In the Holy Qur’an, God asks: “Why would God punish you if you are grateful and believe?” The verse reshapes how we see God, not as One waiting to punish, but as One who invites belief and gratitude as a path to His protection. Remarkably, the verse ends with God describing Himself as Shākir — Appreciative. The more you thank Him, The more you feel His gratitude in return through His ever-increasing blessings.
We sometimes get gripped with the thought that whatever we do, we will never be good enough to save ourselves from God’s punishment. But is this really how God wants us to think of Him?
Hello and welcome to this episode of “God in His Own Words”, where we will try to get better acquainted with God through the Holy Qur’an rather than the words of others.
This is the fifth day of the Holy month of Ramadan. Let’s recite verse 147 of Sūrah An-Nisā’:"مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًا"
"Why would God punish you if you are grateful and believe? And God is ever-Appreciative (Shākir) and Knowing."The essence of the verse is that God will not punish you if you show gratitude and you believe. "In shakartum wa āmantum"
There is a narration from Amir al-mo’mineen, Imam Ali (PBUH) where he says:
"There are four things that if a person possesses, they can be at ease:
“The first is Belief (Īmān), the second is Gratitude (Shukr)”: He then recited this very verse:«مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنْتُمْ ...»
"Why would God punish you if you are grateful and believe?”“The third is Repentance (Istighfār) and the fourth is Supplication (Du'ā')”.
He then recited verse 33 of Surah Al-Anfal:«… و ما كانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ»
"And God will not punish them while they seek forgiveness”.Remember that divine punishment is not exclusive to the Hereafter. It also refers to hardships we face in our worldly lives.
Let’s reflect on ourselves. In our daily lives, do we ever express gratitude to God? Are we truly grateful for all the things we have?
Shouldn’t we be worried when the Qur'an states: "Waqalīlun min ‘ibādiyya ash-Shakūr" (And few of My servants are grateful)? Very few people offer proper gratitude.
Yet, giving thanks is such an easy thing to do—it is also the decent and logical thing to do!
Unfortunately, it seems to be the custom today to be ungrateful — under the guise of protesting, criticizing, and analyzing situations. Sometimes we get so entangled in these types of thoughts that we even undermine God's blessings, His grace, His kindness, and His sovereignty.
In another verse, God says:«لَإِن شَکَرتُم لَأَزیدَنَّکُم و لَإِن کَفَرتُم إِنَّ عَذابی لَشَدیدٌ»
“If you show gratitude, I will add to my blessings upon you, and if you disbelieve, my punishment is indeed severe.”God, let us not be disbelievers; let us not be ungrateful.
There is a subtle point at the end of the verse: "Wa kāna Allāhu Shākirān ‘Alīmā" (And God is ever-Appreciative (Shākir) and Knowing).
God has been Appreciative and Knowing from the very beginning. You thank God, and God, in turn, thanks you!
How does God thank us? How does He show me that He has valued and appreciated my gratitude. By giving me even more blessings. This is our God. You see how easy it is to worship Him!
When the Imam was asked, "How should we thank God as is His due?"
He replied: "Whenever you remember His favors, say: 'Al-Ḥamdulillāhi Rabbil-‘Ālamīn' (All praise is due to God alone, Lord of the worlds)."
Tune in next time, and join us on our journey towards getting better acquainted with God through His own words. Inshā'Allāh, He Himself will lead us to the right path.