Chapter: The Recommendation of the Prostration of Gratitude When an Obvious Blessing Is Received or an Apparent Affliction Is Removed

1159 – Saʿd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) from Mecca intending Medina. When we drew near ʿAzwāʾ, he dismounted, raised his hands and supplicated to Allah for a while, then fell in prostration and remained there a long time. He then stood, raised his hands again for a while, and fell in prostration; he did this three times. He then said, ‘I asked my Lord and interceded for my community, and He granted me one-third of my nation, so I fell in prostration before my Lord in gratitude. I raised my head and again asked my Lord for my community, and He granted me another third, so I fell in prostration before my Lord in gratitude. Then I raised my head and asked my Lord for my community, and He granted me the remaining third, so I fell in prostration before my Lord.’ ” Reported by Abu Dawud.

[Explanation]
He—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Chapter on the prostration of gratitude when new favors appear and calamities are lifted.”

It is well-known that the blessings of Allah cannot be counted, as Allah the Exalted says: “If you tried to enumerate the favors of Allah, you could never calculate them.” Let me give the example of breathing, which repeats up to sixty times in a single minute; if that breath were withheld, a person would perish. It is therefore a tremendous blessing that cannot be numbered, and likewise health and well-being, eating and drinking, defecating and urinating—all are immense favors. Yet they are continuous blessings, and were a person required to prostrate for every single one of them, he would remain in prostration for the entire