Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
SHUKR: Gratitude to God
All forms of worship, are, in essence, manifestations of the feeling of that gratefulness, which is at the heart of a God-oriented life. Gratitude entails acknowledgement of God’s blessings.
Gratitude means acknowledging the blessings of God. This acknowledgement has to be heartfelt, and only then does it take verbal form.
Human beings have been created with the best of bodies and the best of minds. All our requirements have been amply provided for. All the things of the earth and the heavens have been pressed into our service. All the things which we require to lead a life on earth or to build a civilization have been bestowed on us in abundance.
These blessings are showered upon an individual at all times. It is, therefore, incumbent upon him to repeatedly express his acknowledgement of God’s blessings. His heart should then overflow with the feeling of gratitude.
All forms of worship, are, in essence, manifestation of the feeling of that gratefulness, which is at the heart of a God-oriented life. Gratefulness itself is the most complete form of worship and relates to a person’s entire existence.
Initially, a person refreshes the feeling of gratitude in his heart and mind and then he expresses it repeatedly in verbal form. Subsequently, when these feelings of gratefulness intensify, he starts giving his wealth and his possessions in the path of God, as a way of expressing his thankfulness to Him. Moreover, his feeling of thankfulness compels him to spend his time and energy in the path of God. His whole existence is given to him by God. The world we live in is totally a divine gift. Another name for gratitude is acknowledgement or expression of this reality.