Sheikh Uthman Hadi - The Importance of Gratitude | A Journey to the Divine - Ep. 14

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Gratitude is The Basis of every muslim. The core of our faith relies strongly on gratitude. But why is gratitude so important? Does it strengthen our connection with Allah? Or is it a secret weapon of those who came before us?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sheikh-uthman-hadi--6689369/support.https://sheikhuthmanhadi.beam.lyhttps://open.spotify.com/user/315hadqmwxllibu6ubi5us2cbn2y?si=572b4d8898284e9ehttps://open.spotify.com/show/3MQHfrpjj3XXcqoPbN5Dl8?si=v6YQ42kpSx-VONBFhT3CzA

Bismillah, Rihman, iraim, al-hameda-lidhulahe, al-a-a-a-hameh, and Salatu, and al-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-aaaaaaa and a-aaaaaaaa. My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that everyone is doing well, and I ask Allah, to God, to God, especially mercy not only in this life, but mainly in the next, and to accept our fast and our efforts from us today, my brothers and sisters. Hamadaliyah, her abraham. It's another beautiful day. My brothers and sisters,

we are on day 14, our episode 14 of our series of Journey to the Divine. One of the things we spoke about yesterday was our sala and how essential it is. Praying and worshiping Allah 1,825 times a year is very beneficial for us. It's not a waste of time. It's not something to draw us out of that,

out of the dunya, but rather it's something to close in our relationship with Allah, Sapanahu, T'a, not just for this life, life not just for the things that happen in this life but mainly for the a a because I didn't mention it yesterday and I kind of remembered this after the talk I was like oh I forgot to mention this hadith but one of the hadith in which the Prophet's Allah a Prophet's Allah said that the first thing that a servant will be questioned about on the day of resurrection is his Salah so if his

Salah is sound he will be among the successful but if his Salah is not sound he will be among the losers my brothers and sisters we ask Allah supanahua to make us among successful and make us among those who our orders their sala over everything else in this dunya and we ask Allah to grant our sala a means of our salvation in the hereafter I mean but brothers and sisters one of the things I want to speak about today is gratitude Allah saithanao ta'u'a says in the Quran he says bismmila harhaman he says fadkouronee he says remember me and I will remember you and

thank me and never be among the ungrateful One of the things we spoke about in the Reinvent Yourself, this Ramadan event, which I pray everyone benefited from that and listened to it. One of the things I spoke about in the last day was gratitude. Gratitude in the month of Ramadan. Gratitude in our solat. Gratitude in our duas. Gratitude in our d'aqar. Gratitude in our bada in total.

Gratitude in our work. Gratitude in our lives. Gratitude in every single aspect of our lives. And it might seem as though gratitude is very difficult to have. But it actually isn't my brother. and sisters, being grateful to Allah, Sufana-hu-ta-a-a-a-a-a-a is the essence, the true essence of a believer.

And which is why in this ayah, these words should resonate deeply with us and within our hearts, for they encapsulate the essence of our relationship with Allah-Safana-Hu-Talah, right? So being grateful, not only just for the food that we have, not only just for the drinks, not only just for the

provisions and the risk that Allah Sufana-ho-Talha has provided us. And by provisions, I don't just mean wealth. By provisions, I mean family and, you know, different things like that, I'm not going to go too deep into that. By the things that Allah, Sufana Hoh-Talah has provided us, by the things that he hasn't provided us, because he knows that he knows that that would be bad for us.

That might not benefit us, which is why one of the names of Allah, Sufano, Hewatea, my dear brothers and sisters, I also want to reflect upon today is al-Hakim, the all-wise, the all-knowing. Allah, Sufana-ho-ta-a-ta-a-da-na knows. And when it comes to being grateful, my dear brothers and sisters,

be grateful for the things you have and you don't have. If you want that new job promotion, it's okay. Allah's upon our wholeata knows maybe that's not best for you. If you wanted to go to this school, if you wanted to learn this knowledge, if you wanted this to happen and that to happen, then you have to remember gratitude, as is a very powerful tool for our spiritual growth, my brothers and sisters. And when it comes to gratitude, it's actually a form of acknowledging Allah suhpana Huatala's countless blessings upon us. Every breath that we take, every moment of joy, and even the trials that we face are all a part of His Divine.

