day of fasting in Ramadan, breaking our fast at sunset allows us to reflect on our blessed life when we can satisfy our hunger and thirst and sometimes even overindulge realizing that some people live in constant starvation and deprivation. This is why Ramadan is the perfect time to cultivate an attitude of thankfulness and appreciation, which is considered one of the most important steps towards self-improvement and spiritual growth. According to a Harvard Mental Health Letter, which was published in November 2011, expressing gratitude to other people and/or a higher being shift people's focus from what they lack to what they do have in their lives and from being self-centered into reaching out to something larger than themselves whether it might be other people, God, or even nature. As a result, studies have indicated that being grateful can lead to improvement in many people's relationships as well as in their physical and mental health. Of course, this is easier said than done, especially when we are overwhelmed by the responsibilities and burdens of life in general. In this situation, most of us would rightfully complain about our grief and sorrow to Allah, and some psychologists even advise that people keep a journal of their feelings and struggles in order to be able to better process them. However, those who advocate a "grateful heart" approach in life advise people to keep a journal of gratitude instead. Moreover, in Islam, in addition to having numerous prayers to thank people and Allah, we have the "prostration of thankfulness", sujood al-shukr. It is usually performed following the achievement of a "big" blessing the person did not expect or was waiting for. However, in this position of humility, people could truly connect to Allah through thanking Him for all the blessings they have by identifying them one by one. In this process, if we try to be aware and appreciative of even the things we take for granted, such as the functions of our healthy organs or the ability to breathe, it would not only make a wonderful meditation, but it could also have a tremendous uplifting effect that leaves us lighthearted even if it lasts just long enough for us to "recharge" in order to be able to go back and face our struggles again. This could also open the door for more good things to happen as Allah promised us in the following verse: "If you are grateful, I would certainly give to you more" (14:7). Another beautiful saying about the circle of gratitude and blessing was said by Ali Bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), which is: "Blessings are linked to gratitude and gratitude is attached to increasing in blessings for they are conjoined. Thus, Allah will not stop increasing His blessings until the gratitude of the ‘servant' ceases." This Islamic perspective of gratitude seems similar to the "law of attractions", which was highly publicized by Rhonda Byrne in her book, The Secret. The idea is that "like attracts like", which means that a person's thoughts and expectations have an actual effect on what actually happens to them. I cannot think of a better way to express this idea more than the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), in which he narrated that Allah said: "I am to My servants as they expect Me to be" not to mention the old Arabic saying, "expect good things and you shall find them". It is interesting to note that two of Allah's 99 names are: Ash-Shakir (All-Appreciative) and Ash-Shakoor (Most Ready to Appreciate), which are mentioned more than 55 times in the Holy Qur'an along with different derivative forms of the root word of thankfulness in Arabic, "shukr", demonstrating how significant this attribute is. Counting our blessings and being grateful humble us while at the same time bring so much joy to our lives and to those around us whose kindness and love are sometimes taken for granted. The writer can be reached at [email protected]
