Article appeared Friday, May 9th, 2014 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Revelation (326) yousuf mahbubul Islam, PhD

How do we react to the gifts that we receive? Are we grateful? Do we show our gratitude by demonstrating love in return? After receiving a gift, if we do not say thank you, are we left with a bad or unexplained feeling – a feeling that we may be later ashamed of, or a feeling that we may not want others to find out about?

A lot of soul-searching questions! To start looking for answers, let us first look at the definition of a gift. What is a gift? The dictionary {1} gives the following definition,

“Something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone; or present something bestowed voluntarily or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned.” {1}

So what gift or gifts have we been favored by? To answer this question, let us analyze what the French writer Voltaire (1694 – 1778) said about the life that we are living:

“God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.” {2}

How can one “live” the gift of life? Before we can use the gift properly, we must learn to fully appreciate the opportunity of life that we have, the personality and skills that we have, the faculties and intelligence that we have and the environment and resources that we have to exercise and enjoy what we have. If we are able to appreciate these things, gratitude and love would automatically follow for the One who has designed and created everything for our enjoyment. Once we realize the enormous potential of the gifts that we have been given, we should then go all out to do the best we can to please the One who has given us the gift of life. If we are able to do this, we would be giving ourselves the gift of living well. To those who have reservations about the gift of life, the German writer Walter Anderson (1885 - 1962) said the following:

“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.” {3}

How is life itself the most precious gift? Can we reflect on a comparison to understand what Anderson {3} was trying to convey? Imagine if someone is offered all the wealth in the world, all the food therein along with the highest status and power in the world, how would we feel? Now, if we were asked to give our life in return, what would we do? Would we be willing to give up our life? No? Why not? One reason would be that life is more precious than everything else put together in the world. Also, without life, having everything else would be meaningless. The Creator has not only given us a life to enjoy, He has furthered honored us by making each one of us unique with an individual and beautiful personality. He has gone all the way just to see how we respond to Him for the opportunity to enjoy the gift of life.

So, what about those who feel that they deserve what they have, or feel deprived when comparing themselves with others and/or are ungrateful? Timothy Dexter (1748 – 1806) had the following to say about ungrateful people,

“An ungrateful man is like a hog under a tree eating acorns, but never looking up to see where they come from.” {4}

Why is Dexter comparing human beings with animals? Animals do not have the intelligence to ask questions and search for answers. A hog just keeps looking for food and eats without

further thought. So there is no difference between a human being who does not use his/her intelligence and a hog. The Qur’an, on the other hand, warns that the ways of ungrateful people are worse than animals.

“Or do you think that most of them listen or reason? They are only like cattle; nay they are worse astray in their ways.” [25.44]

The Qur’an informs us that there is another group of people who claim that they are believers, i.e., they follow Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the Qur’an, yet in their hearts they have no feelings of gratitude towards the Creator. Such people are called hypocrites.

9.64 “The hypocrites are apprehensive lest a surah (i.e. Verses) be revealed about them, exposing the truth of what is actually in their hearts; say (to them): "Mock (as much as you like); indeed Allah will bring to light all that you fear."”Behind the scene, such people mock believers. The Verses below summarize their nature.

“When they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe", but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with you we (were) only jesting." Allah will throw back their mockery on them and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (to and fro). These are the ones who have bartered guidance for error: but their traffic is profitless and they have lost true direction.” [2.14 – 2.16]

9.65 “And if you ask them, they will surely say, "We were only talking idly and in play." Ask: "Was it at Allah, His Verses and His Apostle that you were mocking?"”

9.66 “Make no excuse: you have rejected faith after claiming belief. If We pardon some of you We will punish others amongst you for that they are in sin.”

9.67 “The Hypocrite men and women (have an understanding) with each other: they enjoin evil and forbid what is just and are close with their hands. They have forgotten Allah; so He has forgotten them. Verily the Hypocrites are rebellious and perverse.”Believers often face a lot of opposition from those who can be classified as hypocrites. However, Allah is asking believers not to worry - it is just a matter of time that everything will be revealed.

9.68 “Allah has promised the Hypocrites, men and women and the rejecters of faith the Fire of Hell: therein shall they dwell: sufficient is it for them: for them is the curse of Allah and an enduring punishment”

9.69 “As was in the case of generations before you: they were mightier than you in power and more flourishing in wealth and children. They had enjoyment of life given to them: and you are enjoying life as they did before you; and you indulge in idle talk just as they did. Their works are fruitless in this world and in the Hereafter and they will lose (all spiritual good).”-----------{Notes}:{1} http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gift{2} http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/v/voltaire134077.html{3} http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/walterande183075.html{4} http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/timothydex312077.html