wisdom, right? Al-Hakeem. He's the all-wise. He knows what we do not know. So we have to trust in Allah, Supanahua-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, and we have to recognize that these blessings are not mere coincidences, right, but rather they are gifts from our creator. And that recognition fosters a deeper connection with him as we begin to see, you know, his wisdom, his wisdom in every aspect of our lives, which is why, my dear brothers and sisters, gratitude is actually a very, it's a foundation of our amen, our faith. It's not simply a polite expression of, oh,

I'm grateful for this, I'm grateful for that, which is why we don't believe in certain days like Thanksgiving. And because of other things, I'm not going to go into history because I don't have time for that. But one of the things in which we also don't believe in that day is just giving things on one singular day.

Why? Because Allah supanahua Tala says, remember me, and I'll remember you and thank me and never be among the ungrateful. Thank me every day. just thank me on one singular day that you might not get a chance to see. Thank me every day because I've given you every day to actually thank me. You're alive right now. I'm alive.

I'm alive. We're ending our day off. Al-Hanahil-Lah. Be grateful for that fact that you actually had a point to see the whole day. We might not have seen yesterday. We might not see to the end of today. We finished praying Isha Salah. Okay, al-Hamda-Lah, we're going on to tarawi. Al-Hamda-Lah.

But we have to also think, my brothers and sisters. Are we going to be able to see to hajid? Are we going to be able to finish our kiyam al-a-lal? Are we going to be able to see tomorrow? Are we going to be able to see further out? No, we don't know. Because Allah, Sufana-hoi-ta-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-eem. He is the all-wise, the all-knowing.

And my dear brothers and sisters, it is very important that we try to show gratitude through every act that we do, whether that be work and whether that be school, whether that be our children, whether that be our family. Because there are plenty of people, my dear brothers and sisters, who are eternally grateful to Allah, upon a whole it's a that they have a family and they have us who are not grateful for anything we always want more we always need this we always and my dear brothers and sisters ensure that you are grateful for the things that alasupon our who is blessed you which he hasn't blessed many others

because just as you have a family be grateful for that family because there are many people around the world who don't have families even people in your own your own community cannot have families they could have lost their family to anything do not forget my dear brothers and sisters that you are blessed enough to actually have a life because there are plenty of people who have returned to Allah, Sufana,hu,ta a already and they do not have the opportunity to take another breath, to have another moment of joy,

to be grateful to Allah, Sufana, Huta'u, ta'a, for anything, to pray, to worship him like we spoke about yesterday. Do not forget, my dear brothers and sisters that your blessings are not random, but they're from Allah, Sufana, Hewata, and they were placed upon you for a reason. If you don't have two cars, that's fine. don't need two cars. What's the point? If it's only just one person there, even if it's just two.

If you're not traveling a lot, you don't need multiple cars. If you don't, you don't need multiple houses. You don't need multiple everythings. All you need is what you have right now. Do not forget that, my dear brothers and sisters. And ensure as well that you also remember Allah. It's very important. Remember Allah suhpana or hua'u'adda throughout all times. My dear brothers and sisters, gratitude serves as a powerful tool for our spirit. spiritual golf like I mentioned before and it shifts us from focusing on that which we lack to that which we have gratitude helps us cultivate a mindset of abundance and it reminds us of the countless favors and blessings that we often take for granted our health our family our sustenance and the very gift of Islam itself by practicing gratitude my dear brothers and sisters we train our hearts and our nefs and our self to appreciate the present moment and to find joy in the simplest of blessings, which is why my dear brothers and sisters,

the importance of gratitude is also echoed in the lives of the prophets, Sallu, Allah, and the prophets, I think I said prophets before that, but I meant prophet and the prophets, peace be upon them all, and righteous individuals who came before us, they understood that gratitude was not just a reaction to receiving blessings, but an actual protective stance towards life. For instance, the Prophetus Allah alexandwate gratitude in his life in every aspect of his life. And he would often say

the one who does not thank people does not thank Allah supanahua'u'u'a. So this highlights that gratitude extends beyond our relationship with Allah and it encompasses our interactions with others as well, my dear brothers and sisters. If you're not grateful to your spouse for something they've done to you, be grateful. Because

there are plenty of people who don't have a spouse. And that's one thing that you'll find after people who end up getting divorces, is that they end up finding, oh, man, I don't realize how much this person did for me. I didn't realize how much because you took them for granted, right? And when they're gone now, I don't want to get on to the topic of marriage. When when they're gone now, now you feel as though, man, I should have taken that way. I should have been more grateful for the blessing that I actually had.

