The Hidden Shirk of Claiming Ownership of Blessings
Human nature is prone to attributing blessings, successes, and beauties to one’s own intelligence, effort, or superiority. However, in Sufi ethics, this is considered a great ingratitude and veiling towards Allah, the true owner of the blessing. Abdülkadir Geylânî (q.s.) states that the gratitude for the blessings of wealth, property, and health rests on the principle of “acknowledging the One who gives and increases it.” The servant should remind himself of the source of the blessing in every circumstance and see Allah’s grace and favor. Not claiming blessings as a personal possession, not transgressing against Allah’s boundaries, is the foundation of true gratitude. Those who forget Allah by highlighting their own power or the means of creation fall into a hidden shirk (hypocrisy) 4, 5. Therefore, gratitude is not merely a word on the tongue, but rather firmly establishing in the heart the certainty that the blessing comes from the Absolute Giver.
Lack of Gratitude and the Wildness of Blessings
Explaining the power of gratitude in retaining blessings, Hazrat Geylânî narrates the sacred comparison of the Prophet (s.a.w.): “Blessings are wild; restrain them with gratitude!” A blessing that is not thanked for escapes from the servant like a wild animal escaping its tether. Allah Almighty helps and bestows success upon His servants through His grace, power, and will – all goodness comes from Him. However, when the servant falls into sins and makes mistakes, this evil stems from his own bad choices. Boasting when blessings come and forgetting their true owner, and lamenting in times of calamity, are signs of ingratitude and blindness in the heart. A true knower always remembers the admonition, “Will you not acknowledge these blessings that He has entrusted to you?” and focuses on His grace rather than the abundance of the blessing.
Acknowledging Imperfections and the Blessing of Gratitude
A believer with faith never exaggerates his actions, acts of worship, or achievements; he always acknowledges his own imperfections and powerlessness. To be grateful is to attribute all circumstances other than evil and censure to Allah through praise. When a good thing happens to the servant, he should say, “It is Allah’s grace,” and when a calamity occurs, he should say, “It is the consequence of my sins,” finding his fault within himself 7, 8. This subtle etiquette breaks the arrogance and audacity of the self and saves the person from becoming like Pharaoh. The servant who expresses gratitude to the Sustainer so that He may not withhold help and continue the blessing acknowledges that all power and strength in his existence belong to Him. Those who forget the giver of blessings and cling to the blessing itself will be condemned to remain empty-handed and disappointed in the Hereafter.