188 – Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Jarawī narrated to us; al-Ḥārith ibn Miskīn narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb narrated to us; I heard ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam say:

“Gratitude takes firm hold of praise—its very root and its branch. One should contemplate the blessings Allah has placed within his own body: his hearing, his sight, his hands, his feet, and the like. There is not a single one of these but that it is a favor from Allah. It is therefore a duty upon the servant to employ the bodily favors Allah has given him in obedience to Him. Likewise, in matters of provision there is another blessing; and it is his duty to use whatever sustenance Allah has granted him in obedience to Him. Whoever acts in this way has truly grasped the essence, the branch, and the root of gratitude.”