True Thanksgiving

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘[True] thanksgiving for every bounty lies in restraining oneself from the things that Allah has prohibited.

Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘When you vanquish your enemy, let your pardon of him serve as thanksgiving for the power [given to you] over him.

Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Regard even a little sustenance from Allah as too much for yourself by way of sincere thanksgiving.

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Thanksgiving for a bounty is accomplished through avoidance of prohibited things, and an expression of complete thanks is when a man says, ‘All praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘He whom Allah favours with the bestowal of a bounty and who then acknowledges it with his heart has conveyed [true] thanks for it.

Imam al-Sadiq (AS) narrated, ‘When the Prophet (SAWA) was faced with a situation that pleased him, he used to say, ‘Praise be to Allah for this bounty, and when he was faced with a situation that made him sorrowful, he used to say, ‘Praise be to Allah in every situation.

It is narrated in Misbah al-Shariaa (The Lantern of the Path): ‘The lowest level of thankfulness is to see the bounty as coming from Allah irrespective of its cause, and without attaching the heart to any other cause save Allah, Mighty and Exalted. It consists of being satisfied with what is given, and not disobeying Him by means of His bounty, nor opposing Him in any of His commands and prohibitions as a result of that bounty.