Spiritual Experiences - The Wisdom of Practical Gratitude

The Wisdom of Practical Gratitude

1. The great Qur'an is wisdom-filled Divine Speech. Therefore, it is inimitable. All its subjects are filled with the gems of wisdom. At this time, by God's grace, the concept of the greatness and supremacy of the topic of gratitude is foremost in my mind and heart. There is no doubt that every complete thing of Islam is a compendium of intention, speech, and action. Simultaneously, the wise Qur'an severely condemns ignorance and has high praise for knowledge and wisdom. From this it is evident that practical gratitude does not exist without wisdom.

2. The subject of gratitude begins with the story of Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him) in the Qur'an, as mentioned in (17:3). First meaning: "O you who are the off-spring of those whom We carried (in the ark) with Nuh, verily he was (Our) grateful servant". Second meaning: "O those souls whom We placed with Nuh (in that spiritual ark, which was an example of the throne of God on the water of knowledge). Indeed, Nuh was performing practical gratitude for this lofty blessing".

3. After the completion (perfection) of the personal world, the throne of God manifests itself on the water of knowledge. It is also called the ark due to its being on water. This greatest rank was held by the spiritual ark of Hazrat-i Nuh (May peace be through him), which is in fact, the Imam of every age, in which the souls of the people of faith can embark. The wise Qur'an emphatically draws our attention to this law that all things are in pairs. Therefore, the throne is also in a pair; one is in the higher world and the other is in the lower world.

4. "Give thanks, O the children of Dawud! And My truly grateful servants are very few." (34:13). The gist of this noble verse is that Hazrat-i Dawud (May peace be through him) was an Imam and his progeny were his spiritual children. They were all kings spiritually and Hazrat-i Sulayman (May peace be through him) was physically a king as well. Therefore, giving practical thanks became incumbent on all of them. That is, as an appreciation for this greatest bounty, they should spiritually benefit the people of the world, because amongst God's servants there are only a very few special ones who can show such practical gratitude.

Islamabad, 3rd May 1997
Saturday, 25 Zu'l-Hijjah 1417 A.H./ 3 May 1997

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