Hesham Hassaballa
Another year has passed, and another Feast of Thanksgiving has come
upon us. As families across our great nation gather together, eat
turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, yams, gravy, and the like, it is a
natural time for us as Americans to reflect over those things for which
we should be thankful. As an American Muslim, I took my reflection a
little deeper this year, and I have been thinking about this for many
days leading up to this week’s national holiday (during which I will
likely be working…hmpf!).
God is beyond an all-encompassing description. There is no way I can
fit the Lord God into a box and say for sure “This is God.” Having said
that, in His infinite Mercy and Compassion for us, our Creator has
sought to describe Himself in the scripture so that the inherently
imperfect human mind can begin to comprehend what is truly an Awesome
God. Thus, the “99 Names of God” come to mind.
In Islamic tradition, it is believed that God has 99 names or attributes that describe God for the believer. These include the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Loving, the Shaper, the Maker, and many more. A great deal of these names are found in the Qur’an, and others are found in the Prophetic literature.
Here is a particularly beautiful example:
This is the God, other than which there is no deity: Knower of
the invisible and the evident, the Benevolent, the Merciful. This is the
God, other than which there is no deity: the Sovereign, the Holy,
Peace, the Giver of Safety, the Protector, the Almighty, the Omnipotent,
the Overwhelming; glory to God, beyond any association they attribute.
This is the God, the Originator, the Creator, the Shaper, to Whom refer
the most beautiful names, celebrated by everything in the heavens and
the earth, being the Almighty, the Perfectly Wise. (Quran 59:22-24)
Muslims have placed these 99 names on beautiful frames to be hung in
the houses of God and His servants. The 99 names of God have been
written in beautiful calligraphy on mosque walls across the Muslim
world. They have been stamped on amulets of gold and silver, to be worn
around the necks of the Muslim faithful. They have been sung in songs
and chanted in Sufi gatherings. They are part and parcel of Muslim
spiritual life.
Yet, is this all for which they are useful? Should there not be more
to the 99 names of God than wearing them around your neck, or even
chanting them aloud in a group? I believe there should. I believe we
should deeply reflect over the meanings of each of these names and
attributes of God and understand what they mean to each of us. It is
essential for us to get to know our Creator, with Whom a strong, loving
relationship is key to success in this world and the next.
Thus, in honor of Thanksgiving, I want to reflect over a particularly
fascinating name for God: Al Shakur, or “The Appreciative.” There are
several verses of the Quran which speak of God as “appreciative”:
…And if anyone willingly does what is good, God is appreciative and cognizant. (Quran 2:158)
Why would God punish you if you are grateful and faithful, since God is most appreciative, most cognizant? (Quran 4:147)
As God will pay them their due and more, from the bounty divine, for God is most forgiving, most appreciative. (Quran 35:30)
And for anyone who brings about good, We will add goodness to it, for God is forgiving, appreciative. (Quran 42:23)
If you advance God a good loan, God will multiply it for you, and forgive you; for God is most appreciative, most clement. (Quran 64:17)
This is truly, truly amazing. The Lord God – Originator of the
heavens and the earth, Creator of all that exists, Giver of Life, the
Most Powerful of all things, the King of all kings – is al Skakur, or
“the appreciative.”
Appreciative of what, however? What have I done, as a servant of God,
so that He would be appreciative of me? He gave me life when I was
dead, yet I return that debt by being sinful and disobedient. There is
nothing that I could do for God; yet He still is al Shakur, or the
Appreciative. He is appreciative when I “do what is good,” or “advance
God a good loan,” or if I am “grateful and faithful.” What an amazing,
awesome God we have.
It is a tremendous manifestation of God’s Infinite Love. He loves us so much that He is merciful towards us. On top of that, He is appreciative of the faith and service we give to Him, even though we constantly sin against Him. What an amazing, awesome God we have.
So, what are the implications of that fact? What should it mean to me
that God is al Shakur, or the Appreciative? It means that I should
redouble my efforts to serve and please the Lord; I should redouble my
efforts to try to avoid sinning against Him. It is the best way of my
showing gratitude to God for His being so loving, merciful, and
appreciative. If God is al Shakur, then the least I could do is be
grateful for this by trying my best to stay on His path of obedience.
“Every day should be Thanksgiving.” I have heard some Muslims say
this to me in an effort to persuade me that Muslims should not celebrate
Thanksgiving because it is a “non-Muslim” holiday. While I do not
subscribe to this view, I do agree that every day should be
Thanksgiving. Each and every day, I must celebrate the beautiful fact
that God is al Shakur, or the Appreciative. And I do so by following the
commands of God to the best of my ability. And If I do that, God told
me that He will shower his blessings upon me because He is “most
appreciative, most clement.” What an amazing, awesome God we have.
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