Gratitude is one of the central qualities of a believer. In the treatise A Principle Concerning Patience and Gratitude, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah explains that the life of a believer revolves around two states: patience during hardship and gratitude when receiving blessings. A believer benefits in every circumstance when he responds with these two qualities. The religion is therefore built upon how a person reacts to what Allah decrees for him.
This page follows Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah’s treatise A Principle Concerning Patience and Gratitude, together with the appendices the translator added to it from the works of Ibn al-Qayyim, Imam as-Sa’di and Imam Ibn Baz.
The Believer Benefits in Every Situation
Ibn Taymiyyah explains that Allah has made every situation beneficial for the believing servant. Whether a person experiences something pleasing or something difficult, there is goodness in it for the believer when he responds properly. He writes that Allah grants His believing servants benefit in every situation they encounter. As he states:
“Allah has made for His believing servants - in every situation [they encounter] - goodness from Himself… irrespective of whether they encounter what they love or what they dislike.”
This principle means that the believer never loses in the decrees of Allah. When a blessing reaches him, he responds with gratitude. When a hardship reaches him, he responds with patience. Through both responses he earns reward from Allah.
Gratitude and Patience in the Hadith
Ibn Taymiyyah cites the statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ which clearly explains the condition of the believer. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“How amazing is the affair of the believer. All of his affair is amazing. Allah does not ordain an affair for him except that it is good for him. If something pleasing comes to him, he is grateful and that is better for him. And if something harmful afflicts him, he shows patience and that is better for him.”
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2999)
Gratitude Turns Blessings into Worship
This hadith shows that gratitude transforms blessings into acts of worship. When a believer receives something he loves, he does not attribute it to his own ability or effort alone. Instead, he recognizes that it is a favor from Allah and thanks Him for it. By doing so, the blessing becomes a means through which he gains reward and increases in faith.
Ibn al-Qayyim, in the appendix to this treatise, explains the reality of gratitude in a person’s servitude to Allah:
“The reality [of gratitude] in relation to one’s servitude [to Allah] is the appearance of the effect of the favour of Allah on the tongue of His servant in both acknowledging [the favour] and praising Him for it. Likewise, upon his heart in terms of witnessing [the favour] and loving [Allah for it]. And then upon his limbs, in outward compliance and obedience.”
And he explains that gratitude is built upon five foundations:
“Thus, gratitude is built upon five foundations: a) Humility towards the one being thanked, b) love of Him, c) acknowledging His favour, d) praising Him for it, and e) not using it in what is disliked by Him. So these five comprise the foundation of gratitude and it is constructed upon them. When any one of them is absent, then a foundation amongst its foundations becomes defective.”
Imam as-Sa’di, in the appendix to this treatise, wrote about the verses in which Allah mentions His favour in providing animals and ships for travel, and the remembrance of His favour when a person settles upon them (Qur’an 43:13-14). He wrote:
“He mentioned therein the three pillars of gratitude, and they are a) acknowledging and remembering the favour of Allah, b) speaking about it (to others) and praising Allah for it and c) submission to Allah and utilizing (the favour) to aid in His worship.”
And he explains why remembering the favour matters:
“For when the servant remembers that he is engulfed by the favours of Allah, (when he recalls) that their foundations, the ease with which they come to him, their causes, their persistence and the repulsion of what clashes with them or diminishes them, (when he recalls) that this is all from the bounty of Allah and His benevolence and that nothing is from the servant himself, he will humble himself to Allah, lower himself, be grateful to Him and praise Him. The favour will persist through this and Allah will place blessing in it. It will become a true favour.”
Gratitude as a Foundation of Faith
The early scholars also emphasized the importance of these two qualities. Ibn Taymiyyah mentions the statement reported from the Salaf:
“Faith is two halves. A half that is patience and a half that is gratitude.”
This statement shows that gratitude is not a minor characteristic but a fundamental part of faith. Just as patience is required during trials, gratitude is required when blessings are given. A believer’s religion is therefore strengthened through both patience and gratitude.
Ibn al-Qayyim, in the appendix to this treatise, begins his explanation of gratitude with these words:
“Allah has commanded (with gratitude), prohibited against its opposite, praised its people and described them as the most special of His creation. He made (gratitude) to be the objective behind His creation and command, promised its people with the best of His reward, made it a cause for increase in His bounty and as a guard over His blessings. He informed that its people are the ones who benefit from His signs.”
Gratitude in the Qur’an
The Qur’an also emphasizes the importance of these qualities. Allah says:
“Verily in that are signs for every grateful, practitioner of patience.”
(Qur’an 14:5)
This verse indicates that those who truly reflect upon the signs of Allah are the people who combine gratitude with patience. They recognize the blessings that Allah has given them and remain patient during times of hardship.
Gratitude Brings Increase in Blessings
Allah also promises an increase in blessings for those who show gratitude. Ibn al-Qayyim, in the appendix to this treatise, writes that gratefulness is always accompanied by increase, due to His saying, the Exalted:
“If you are grateful, I will grant you increase.”
(Qur’an 14:7)
This verse demonstrates that gratitude is not only an act of worship but also a means through which Allah increases His blessings upon His servants.
Imam Ibn Baz, in the appendix to this treatise, states the same teaching in his own words:
“It is known that Allah has showered many favours upon us and He does not cease to shower many favours upon His servants. He is deserving of gratitude (and thanks) for all of the favours. Gratitude is the determiner of favours, when you are grateful for the favours, they will increase and Allah will place blessing in them, and their benefit will become greater.”
Ibn al-Qayyim, in the appendix, ends this teaching with a short line of advice:
“So when you do not see your condition in (a state of) increase, then turn to gratitude.”
The Definition of Gratitude
In the treatise’s own chapter on gratitude, Ibn Taymiyyah defines it in a single sentence:
“And the second principle: Gratitude and this is to act in obedience to Allah, the Exalted.”
The book notes that the manuscript of the treatise ends at this point. The fuller teaching on gratitude in this book stands in its opening chapters and in the appendices added by the translator from the works of other scholars.
Conclusion
Ibn Taymiyyah explains that the believer’s life always moves between two states: gratitude when receiving blessings and patience when facing trials. Because of this, every decree of Allah becomes beneficial for the believer. When a blessing arrives and the believer responds with gratitude, it becomes better for him. When a hardship occurs and he responds with patience, it also becomes better for him. Through these two qualities the believer benefits from every circumstance and draws closer to Allah.
References
- A Principle Concerning Patience and Gratitude: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. Translated from the Arabic by Abu Iyaad Amjad Rafiq. Hikmah Publications, 1st edition, Ramadan 1435H / July 2014CE. ISBN 978-163443228-3: the two states of the believer, the hadith of Suhaib, the two-halves statement and the verse of the signs (printed pp. 13 to 15), the definition of gratitude (printed p. 54), Ibn al-Qayyim on gratitude, in Appendix 2 (printed pp. 66 to 67), Imam as-Sa’di on gratitude, in Appendix 3 (printed pp. 68 to 69), and Imam Ibn Baz on gratitude, in Appendix 4 (printed p. 70).
A Principle Concerning Patience and Gratitude prints “Allāh”; inside quotations on this page the name is spelled Allah, by the site’s rule.
Further Reading
- Patience and Trials: Why Allah Tests People: patience, the other half of the believer’s two responses
- Manners & Character (Akhlaq): gratitude and patience among the manners of a believer
Verified on 2026-10-26 against: A Principle Concerning Patience and Gratitude (Ibn Taymiyyah).