The great saint Ibn Fahd al-Hillī in his well-known prayer...

The great saint Ibn Fahd al-Hillī in his well-known prayer manual ‘Uddat al-Dā’ī narrates the following tradition: عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللٌّهِ (ص) فِيْ قَوْلِ اللٌّهِ تَعَالـى:  وَما يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللٌّهِ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ ، قَالَ: هُوَ قَوْلُ الرَّجُلِ: لَوْ لاَ فُلاَنٌ لَهَلَكْتُ، وَلَوْلاَ فُلاَنٌ لَمَا أَصَبْتُ كَذاَ وَكَذَا، وَلَوْلاَ فُلاَنٌ لَضَاعَ عيَالِي.

أَلاَ تَرَى أَنَّهُ قَدْ جَعَلَ لِلٌّهِ شَرِيْكًا فِيْ مُلْكِهِ يَرْزُقُهُ وَيَدْفَعُ عَنْهُ؟ قُلْتُ: فَيَقُوْلُ لَوْلاَ أَنَّ اللٌهَ مَنَّ عَلَيَّ بفُلاَنٍ لَهَلَكْتُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، لاَ بَأْسَ بِهٌذَا وَنَحْوِهِ.

“Imām Abū ‘Abdillāh (al-Sādiq (as)) is reported to have said about the verse And most of them do not believe in Allāh without associating others (with Him) (12:106)’ that it refers to when a man says: ‘Was it not for so and so, I would have perished, and was it not for so and so I would not have got such and such a thing, and was it not for so and so, my family would perish. Don’t you see that he has made a partner for Allāh in His Kingdom, who sustains him and averts [evil from him]?

[The narrator says:] I said: ‘What if he were to say if Allāh would not have Blessed me with so and so I would have perished. The Imām (as) said: Yes, there is no problem in this and the like.”[^7] The above however should not lead one to overlook the traditions of expressing gratitude and thanks to whosoever has done good. Such traditions emphasize the ‘nobility’ of the agent of Allāh’s Grace. But gratitude should never be mingled with polytheism and words of ignorance.

In fact the good doer is required to express gratitude to Almighty Allāh for having given him the succor ( tawfīq ) to do all the good, and hence be availed with the Godly spirit. The Imperfection of the Receptacle Some times although the agent of grace is infinitely able, but the receptacle of grace is imperfect.

Therefore, if the receptacle due to its narrowness cannot attain more than its capacity, the fault is not with the Provider of Grace, Who is al-Jawād , and always wishes to give more and more.

To explain this law, Almighty Allāh cites a very beautiful a parable is Sūrat al-Ra’d:  أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَاءً فَسَالَتْ أَوْدِيَةٌ بِقَدَرِهَا  “He sent down water from the sky, and the channels flowed, each according to their measure…” [^8] Hence, water is poured down in abundance, but not all receptacles receive equally.

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