Known as the quality of being thankful and readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness, gratitude is a trait that one develops that promotes optimism and assists in developing positive outlooks. It means that one acknowledges what one receives, whether that maybe from Allah SWT or others, and learning to live life as if everything were a special miracle.

By doing this to an individual, gratitude not only shift one’s life outlook, but acts as an key that opens up a door to a level of living one did not even know was possible. There have been countless amounts of modern research that has proved that being grateful leads to happiness, resilience, it strengthens relationships, it improves health and reduces stress, which are all things the Quran promised 1400 years ago.

In the holy Quran it states: “And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.” [Qur’an: Chapter 14, Verse 7]
 

 This verse is relating to the proven fact that the more grateful an individual becomes, the more Allah SWT will bless them, and the more ungrateful they become they will not only attract negative things but will also be punished. This is proven by modern research as it has been found out that those who are grateful and content for what they have and are low maintenance with their expectations are usually happy individuals that emit positive energy. This positive energy has been discovered to attract positive things that lead to even more happiness and reduces stress. Those however who are ungrateful and express their ungratefulness through their actions do not only attract more negative energy, they also have an immense impact on their surroundings. It is also seen that those who continue with their ungratefulness will eventually go through difficult situations that forces them to open their eyes to the life they were living previously, and forces them to be grateful for what they had. This is exactly what the holy Quran was pointing out, in the verse that was mentioned.
 

This relates to what is discovered by modern psychologists and philosophers today, as they labeled this specific concept as “natural laws” which are basically laws that reveal what the holy Quran revealed 1400 years ago.
 

Now knowing what expressing gratitude leads to one cannot help but ask, who should I be grateful towards? The answer to that question although may be obvious but the true meaning is often overlooked and possibly misunderstood. One must be thankful to Allah SWT of course but as well as anyone who does an act of goodness or favour to another individual. The Prophet PBUH said: “He who does not thank people, does not thank Allah.”
 

The most important aspect of expressing gratitude is towards Allah SWT, who created humans in the most perfect way possible. In the holy Quran it mentions the perfect way Allah SWT created human beings and through the natural way life flows gratitude should exist for that particular reason. Now one might ask how do I express my gratitude towards Allah SWT?
 

And that is through: realizing and appreciating all blessing by and within the heart, to say thanks physically, and to expressing gratitude by doing righteous deeds. This reveals that gratitude cannot be expressed through physically saying “Thank you”, although that can be true at times, however there are other more important ways of expressing gratitude. Accepting and appreciating blessing and doing righteous deeds reveals that one is content with what one has and that that indivudal possesses the right amount of patience to persevere through life’s trials no matter how diddfuclt the obstacle may b while at the same time saying “thanks be to Allah”
 

By doing this one reveals the amount of moral courage and patience one has to the point where no matter what one goes through in terms of difficulty, they will always be thankful about what they have. When faced with difficulty one must persevere and be thankful even for what they are going through as they should always remember and realize that there are others that are going through much worse.
 

One of the easiest ways one can always remember to be grateful is by remembering this saying by Imam Ali Ibn Al Hussein AS after his entire family had been brutally martyred before his eyes: “I thank You because You have honored us by means of Prophet hood taught us the Qur'an, made us comprehend the religion and its commandments, granted us eyes, ears and hearts; kept us free from the pollution of polytheism and then enabled us to thank You for Your blessings.” This shows that no matter how tough an obstacle may be, one must always remember the blessings Allah SWT has blessed humanity with, and should persevere just like the Ahulbayt AS did.