Gratitude (shukr): a daily practice that changes how we see

Shukr: seeing, recognizing, acting

In Arabic, الشُّكْر (shukr) means gratitude. Scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim explain that it rests on three pillars: to recognize in your heart that the blessing comes from Allah, to express it with your tongue by praising Him, and to use it in what He loves. To thank Allah for your eyes is also to use them to read, to help and to admire, rather than to harm.

The Quran links gratitude to a promise of abundance:

Elsewhere, it reminds us that “whoever is grateful is grateful only for his own benefit” (31:12). Allah has no need of our thanks: it is we who benefit. Gratitude soothes the heart, protects against envy and makes us attentive to what we already have.

The Prophet ﷺ, a grateful servant

The Prophet ﷺ prayed at night for so long that his feet would crack. ‘A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him why he put himself through such effort when Allah had forgiven his past and future sins. He replied: “Should I not love to be a grateful servant?” This account is reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. For him, worship was not a debt to be paid, but a way of saying thank you.

He also taught his Companions to ask Allah for help in thanking Him:

In Arabic: اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ (Allahumma a‘inni ‘ala dhikrika wa shukrika wa husni ‘ibadatik). This supplication acknowledges something essential: even to give thanks, we need Allah’s help.

The prophets before him asked for the same thing. Sulayman (peace be upon him), to whom Allah had given everything, pleaded: “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents” (27:19). And the Quran observes gently that “few of My servants are grateful” (34:13): an invitation to be among that small number.

Blessings we no longer see

The first obstacle to gratitude is habit. What we have every day ends up seeming normal: water flowing from the tap, legs that walk, a roof, parents or children who are alive. The Quran reminds us that these blessings are countless:

The Prophet ﷺ gave a very concrete measure of what true wealth is:

He also warned that many people are cheated in two blessings, “health and free time” (al-Bukhari no. 6412): we only measure their value when we lose them. And he gave a simple method for not belittling what we have: when we look at someone who has been given more wealth or better looks, we should also look at the one who has less. This advice is reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Thanking people is thanking Allah

Gratitude toward Allah also passes through gratitude toward those He places on our path:

Thanking your mother for a meal, a colleague for a favor, a neighbor, a healthcare worker, the person who collects the trash: these are small gestures that matter. Many Muslims say جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا (jazaka Allahu khayran, “may Allah reward you with good”), a way of thanking someone while also making supplication for them.

In a couple and in a family, gratitude protects against the wear and tear of daily life. Noticing out loud what the other person does, even what seems “normal”, nourishes affection and defuses many tensions.

Simple exercises for every day

The shortest praise is also one of the heaviest in the scale:

The Prophet ﷺ also said that the best supplication is al-hamdu lillah (at-Tirmidhi no. 3383). Here is an easy routine to set up:

On hearing great good news, many scholars recommend a prostration of gratitude. Ka‘b ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) threw himself into prostration as soon as he learned that his repentance had been accepted, as reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Teaching gratitude to children

Children understand gratitude through concrete things. At home you can set up a thank-you jar: everyone slips in a small note with something for which they say al-hamdu lillah, and you read them together on Friday. You can also play the “five senses game”: naming one blessing for each sense, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, the hands.

The parents’ example matters most: a parent who thanks their child, who praises Allah aloud before a beautiful landscape or after a meal, teaches without giving a lecture. The stories of the prophets and family games offer other occasions to talk about it simply.

To go further

• Reflect on the verse of the promise: Surah Ibrahim, verse 7.
• The chapter on gratitude in Riyad as-Salihin.
• Supplications after the prayer in Hisn al-Muslim.
• A gratitude lived through praise: Dhikr in an ordinary day.