Therefore marad can also employed to denote the dull-wittedness of a person.
To underutilize it would be tantamount to unthankfulness on the part of the human being. Our supplications for the betterment of ourselves and others should be purposeful: we must pray for health as a means to affect equilibrium in our souls. Were we to pray for health for the sake of sheer material enjoyment, we would be unthankful to Almighty Allāh, since the practical reality of shukr is to employ the Divine Blessing for the purpose it was created.
“For I know not, my God, which of the two states deserves more my thanking You, And which of the two times is more worthy for my praise of You: the time of health, within which You Make me delight in the agreeable things of Your provision, through which You Give me the joy to seek the means to Your Good Pleasure and Bounty, And by which You Strengthen me for the acts of obedience which You Have Given me success to accomplish…”[^6] Here the Imām (as) teaches us that health should be sought to achieve Allāh’s pleasure ( libtighā’i mardātika ) and to perform acts of His obedience ( waffaqtanī lahu min tā‘atika ).
Therefore, when we seek the well-being of every member of the human race, we should do so because we would like the means of their perfection to be facilitated and not because they can regain their health to continue more damage to themselves or others.