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The favors of Allah Almighty are countless and numberless. How often He removes our afflictions and cures our diseases! And how often He brings us relief from our grief and distress!
The greatest favor a person hopes to attain in the Hereafter is the forgiveness of his sins. This is to be achieved through faith and righteous deeds, even if little.
A case in point is ‘Amr ibn Thābit. He embraced Islam during the Battle of Uhud and got killed in it, without even offering a single prayer. They mentioned him to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “He is among the people of Paradise.” [Narrated by Ahmad; Sahīh (authentic); Al-Haythami said in Al-Majma‘: Its narrators are reliable]
Another example is the man who killed a hundred persons. Allah Almighty saw his sincere repentance and forgave him.
The greatest favor to be bestowed upon any person in this life is guidance. {...Rather, it is Allah Who has done you a favor by guiding you to faith, if you are truthful.} [Surat al-Hujurāt: 17]
One of the names by which Allah praised Himself is “Al-Mannān”.
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he was sitting with the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) while a man was praying and then made this supplication: “Allāhumma inni as’aluka bi’anna laka al-hamd, lā ilāha illa ant Al-Mannān, Badī‘ as-samāwāti wa al-ard, yā Dhal-Jalāl wa al-Ikrām, yā Hayy yā Qayyūm (O Allah, I implore You by virtue of the fact that all praise is due to You, there is no god but You, You are the Bestower of Favors, the Originator of the heavens and earth, the Owner of majesty and honor, the Ever-Living, the All-Sustainer).”
Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He has implored Allah by His greatest name by which when supplicated, He answers, and by which when asked, He gives.” [Narrated by Al-Nasā’i, Al-Tirmidhi, Abu Dāwūd, and Ibn Mājah; Sahīh (authentic)]
Our Lord, Exalted be He, is the Generous Bestower of gifts, blessings, and favors. He gives before being asked and grants us more than we hope and wish.
Since He bestows all favors upon His servants, He has the right to remind them of His favors, but they do Him no favor. Among His greatest favors is that He gives us life, the mind, the tongue, the shape, and everything we possess. His giving is indeed generous.
One of His best favors upon His servants is that He sent them the messengers as bringers of glad tidings and warners, saving the believers from Hellfire and guiding them to the straight path.
{Allah has conferred favor on the believers when He sent them a messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His verses, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and Wisdom, although before that they were clearly misguided.} [Surat Ᾱl ‘Imrān: 164] {...Rather, it is Allah Who has done you a favor by guiding you to faith, if you are truthful.} [Surat al-Hujurāt: 17]
Among His favors is that He saves the weak and vulnerable in all times from tyrants and wicked people and grants them security and power: {But We wanted to bestow favor upon those who were oppressed in the land, and make them leaders and inheritors [of the land].} [Surat al-Qasas: 5]
Allah Almighty is the most worthy of being praised, thanked, and worshiped. His favors upon the believers continue incessantly until they enter Paradise. His favors upon them in the worldly life are guidance and protection; whereas in the Hereafter, they are salvation from Hellfire, entering Paradise, and looking at His noble Face. Allah Almighty says: {They will say, “Before this, we used to be in awe [of Allah] when we were living among our people. Therefore Allah conferred favor upon us and protected us from the punishment of the Scorching Fire. Indeed, we used to call upon Him before. He is indeed the Most Kind, Most Merciful.”} [Surat at-Tūr: 26-28]
When the believer recognizes the favors of Allah Almighty upon him, he gets amazed and feels at ease, and he stands in need before his Creator praising Him alone. This is the greatest door through which a person can go to his Lord, namely the door of humbleness and total helplessness before Allah. He invokes and implores Him, calling out: O Allah, the Bestower of Favors!
At this point, wishes are fulfilled, requests are granted, sins are forgiven, grief and distress come to an end, the captives get released, the sick get cured, those who have been away and absent come back, and the calls of those in bad need for help are answered: {Is He [not better] Who responds to the distressed when he calls out to Him, and Who relieves suffering, and Who makes you successors on earth? Is there any god besides Allah? Little is it that you take heed!} [Surat an-Naml: 62]
And if you missed things that you thought were the cause of your happiness, be certain that Allah kept them away from you before they become the cause of your misery.
Allah Almighty praises Himself by the favors He bestows upon His servants. Yet, He dispraises those who consider themselves to be conferring favors upon Allah or people on account of their charitable spending or pious acts. In the Qur’an, Allah Almighty says: {They think that they have done you a favor by embracing Islam. Say, “Do not consider your Islam as a favor to me. Rather, it is Allah Who has done you a favor by guiding you to faith, if you are truthful.} [Surat al-Hujurāt: 17]
Our Lord warns us not to remind others of our favors because this renders our charities worthless: {O you who believe, do not nullify your charities with reminders and hurtful words...} [Surat al-Baqarah: 264]
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) also warned us against reminding others of our favors. He said: “There are three to whom Allah will not speak on the Day of Judgment: the bestower of favors who does not give anything without reminding others of his favors, the seller of goods who sells them by taking a false oath, and one who lets his lower garment hang low.” [Narrated by Muslim]
In another Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “He who reminds others of his favors, he who is undutiful to his parents, and he who is a drunkard will not enter Paradise.” [Narrated by Al-Nasā’i; Sahīh (authentic)]
Do not spoil your favors by reminding others of them. Indeed, the generous one does not remind others of his generosity.
Hence, righteous people used to advise one another saying: If you give something to someone and then perceive that your greeting embarrasses him, refrain from greeting him.
When magnanimous people do someone a favor, they subsequently forget them, and when anyone does them a favor, they never forget it.
Generosity is never kept unknown wherever it happens,
neither are the generous wherever they are.
O Allah, the Bestower of Favors, bestow upon us the favor of reforming our affairs and children and giving us a good end in this life.