falâmet-i shākir; alāmat-i shukr; darajāt-i shukr; shākir; shakūr; shukr-i niʿma
Shukr (shukr), is to be aware of the imtihān (trial). When it is understood that every blessing comes only from Allah, and that tribulation is but a trial for the servant, then the servant either gives thanks (shukr) or is ungrateful. Allah tests His servant as to whether he will be grateful or ungrateful, and by testing him, He can protect the servant from every evil situation from which he wishes to distance himself. This too requires shukr. (Ādāb, 79)
The entire dunyā (world); with its little or much, its bitterness or sweetness, its beginning and end, everything—absolutely everything—is for Allah to test and try His servant. All these trials and shukr
means of trial are gathered in two points: sabr (patience) and shukr (gratitude). The servant either gives shukr for blessings or sabr for calamity. (Ādāb, 82)
The sign of shukr (alāmat-i shukr) is to know in the heart that the blessing is not from another, but from Allah. Praise (ḥamd) for the blessing is done with the tongue. When faced with something the Giver of blessings deems ugly, one seeks help from Him. (Ādāb, 146)
It was said: Shukr-i niʿma (the shukr of a blessing) is to know it. (Again) it was said: The shukr of a blessing is, by seeing the blessing and the beneficence of the Giver of blessings as great, is according to the value of the blessing and the Giver in the heart. Without desiring it, it is not possible to see it as great. Without understanding one's need for it, it is not possible to desire it. Need for it can only be understood by considering the end of affairs and quickly turning to it. The severity of the servant's need is for what comes to him. (Ādāb, 170)
The sign of the shākir (one who gives shukr) is that he constantly gives shukr with all his effort and asks only for shukr from Allah. When this is the case, he is content with little of the world's blessings; he is always afraid of not being able to give much shukr. One whose thought is not shukr and who does not ask Allah for shukr will not be content. Such a person will suffer eternal longing and eternal thirst. (Bed, 38)
Shukr is related only to the ḥalāl, not to the ḥarām. For if you believe that the ḥarām is ḥalāl, you have venerated it. For you have placed the ḥarām in the position of a blessing. By desiring the ḥarām to be ḥalāl, you become disobedient, you magnify what has been made small, and you seek the increase of something Allah has deemed detestable.
As for the one who gives shukr regarding the ḥalāl, he refrains from desiring much of what is ḥalāl out of fear of not being able to fulfill the shukr for abundance. For shukr to be great, he is patient with abundance. He is also patient with little. Out of fear of not being able to fulfill the shukr for abundance, he does not surpass what he values by way of shukr. Allah has used the expressions Sābirīn (the patient) and Shākirīn (the grateful) in the Qur'an. For what he values is shukr, and abandoning abundance. The reason for this is the importance given to the greatness of shukr. He is patient with both the abundance and the little of worldly things. This is the shākir and the sābir. Sabr does not come from weakness. Only when one is strong can one be patient. (Bed, 39)
Shukr is Allah's grace to those who give shukr. Its meaning is this: When the servant gives shukr, Allah increases his tawfīq (divine enablement); thus, the servant's shukr increases. Abū Saʿīd Harrāz says: Shukr is to acknowledge the Giver of blessings and to affirm His rubūbiyya (lordship).
Shukr is to witness the Giver of blessings and to be absent from shukr (not to be aware of one's own shukr). Yahyā Muʿādh (al-Rāzī) said on this matter: As long as you thank (anyone) other than Allah, you cannot be a shākir. The end of shukr is bewilderment (taḥayyur). For this reason, shukr is a blessing from Allah, and one must give shukr for this blessing as well. There is no end to this. (Taʿarruf, 71)
The lexical meaning of shukr is kashf and izhār (to uncover and make manifest). When a person's mouth opens and his tongue comes out, to express this meaning, kashara and shakara are said. Thus, the manifestation and opening of shukr is also done with the tongue. (Kūt, I, 205)
Shukr is for the servant to look at those below himself. The servant is made superior to those below him in matters of this world and the hereafter. Because his heart, religion, and well-being are safe from the things others are tested with, he sees Allah's blessing as great. Because of the worldly blessing Allah has given him, he sees the worldly blessing as great. In what others need, Allah has sufficed him, and he has sought refuge in Allah and given shukr for this state. Then the servant looks at those above him in religion. They are made superior to him by knowledge of iman (faith) and yaqīn (certainty). He becomes angry with his nafs (lower self), blames it, strives to reach the states he sees above himself, and desires them. If he does so, he becomes one of the grateful, entering the class of the praised (mamduḥīn). (Kūt, I, 206)
The reason for little shukr is ignorance of the blessing. The reason for ignorance of the blessing is deficiency in knowing Allah, heedlessness toward the Giver of blessings, and abandoning reflection on the blessing. (Kūt, I, 208)
Sabr (patient endurance) is the first maqām (spiritual station) regarding tawakkul (reliance upon God). Sabr is to see the divine decree as a test. Shukr is superior to this. This is to see tribulation as a blessing. Riḍā (contentment with God's decree) is superior to all of these and is the summit of tawakkul. Riḍā is the maqām of the possessors of tawakkul among the lovers. (Kūt, II, 35)
Shukr is divided into types: Shukr with the tongue is to confess the blessing with humility. Shukr with the body is to be in conformity with what Allah has commanded and to serve Him. Shukr with the heart is to devote oneself to witnessing while maintaining reverence.
