Saying Alhamdulillaah is Better than the Favour/Blessing granted

Ibn Maajah reports from Anas bin Maalik that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be upon him) said,

"Allah does not grant a servant a favor for which he says al-Hamdulillaah except that what he offered [of praising] is better and more virtuous than what he took [of the favor]. [Ibn Maajah [no. 3805] and it was declared hasan by al-Albaanee in ‘Saheeh ibn Maajah’ [no. 3067]]

Al-Bayhaqee commented on this by saying,

"This is because the servant does not attain [the station] of praising and thanking Allah except by His tawfeeq. Therefore the greater excellence [of his praising Allah as compared to the initial blessing that Allah bestowed upon him] is by virtue of his being blessed with the [ability to] praise Allah and extol him and this did not exist in the initial blessing. [‘Sharh as-Sindee `alaa ibn Maajah’ [no. 3795]]

Similarly, Shaykh Jamaal ad-Din Zarabozo wrote:

"In fact, every worldy blessing that is not accompanied with thanks to Allaah is a calamity. If Allaah blesses a person and guides him to thanking Allaah for a bounty he has received, that act of thankfulness is better than that worldly bounty and more beloved to Allaah. Allaah is pleased with the attribute of thankfulness and gratitude. And He bestows ti as a special grace from Himself to whomsoever He wills"

[End Quote, Commentary on the forty hadith of Al-Nawawi, Hadith #26: Charity Upon Every Joint]

The most beneficial fiqh to learn

Abu Ubaydallaah Hamid Vince Kromwell [15/08/13]

 The most beneficial fiqh you could learn is the fiqh of your daily life. If you understand this fiqh, your life will become easier and happier insha Allah...

An exercise I like to do is to categorize all my actions that I do rountinely into the 5 ahkam; waajib , mustahaab, mubaah, makrooh, and haraam. So for example, the first action I usually do of the day is to glance at the clock (for salatul Fajr). Looking at the time is permissible originally but because I am doing it for salaah,it is mustahaab (something I get rewarded for doing but no sin if I neglect). 

My next action would be to get out of the bed (for salaah). Getting out of the bed is simply a permissible action originally but to do so for salaah becomes obligatory. Why? Because salaatul Fajr is obligatory and any action that completes an obligation becomes an obligation also. The time span for salaatul Fajr is a little over an hour, so maybe I decide to pray at the beginning of this time. Because of certain narrations that indicate praying at the beginning of this prayer is highly desirable,my praying at the beginning of the time is desirable (although I can pray at any time of the allotted time) and so on for all of the days religious and worldly action.

It is a tedious exercise. But because it is intricate,it teaches a person to think intricately and break down issues to core. A person will no longer look at matters only on the surface and then judge but look at things with a deeper understanding. As it is said, part of giving the proper judgement to a matter is to have proper conceptualization of the matter.

Doing this exercise, insha Allah, gives a person the ability to answer many question to things they will encounter daily,making their life easier to live and will rarely need to seek a fatwa for them...

O Allaah, grant me understanding of the Deen