grant me that I may be grateful for Your favours which You...
grant me that I may be grateful for Your favours which You have bestowed upon me…” Such a person looks at all of the blessings and bounties that Allah (s.w.t.) has given to both of them (the mother and father) and the previous generations and then says, “O’ Allah! Give me the strength to be able to discern the truth and realize its true worth.
Give me the strength to be able to make the best use of the blessings that You have showered upon us such that would earn Your pleasure.” To be thankful for any blessing means that we make use of that blessing as it should be used. After this, we pray that Allah (s.w.t.) should give us the ability to perform actions that He is pleased with.
We pray that we too should be given the chance to act in a way that is beneficial to ourselves, to others and perform those things which would earn the pleasure of Allah (s.w.t.): ) وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ ( “…and that I may work righteousness such as You may approve…” The third prayer is that we turn our attention to the future generation and ask Allah (s.w.t.) for their goodness and for them to be righteous: ) وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي ( “…and be gracious to through my progeny…” The fourth request made is that we are permitted to turn back towards Allah (s.w.t.) for the mistakes, slips and shortcomings which we performed in the past: ) إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ ( “…Truly I have turned to You…” The fifth and final prayer in this verse is that we ask to be granted the state of submission to the Truth and those things which Allah (s.w.t.) has specified for us in relation to the natural world and the Islamic legislations.
It is through transgressing the limits set by Allah (s.w.t.) that leads to our destruction and annihilation: ) وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ( “…and truly I am of the Muslims.” [^2] 19 In relation to this generation mentioned above, it is then mentioned in the Qurʾan: ) أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ نَتَقَبَّلُ عَنْهُمْ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَنَتَجاوَزُ عَن سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ فِي أَصْحَابِ الْجَنَّةِ وَعْدَ الصِّدْقِ الَّذِي كَانُوا يُوعَدُونَ ( “These are they from whom We accept the best of what they have done and pass over their evil deeds, among the dwellers of the garden; the promise of truth which they were promised.” [^3]20 In this part of the verse, the tense changes to the plural form and thus it is clear that it is not in reference to one individual.
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