It is said: The shukr of the scholars is with words, the shukr of the worshippers is with actions, and the shukr of the gnostics (ʿārifūn) is with uprightness in all their states.
Abū Bakr Warrāq says: The shukr of a blessing is to see the favor and to preserve reverence.
Ḥamdūn Qaṣṣār says: The shukr of a blessing is to see oneself as a parasite.
Junayd says: In the shukr of the common people, there is a defect. For the one who gives shukr seeks more; while being with Allah, he is upon the pleasure of the nafs (lower self).
Abū ʿUthmān (al-Maghribī) says: Shukr is to know that you are incapable of shukr.
It is said: To give shukr for shukr is more perfect than shukr itself. This is to see your shukr as coming by Allah's tawfīq (divine enablement). This comes to you as a blessing, you give shukr for it, then you give shukr for this shukr, and so on ad infinitum.
It is said: Shukr is to attribute the blessing to its owner with humility.
Junayd says: Shukr is not to see oneself as worthy of the blessing.
Ruwaim says: Shukr is to expend all one's strength.
It is said: The shākir gives shukr for what exists; the shakūr gives shukr for what does not exist. It is also said: The shākir gives shukr for what is given; the shakūr gives shukr for what is not given. Some have said: The shākir gives shukr for what is beneficial; the shakūr gives shukr for what is withheld. It is also said: The shākir gives shukr for the gift; the shakūr gives shukr for tribulation. It is also said: The shākir gives shukr when beneficence is shown; the shakūr gives shukr when beneficence is delayed.
Shiblī says: Shukr is to see the Giver of blessings, not the blessing itself. It is said: Shukr is to bind what exists (by shukr) and to hunt what does not exist (for shukr increases blessings). (Qushayrī, 88; Ghunya, 194)
Shukr for the sake of the Real (Allah) is of two kinds: The first is to seek help with blessings for obedience and to give to the poor from them. The second is to acknowledge the Giver of blessings through them. Shukr is according to the degree of blessings. The Giver is the Real (al-Ḥaqq). (Fath, 78)
Shukr is with the tongue, heart, and body. Shukr with the tongue is to confess that the blessing is from Allah; to abandon attributing the blessing to people, oneself, one's power and strength, or to others who have power outside yourself. In that state, even if they share, execute, create, or are occupied, beware of seeing causes, tools, and means as the origin! Their true cause is Allah; the distributor is Allah; the executor is Allah; the creator is Allah. Allah is more worthy of shukr than anyone else.
Shukr with the heart is to believe with firm and constant iman (faith) that all blessings, benefits, and pleasures in outward and inward, in movement and stillness, are from Allah. Shukr with the tongue is an expression of the shukr in your heart.
Shukr with the body is to use your limbs in obedience to Allah, not to others. Turning away from Allah, one does not respond to any human. This (prohibition) includes the nafs (lower self), desires, will, fancies, and other creatures. Obedience to Allah is the origin and must be followed; obedience to others is secondary and follows obedience to Allah. If you act otherwise, you have transgressed, become unjust, judged outside the rule Allah has set for His muʾmin (believing) servants, and taken a path other than that of the righteous. (Futūḥ, 129)
One of the Sufis said: Shukr is to witness the Giver of blessings and to be absent from the blessing. (ʿAwārif, 289; Jāmiʿ, 54)
In language, shukr means kashf and izhār (to uncover and make manifest). When someone opens his mouth and manifests shukr, shakara and kashara (he gave thanks and opened his mouth, smiling so that his teeth showed) are said. Counting and mentioning blessings with the tongue and spreading them is part of shukr.
The inner meaning of shukr is to use blessings not in sin and disobedience, but in worship and obedience. This too is a blessing of shukr.
