Lesson one hundred forty three :Higher than favor

Imam Hadi( A. S. )says:

الشّاكِرُ اسْعَدُ بالشُّكْرِ مِنْهُ بِالنِّعْمَةِ الَّتى أَوجَبَتِ الشُّكْرَ لِانَّ النَّعَمَ مَتاعٌ وَ الشُّكْرَ نِعَمٌ وَ عُقْبى‌

Translation

One who is grateful for a favor, his prosperity for his gratefulness is more than his prosperity for the favor, because favors are the means of life in this world and gratitude is the capital of this world and the other world..

Brief description

Considering this fact that gratitude is not merely appreciation by tongue, rather it is practical appreciation and also using each favor in its proper place, it is clarified that gratitude for a favor results in blessings and properties so that favor itself is very insignificant comparing with it. Using the favors for God's satisfaction and His servants' content is a capital both for honor of this world and also eternal prosperity of the other world, while a favor itself may be only a material blessing.

So gratitude is higher and more valuable than the favor itself.