The believer is thankful and praising:
Pay attention to the following Hadith, please:
(( Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinan (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that: While the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was sitting with his Companions, he laughed. Then he, peace be upon him said, "Will you not ask me what made me laugh?" They replied, "O Messenger of Allah, what made you laugh?" He said, "How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him". ))
[ Muslim, on the authority of Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinan ]
These are some of the hallmarks of the believer: he is grateful in times of ease and patient in times of hardship. When things go as he wishes, he says, "Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah)", and when things turn out differently, he still says, "Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah)."
There is also a common expression among people when they want to praise Allah. They say, "Praise be to Allah, Who Alone is praised for what is disliked."
(( It was narrated that 'Aishah said: "When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw something he liked, he would say, 'Praise be to Allah by Whose grace good deeds are completed.' And if he saw something that he disliked, he would say, 'Praise be to Allah in all circumstances." ))
[ Sunan Ibn Majah, on the authority of 'Aishah ]
The believer is grateful to Allah the Almighty, and he constantly praises Him. A great scholar was once asked, "When does a servant attain the station of contentment?" Before I tell you what he said, let me remind you that we previously discussed the subtle distinction between a state (ḥaal) and a station (maqam). The maqam is acquired, and it is permanent, while the haal is granted and it is transient.
Sometimes a person may experience a state of contentment in a particular environment, with certain people, or at a specific moment, while the station of contentment is enduring and constant—it is acquired.
We return to the venerable scholar. He was asked, "When does a servant attain the station of contentment?" He replied, "When he grounds himself upon four principles and lives by them. The believing, content servant says, 'O Lord, if You grant me, I accept; if You withhold from me, I am pleased; if You leave me, I keep worshipping You; and if You call me to adhere to Your Commands, I respond with acceptance'."