The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of shukr is for the servant to see everything decreed for him as a blessing, except those that harm his religion. For Allah Most High decrees only what is a blessing for His believing servant. This blessing may be a worldly one that the servant can know and understand; a blessing that will delay possible harm; or a blessing that will raise his rank, reduce, and eliminate his sins. When the servant realizes that his Master loves him more than he loves himself, knows better what is beneficial for him, and that everything from Allah is a blessing, he has given shukr.
With the word shakūr, exaggeration in shukr is intended. This is to give shukr to Allah as He deserves. This is done by seeing the blessing as from Him. (Futūḥāt, IV, 242)
The stations of yaqīn (certainty) are nine: They are tawba (repentance), zuhd (asceticism), sabr (patient endurance), shukr (gratitude), khawf (fear), riḍā (contentment), rajāʾ (hope), tawakkul (reliance upon God), and maḥabba (love). It is not correct to consider any of these stations as resulting from the elimination of Allah's planning or choice. (Tanwīr, 8)
Both sabr and shukr are only valid by abandoning planning (tadbīr). For the one who is patient is patient against what Allah does not love. What Allah does not love is to plan and choose against Him. For sabr is of various kinds: sabr against forbidden things, sabr in fulfilling commands, sabr against planning and choosing, and so on.
If you wish, you can also say: Sabr against human pleasures, sabr for the requirements of servanthood, and sabr in fulfilling the requirements of servanthood by abandoning planning against Allah's decree.
Likewise, shukr can only be valid for a servant who abandons planning against Allah's decree. As Junayd said: Shukr is not to disobey Allah despite all His blessings. If Allah had not distinguished you from your peers with intellect and made it a cause for your perfection, you could not have planned against Allah's decree. For inanimate objects and animals have no intellect to see their end and pay attention to it, so they have no planning against Allah's decree. (Tanwīr, 9)
Shukr is with the heart, tongue, and body. Shukr with the heart is for a person to turn toward good and to conceal good from all creatures. Shukr with the tongue is to manifest shukr by praising Allah; shukr with the body is to use Allah's blessings in obedience to Him and to seek protection from maʿṣiyya (disobedience) by means of blessings.
One who gives shukr with his eyes covers the fault he sees in a Muslim. One who covers with his ears conceals every fault he hears. These are among the shukr of the body. Shukr with the tongue is to manifest contentment with Allah Most High. This too has been commanded. (Qudāma, 295)
The pain of sabr invites the joy of shukr. These two are opposites. Know that just as blessing exists, so does tribulation. Not every tribulation is to be met with sabr. Kufr (disbelief) is such. This is a tribulation, but there is no meaning in being patient with it. The same applies to disobedience. However, the disbeliever does not know that his kufr is a tribulation. He, 986 shukr
is like a person with an illness because of kufr. Because it has overtaken him, he feels no pain from it. The disobedient, however, is aware of his disobedience. Such a person must abandon his maʿṣiyya (disobedience).
A person has the power to repel every tribulation. He is not commanded to meet every tribulation with sabr. No one has been commanded not to drink water so that his thirst and pain increase. On the contrary, he is commanded to remove the pain. For the servant, sabr is only in the face of a pain that cannot be removed. Thus, in the world, sabr is for tribulation that is not absolute. It is possible that something that appears to be tribulation is, in one aspect, a blessing. For this reason, it is conceivable that the duties of shukr and sabr may coincide at the same point. For example, wealth may be a cause of a person's destruction, for he may be killed because of his wealth. The same applies to health. There is no blessing in the world that does not have the possibility of being a tribulation in another aspect. In some cases, a servant may be afflicted with a tribulation that contains a blessing. (Qudāma, 310)
The darajāt-i shukr (degrees of shukr) are many. For the servant to be ashamed to count Allah's blessings upon himself is shukr. To know that one has performed shukr imperfectly is shukr. To know the greatness of Allah's forbearance and His covering of faults is shukr. To know that blessings, from the very beginning, are from Allah without having deserved them is shukr. To know that shukr itself is one of Allah's blessings is shukr. Beautiful humility regarding blessings and bowing in humility regarding blessings is shukr. Thanking the means is also shukr. (Qudāma, 314)
Shākir and Shakūr mean one who gives a great rank for little obedience. One who draws near to Him abandons causes by holding fast to tawakkul (reliance upon God). (Rawḍa, 322)
Shukr is to rejoice in blessings, to use them well, and to praise the Giver. The shukr of the elect is to see the Giver of blessings, to confess one's incapacity regarding the right of the Beloved (Allah), and not to be occupied with the given instead of the Giver. For shukr is itself a blessing that requires shukr. (Rawḍa, 413)
Shukr is of three kinds: The shukr of the common people is ḥamd (praise) with the tongue. The shukr of the elect is with action...