10-03-2006, 02:32 AM
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<b>Episode 3: Al-Shakour (The Appreciative )</b>
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In the name of Allah, The All Merciful, The Ever Merciful, praise be to Allah the Lord of the whole universe and peace and blessings be upon Allah's Messenger. Today's name invites us to be ambitious and dynamic, and to exert a great deal of effort in giving, worshiping and enjoining what is good. It is highly recommended to start Ramadan bearing this name in our minds, to push us towards worship and good deeds. It is the name of Allah "The Appreciative".
This name is mentioned in the Qur'an several times. Allah says what can be translated as, "That He may (pay them) in full their rewards and increase them of His Grace; surely He is Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative." (TMQ, 35:30) .
We will cover four main points:
1- The meaning of the name "The Appreciative"
2- Other names relating to this name
3- The Appreciative and Paradise
4- Our duty towards this name and its effect in our life
<b>What the name means</b>
Linguistically, the word "Appreciate" means augmentation and increase. Hence, The Appreciative is the One Who appreciates your deeds, however small they are, and doubles the rewards for you in this world and in the hereafter.
Therefore, the name encompasses two meanings: your deeds, no matter how small, and the magnified rewards you receive from Allah, The Appreciative. The following verse invokes the two previous meanings, "… And whoever scores (Literally: commits) a fair deed, We will give him increase of fairness (i.e., goodness) therein. Surely Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative." (TMQ 26:23).
The Prophet (SAWS) urged us to do good deeds no matter how small, as he said that we should protect ourselves from Hellfire even by giving half of a date-fruit in charity. He also advised us not to belittle any kind of good deeds, even greeting others with a smile. Allah, The Appreciative, will appreciate all your good deeds and reward you, and knowing this deep inside oneself brings utmost happiness to a person.
This is manifested in the following verse, in which Allah says what can be translated as, "That He may (pay them) in full their rewards and increase them of His Grace; surely He is Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative." (TMQ, 35:30). Herein, we notice that the name Appreciative is associated with increase; "To the ones who are fair-doers is the fairest reward and an increase…" (TMQ, 10:26) "Therein they will have whatever they decide on, and close to Us there is utmost increase." (TMQ, 50:35).
"Who is he that will lend to Allah a fair loan, so He will double it for him, and he will have an honorable reward?" (TMQ, 57:11). "The likeness of (the ones) who expend their riches in the way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain that grows seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains. And Allah gives manifoldly to whomever He decides; and Allah is Ever-Embracing, Ever-Knowing." (TMQ, 2:261).
"Surely Allah does not do injustice so much as an atom's weight, and in case it is a fair deed, He will double it and bring from very close to Him a magnificent reward." (TMQ, 4:40)
Through the above-mentioned verses, we see that for everything we do, Allah will double its reward. The Prophet (SAWS) asserted this when he said that charity, even as little as half a date-fruit, would be increased by Allah until the reward is equal to the mountain of Uhud.
The Prophet once told his companions that they could earn 1000 good deeds by glorifying Allah 100 times. He also told us that fasting on the day of Arafat expiates the bad deeds of a previous and a coming year. The Prophet also received his reward many fold. His name is associated with Allah's name, as we say, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." This is a great reward from Allah to his Prophet. We also see great kings traveling to visit the grave of the Prophet, and standing in front of him in submissiveness and solemnity; all this in addition to what he has been promised in jannah (paradise).
Some women believe that they gain thawab for wearing hijab on one occasion in their life: the first day they wear it. This is not true. The truth is that the more people see you wearing it, the more thawab you gain, because you remind people of Allah (SWT) all the time, for you wear it for His sake only.
Therefore, we conclude that the name of Allah "The Appreciative" is connected to increase and giving.
Other names of Allah relating to the Appreciative
The second point is the relationship between the name of Allah (SWT) The Appreciative and some of the remaining beautiful names of Allah (SWT). These names are:
" The Ever-Praiseworthy: There is an interrelation between Allah (SWT) and you regarding this name; that is when you praise Allah (SWT) for His blessings, He appreciates your praise and grants you more blessings. Thus you praise Allah (SWT) again for His blessings and He appreciates you and grants you more blessings, and so on.
" The Ever-Forgiving: this name is mentioned more than once in correlation with the Appreciative. Allah says what can be translated as, "Surely our Lord is indeed Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative" (TMQ, 35:34). "Surely He is Ever-Forgiving, Appreciative" (TMQ, 35:30). It gives you the reassurance that even if you commit sinful deeds, Allah (SWT) will forgive you because He is the Ever-Forgiving.
" The All-Knowing: Allah says what can be translated as, "And Allah has been Thankful, Ever-Knowing" (TMQ, 4:147). There are times when you benefit someone with a good deed, but he or she does not know that you are the doer, so they do not appreciate what you have done. As for Allah (SWT), who is the All-Knowing, He appreciates everything you do, no matter how small it might be.
<b>The relationship between this name and jannah </b>
Imagine what Allah (SWT) has prepared for you in jannah in return for your good deeds in this life. Whatever you do, what you imagine will never even come close to what Allah (SWT) will give you, because He rewards small things with far greater things.
Allah (SWT) offers you a garden whose breadth is the heavens and earth - where you will see and hear what you have never seen or heard before - in return for the good deeds you performed during your life. If you calculate the time you dedicate to Allah (SWT) throughout your life, you will find that it is less than one third. As for the remaining two thirds, you were either not accountable for your actions (pre-puberty stage), doing your day-to-day chores, or you may have been negligent! See how appreciative He is? Therefore, you should exert all the effort you can to gain His appreciation and consequently jannah.
Imagine yourself in front of the gate to jannah. Then, imagine when Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) opens its gate. Visualize what Allah (SWT) has promised those who will enter jannah, that they will live free of sadness and sickness for eternity without aging. Imagine when you see all the prophets and the pious people you knew in the worldly life in jannah. Imagine what Allah (SWT) has prepared, even for the last person to be saved from hell. He Promised to grant him ten times more than what the greatest kings of the world possessed. Imagine what Allah (SWT) has prepared for the one who will be in the lowest rank of jannah. He will grant him jannah, and a garden where he could walk for a thousand years without ever reaching its end. As for the one who will be in the highest rank of jannah, he is promised to see his Lord in the early morning and at nightfall. Imagine your house in jannah. You know that when the companions asked Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) about how their houses in jannah would look, he told them that they would be built of bricks of gold and silver, joined together with musk; their floors made of pearls and their ceilings would be the Lord's throne. See for yourself how great jannah is.
<b>Our duty towards this name and its effect on our life:</b>
1. Give as much as you can, and help people, for whoever helps people in adversity, Allah (SWT) will help him on the Day of Judgment.
2. Worship Allah as best you can. Perform more good deeds, prayers, qiyam (voluntary night prayer), Qur'an recitation, etc.
3. Be honest and sincere with Allah (SWT) in your giving, for nobody will ever offer you what He does. Bear in mind that sometimes Allah (SWT) postpones the signs of His appreciation to a later time. This is to test you; will you continue your sincerity with Him or give it up? Therefore, perform good deeds just for the sake of Allah (SWT), not for the sake of others.
We need to spread the meaning of The Appreciative in our society. Spread it amongst our children, in the media, at schools, and in businesses. It will change our world to the better.
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1- Among other meanings; He who thanks profusely and in abundance.
2- TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.
3- The reward, from Allah, recorded for performing a good deed, and accounted for on the Day of Judgment
4- Hijab: literally “cover”. It describes the self-covering of the body for the purposes of modesty and dignity. Broadly, it should be regarded as a prescribed system of attitudes and behavior regarding modesty and dignity.