absolutely true
yet we are so steeped in ignorance, dat Allah has to ask us:
"fa bi-ayyi aalaa-i rabbikumaa tukazzibaan!"
Allahummahdina ila siratal mustaqim
[FONT="]How can a servant (Abd) thank Allaah?[/FONT][FONT="] {The word ‘slaves’ represents mankind, for all of mankind are expected to totally submit to the will of Allah}The servant can thank Allaah in many ways. These include:
1. Prostrating to Allah,when the servant receives a blessing from Allaah or when Allah saves him from a disaster. The Messenger of Allaah (salallahu alaihi wasallam) used to prostrate to Allah whenever he received a pleasant thing or was told good news. This prostration is conducted for the sole purpose of giving thanks to Allaah, the Granter of the grace and benefit that the servant received. [see Fiqh as-Sunnah by Sayyid Sabiq (English trans.) vol.2, p.45][/FONT]
[FONT="]Abdur-Rahman[/FONT][FONT="] ibn 'Auf relates that the Messenger of Allah (sallaahu alayhi wasallam) went out once and he followed him until he entered a grove of palm trees and prostrated. His prostration was so long that 'Abdur-Rahman feared that Allah had taken his soul. 'Abdur-Rahman came to look at him and he raised his head and said: "What is wrong, Abdur-Rahman'?" Abdur rahman mentioned what had happened, and he (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "Gibra'el came to me and said: 'Shall I not give you glad tidings'? Allah says to you, Whoever prays upon you, I pray upon him. Whoever salutes you, I salute him.' Therefore, I prostrated to Allah in thanks." {This is related by Ahmad and by Al-Haakim who says: "It is sahih according to the criterion of al-Bukhari and Muslim}[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Thanking Allah in words: [/FONT][FONT="]The majority of the scholars agreed that if the servant does not thank Allaah for the grace he has, then that grace will go away and may never come back. Allah's Messenger (sallaahu alayhi wasallam) said: "It is a fine thing when a believer praises and thanks Allah if good comes to him, and praises Allah and shows endurance if smitten by affliction. The believer is rewarded for everything, even for the morsel he raises to his wife's mouth." {Bayhaqi transmitted it in Shu'ab al-Iman. Sunan at-Tirmidhi no.1733 See also Saheeh Muslim (7138)}[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Talking about the benefits Allah has granted him.[/FONT][FONT="] This is because concealing the benefits of Allah is ungrateful. Allaah says in the Quraan: "Do they believe in the false deities and deny the favor of Allaah." {Soorah an-Nahl (16):72}[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ibn[/FONT][FONT="] Katheer commented that denying the favors of Allah means hiding his grants and/or relating them to others than Allah.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Narrated by Zaid bin Khalid Al Juhani : The Prophet led us in the Fajr prayer at Hudaibiya after a rainy night. On completion of the prayer, he faced the people and said, "Do you know what your Lord has said (revealed)?" The people replied, "Allah and His Apostle know better." He said, "Allah has said, 'In this morning some of my slaves remained as true believers and some became non-believers; whoever said that the rain was due to the Blessings and the Mercy of Allah had belief in Me and he disbelieves in the stars, and whoever said that it rained because of a particular star had no belief in Me but believes in that star." {Saheeh al-Bukhari (1:807)} [/FONT]
[FONT="]4. Helping people in need.[/FONT][FONT="]It was mentioned in a Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (sallaahu alayhi wasallam) that: "As the grants from Allah to a servant increase, so will the people's needs of that blessed servant's services. If the servant ignores their needs, it will cause those grants to be removed" (lbn Hibban) [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Prophet (sallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, "If anyone strokes an orphan's head, doing so only for Allah's sake, he will have blessings for every hair over which his hand passes; and if anyone treats well an orphan girl or boy under his care, he and I shall be like these two in Paradise," putting two of his fingers together." {Sunan at-Tirmidhi no.4974}