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Thanks, but No Thanks: Imam Ghazali on Gratitude

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By Abid Mohammed

Being gratef ul is something that we all know is a virtuous quality. Lecture af ter lecture has been delivered
on the subject of “showing thanks to God f or His f avors.” Articles have been written to encourage us to
“recognize His blessings,” and “be gratef ul f or what God has given us.” We are continuously reminded of
how little appreciation we show f or the f act that many of us have f ood on our table, a roof over our heads
and relative peace and security in our lives. T his discussion almost always takes place in the context of
experiencing trials and tribulations, and I couldn’t agree more. T here is a lot of room f or improvement f or
many of us when it comes to gratitude. When the going gets tough, we should strive to avoid going
towards ingratitude.

Yet, part of me always has always wondered—is gratitude an emotion to be experienced exclusively during
times of hardship? And what are many of us actually gratef ul f or? T he gif ts or the Giver? T hese may seem
like easy questions to answer, but the next time you come across “gratitude,” be it as a topic of a
discussion or an emotion you experience, I want you to pay close attention to the circumstances in which it
arises and where exactly your heart lies. Does your heart only show thanks when it is pushed against the
wall? And even then, does it only f ind happiness and peace intrinsically in the gifts of this world (albeit with
some acknowledgement that God is the Giver), like a child who loses their f avorite Buzz Lightyear toy, only
to be consoled by the f act that he still has his awesome Optimus Prime helmet that his dad gave him f or
‘Eid last year? Or does your heart delight in the f act that it can use those very gifts to draw nearer to Him
and that the gif ts, themselves, are meaningless?

In his Ihya `Ulum Al-Din (The Revival of the Religious Sciences), Imam Al-Ghazali draws a beautif ul analogy in
trying to show the dif f erent f orm of gratitude that people express:
“Let us give an example. We say that a king who desires to make a journey grants a man in his entourage a
f avor in the f orm of a horse. He imagines that the man to whom it is granted will be delighted with the horse
f or three reasons. Firstly, he will be delighted because it is a horse and because it has monetary value
which can be of benef it to him; because he can use it f or riding and that suits his purpose; and because it
is a valuable racer as well. T his kind of joy is f or one who has no interest in the king, his interest is only in
the horse. Had he f ound the horse in a desert, he would have taken it and his joy would have been similar
to this joy.

“T he second kind of joy is when he delights in it, not because it is a horse, but because he inf ers the care
of the king expressed in it, and his [the king's] compassion f or him. Had he f ound the horse in the desert,
or someone other than the king had given it to him, he would not really be happy with it because, in
principle, he has no need of the horse and it is of no signif icance to him compared to his desire to have a
place in the heart of the king.

“T he third kind of joy is when the servant delights in the horse in order to ride it, to go out in the service
of the king and bear the toil of the journey in his service and to obtain the rank of nearness to the king.
Perhaps he will be promoted to the position of a minister, because he is not content that his position in the
heart of the king should be limited to his [the king's] giving him a horse and caring f or him only to this
degree. Rather he does not want the king to convey the [f avors] f rom his wealth on anyone. Except through
him. Yet, he does not want the ministry f or the sake of the ministry, rather he wants to see the king and be
near him. If he had to choose between this proximity to him without the ministry and the ministry without
proximity, he would choose proximity.

“T hese are the three levels [of joy]. In the first, there is no thankf ulness at all because the vision of the
one possessing it [this level of joy] is conf ined to the horse and his joy lies in the horse, not in the one
who gave it. T his is the state of all those who are made happy by a blessing because of the pleasure of it
and because it is agreeable to their purpose. T his is f ar f rom the meaning of thankf ulness. T he second
[kind] enters the def inition of thankf ulness in that the person delights in the giver but not exactly because
of him [the giver], rather, because of the knowledge of his care; this incites [the person] to seek f avor in
the f uture. T his is the state of the righteous, who worship God and are thankf ul to Him f or f ear of His
punishment and hope f or His reward.

“Perf ect thankf ulness is f ound only in the third kind of joy. It is when the joy of the servant in the
blessing of God (exalted is He) is because it enables him to reach a place of proximity to Him (exalted is
He), to reside in His companionship, and enjoy the vision of His countenance continually! T his is the
highest level [of attainment]. Its characteristic is joy in this world only f or what it is, a f ield under cultivation
f or the Hereaf ter and the means to assist him to it. He grieves at every blessing that diverts him f rom the
remembrance of God (exalted is He) and turns him away f rom His path. He does not desire the blessing
because it is pleasurable, just as the possessor of the horse does not desire the horse because it is a
racer or an ambler, but because it carries him in company with the king, that he may continue to see the king
and be near him.

“T hus Shibli (may God grant him mercy) said, ‘T hankf ulness is the vision of the Bestower, not the vision of
the blessing.’”1

May God enable us to show continuous gratitude towards Him, as best as we can, so that He will give us
even more (Quran, 14:7), and so that we can use that more to draw nearer to Him. May He enable us to be
amongst the “f ew” who are “thankf ul” (Qur’an, 34:13) and may He protect us f rom being amongst “most
human beings” who “do not give thanks” (Qur’an, 2:243) and the terrible punishment that they f ace (Quran,
14:7).

When recognizing His gif ts, may He empower us to say, as Sulaiman (`alayhi assalam, peace be upon him)
said, “…T his is f rom the f avor of my Lord to test me whether I will be gratef ul or ungratef ul. And whoever is
gratef ul – his gratitude is only f or [the benef it of ] himself . And whoever is ungratef ul – then indeed, my Lord
is Free of need and Generous,”(Qur’an, 27:40).