وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌ
3:116; 4:148.
Important Words:
شکرتم (you are grateful) is formed from شکر. They say, شکرالله or شکرلله i.e. he thanked God; or he praised God for His beneficence; or he was grateful to God; or he acknowledged the beneficence of God, and spoke of it largely, and acted in the manner incumbent on him in rendering Him obedience and abstaining from disobedience.
شکر (Shukr i.e. thankfulness) is of three kinds:
(1) with the heart or mind, which consists in forming an adequate idea of the benefit received;
(2) with the tongue, which consists in praising, eulogizing or commend-ing the benefactor; and
(3) with the limbs, which consists in requiting the benefit received according to what it deserves. It rests upon five foundations: (a) humility of him who renders it towards him to whom it is rendered; (b) his love of him; (c) his acknowledgment of his benefit; (d) his eulogizing him for it; and (e) his not making use of the benefit in a manner which he (who has conferred it) may dislike. This is شکر on the part of man. شکر on the part of God consists in forgiving a person or commending him, or regarding him with satisfaction, goodwill or favour, and hence necessarily recom-pensing or rewarding him. The expression شکرالله سعیه means, May God recompense or reward his work (Lane).
Commentary:
The verse enunciates the great principle that all advancement is bound up with شکر (thankfulness) which, as explained under Important Words, denotes acknowledgment of the benefits received. One can render true شکر to God only when one makes a right and proper use of His gifts. If right use is not made of divine gifts, the act of eulogizing God by man is mere verbal praising; it is not real شکر. Now, as the verse explains, the Merciful God has ordained that divine gifts increase by their proper use. If, for instance, one makes a right use of knowledge, which is a great divine gift, it is bound to increase. Similarly, if proper use is made of the organs of the body, they develop further. This divine law founded on God’s eternal mercy applies to all men irrespective of their caste, colour or creed. It holds equally good as regards both spiritual and material gifts. It operates not only in تقدیر عام (the general law of God) but also in تقدیر خاص (the special law of God).
3:116; 4:148.
Shukr (gratefulness) is of three kinds: (1) With the heart or mind, which consists in forming an adequate idea of the benefit received; (2) with the tongue, which consists in praising, eulogizing or commending the benefactor; and (3) with the limbs, which consists in requiting the benefit received according to its desert. It rests upon five foundations, (a) humility of him who renders it towards him to whom it is rendered; (b) his love of him; (c) his acknowledgment of his benefit; (d) his eulogizing him for it; and (e) his not making use of the benefit in a manner which he (who has conferred it) may dislike. This is Shukr on the part of man. Shukr on the part of God consists in forgiving a person or commending him, or regarding him with satisfaction, goodwill or favour, and hence necessarily recompensing or rewarding him (Lane). One can only be truly grateful to God when one makes right use of His gifts.