| Allah [swt] in the Quran-e-Karim has ordained us to do shukr. Shukr means to have gratitude for the blessings of Allah [swt]. In a very powerful way, Allah [swt] has equated shukr with kufr: Fashkuruli have shukr towards me, wa la takfuru and do not have kufr; because kufr in Arabic means to deny. Defining Shukr: To acknowledge the blessings of Allah [swt] and therefore be thankful & grateful for them A person, who does not have shukr, is in reality denying the blessings of Allah [swt] which is a kind of denial of Allah [swt] Himself. To illustrate this, lets look at the types of Kufr: - To deny Allah [swt]s existence, His being. [ie Atheism] - To deny Allah[swt]s attributes, His Asma-ul-Husna [ ie shirk] - To deny any of the blessings of Allah[swt] or any of the commandments of Allah[swt] [That is essentially a sin & Allah [swt] is also referring to it as kufr in the above ayah] So, Be grateful to me and do not be ungrateful =Be grateful to me and do not be an unbeliever About the Speaker: Shaykh Kamaluddin Ahmed was born and raised in Manhattan(New York City). He studied Arabic & Islamic Civilization, Political Science, and Law at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of London. Shaykh Kamaluddin then spent many years studying the classic disciplines of Islamic learning including tafsir of the Quran and narration and explanation of hadith from traditional scholars in Pakistan, receiving the Alim degree. He continued to pursue advanced ... |
