“O, COME on Aunty!” said my nephew looking straight into my eyes that morning at breakfast, with the most disbelieving expression all over his face. “I am not kidding,” I assured him.
The Arabic word ‘taskheer’ had come up in our conversation. Keeping aside the numerous meanings it implied (like utilization, employment, subjection, subjugation), I told him that it was how people were placed at one’s service for his/her comfort. How many times a day do we need to thank Allah for our taskheer of these worldly comforts, was my nephew’s simple question.
The usual answer is that we cannot ever thank Him enough and, therefore, we hardly ever say thank you even once. But because the word taskheer had come up, I chose not to give this usual answer. Instead, I asked him what the rule of courtesy was. He answered that if anyone did a favour to him, he would thank him. If he did it twice, he would be thanked twice. This answer led us to have a cursory view of the taskheer we enjoyed, not all our entire lives because that would be impossible, but just as recent as the past few minutes.
He listened to the awesome truth that one particular tree was placed at our service for a long period of time to provide some oranges. And these very oranges were squeezed for us which we had just gulped.
He was amazed with the thought that some innocent chicken was at our service who laid eggs at a time we were not even aware of her doing so.
He smiled when he heard that several men and women were actually appointed in bakeries, factories and offices to prepare, pack and send the varieties of bread, cereal, cheese, goodies and what not that we were just consuming.
My nephew added that men and women must have been appointed for our sake to manufacture pots and pans, to install stoves and electricity, taps and sewerage systems, to bring in furniture and things. Lots of other people must have been assigned to manufacture cars and other means of transport. And some more must have been given the task of working with oil and fuel for our comfort.
We realized that we give commands unconsciously to the muscles in our mouth to open and close at the right moment, so also to our fingers to hold food or cutlery properly.
‘Taskheer’ came in play in another fascinating way. Sharp teeth that are capable of grinding hard stuff such as almonds into thin paste, do not ever come in the way of the tongue. The tongue can move in all directions without getting hurt by the teeth. This fine equilibrium, balance and angle is maintained even when we do not pay any attention to it. We talk, laugh, think, and eat simultaneously, without hurting the softest part of the human body, the tongue. By the way, it is said that the tongue is the only part of the human body which has no bone. Why? Because it must be soft to utter all that is soft and kind! Still, we use this soft tongue to say hard, harsh and hurting words.
We both found that the various systems of the body are also what we have at our service — digestive, nervous, respiratory and others. They continue to work for us even when we sleep. They continue to work without the least disturbance to our mind, activities or to each other.
We found that the waste of our bodies like sweat and other remain inside, while the very best of life like blood for the unborn and food for the new born also remain in the same body, so close and yet so much apart.
We also remembered that even in oceans, we have salt and sweet water so close and yet so apart. And that males and females are so similar and yet so different.
We both agreed that for each moment that we are alive, we should thank Allah at least a thousand times. But how can we do that? The least we can do is say it just a few times, say 10, 30 or 50 times every day.
And something struck us. Those who were close to Him were no ordinary people. We know nothing about their relationship with Allah. There is no comparison in rank. We are ordinary people and we need to evolve ways suitable for us if we need to express our thanks. We will try not to ignore those millions of favours and taskheer. We will say Alhamdolillah in whatever small way possible for us .
My nephew and I agreed that anyone who does not follow the rules in formal worship and prayers is not with us. But other than that, everyone has his own, individual style of saying “Thank you, Allah.”
“O, COME on Aunty!” said my nephew looking straight into my eyes that morning at breakfast, with the most disbelieving expression all over his face. “I am not kidding,” I assured him.