So be grateful, my dear brothers and sisters, for your spouse, for your children, for the people you have in your life, even if it may be difficult to be so. And ensure, my dear brothers and sisters that you are trying to use gratitude in every, part of our life because gratitude acts as a shield against the sphere of negativity. So when we focus on what we are thankful for, we cultivate a positive outlook that can help us navigate lives challenges. And it also helps us and empowers us to respond to adversities with patience and resilience. Right.

So knowing that every single trauma, your brothers and sisters is an opportunity for growth and is a test of our faith and is a test from Allah, Sufahan, al-a-ta-a-ta-a-ha, to try and build our faith actually is very good. Why? Why is it good? Because it shows that we have gratitude to Allah, supanahua, but your brothers and sisters, gratitude is very important in our lives. And as we reflect on the significance of gratitude, you have to consider how we can incorporate it in our daily lives. And one of the most effective ways is through regular dua and remembrance of Allah, regular dua and vicar. And the Prophet of Allah al-a-a-u-u-slam taught us very supplications to express saying you know such as saying oh Allah make me grateful to you so it's

very important that we try to manage gratitude in our lives and we try to exemplify gratitude in our lives and actually being grateful for the things that we have and the things that we don't have I mentioned that before and a lot of you probably confused like okay how do you be grateful for the things you don't have well one of the things by your brothers and sisters that we all want is well but look at what Allah Sophano'u'll the Quran when he speaks about wealth. What does he say? He says that those with wealth are tested,

just like those who don't have wealth are tested. So nonetheless, whether or not you have one million dollars or whether or not you only have one dollar, you're attested with your wealth, how you're going to use it, how you're going to spend it, what you're going to spend it on, when you're going to spend it. Are you going to spend it for Allah, Sufana,

or how it's it. Or you're going to spend it on the pleasures of this dunya. So my dear brothers and sisters, do not over-exaggerate wanting something so much that you end up losing focus on, you know, on your relationship with Allah, Sufana-ho-Talha. Because it's very important to have wealth. I'm not saying it's not,

because even the Prophet of Allah-A-Wallah-a-Hu-Slemm had wealth. But guess what as well? He was also grateful to Allah. If the Prophet of Allah-A-W-Salam 1-2, he could have had mansions, but he reserved that for the Hereafter. And he lived this simple lifestyle of gratitude. He was grateful for the fact that he actually had a roof over his head.

He had a bed of, you know, twigs and stools, six woven together. Who can sleep on that? You would think that someone as righteous as him would be in a mansion that had a soft, comfy bed and had all these, you know, beautiful luxuries in it. But no, he decided to take the route of gratitude and he would be blessed with that of what is contained in this dunya, far better in Jindana. My brothers and sisters, striving to express gratitude is hard, and especially through our actions and especially through our intentions. But ensure that you are trying to strengthen your connection with Allah through this and transform your perspective on your life as it empowers us to navigate our challenges throughout our lives, my dear brothers and sisters. We have to embrace gratitude as a way of life as we embrace Islam.

It's not just a thawb and it's not just a hijab and, you know, the abaya. It's not just that. It's not just your clothing. It's what you actually live by. You live by Islam. You live Islam. But the brothers and sisters, we ask Allah, Sufana, who it's. to grant us the opportunity to thank him for all of his all of his blessings that he's bestowed upon us we ask

allah to grant us gratitude in all aspects of our lives to forgive us for our sins of our shortcomings to grant us his special mercy not only in this life and mainly in the next by the brothers and sisters is aachman al-hairn for joining us again tonight it is a beautiful beautiful gathering to be able to witness the blessings of the month of Ramadan together for you as well online and for you in the presence right now ask Allah supanahua what a lot to figure us far as and our shortcomings in the girls, especially mercy, not only this, life, and mainly the next. And after, we're allahuan, al-hambul-al-a-a-lame.

And al-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-las-a-a-lachttas-a-a-lach-ttac-o.