Conclusion of Surah Al Nahl

In my last post, I touched on how Surah AlNahl (chapter 16 in the Quran) speaks of God's blessings for us, from animals to rain, to senses to reproduction and so much more. If you have not read that post, I would recommend reading it first before this one.

After reading about all these blessings from God to us, I couldn't help but realize how the concept tied in so well with the conclusion of the chapter.

In verse 112, Allah says:
وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا قَرْيَةً كَانَتْ آمِنَةً مُّطْمَئِنَّةً يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ اللَّهِ فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ
And Allah puts forward the example of a township that dwelt secure and well content; its provision coming to it in abundance from every place, but it (its people) denied the Favors of Allah (with ungratefulness). So Allah made it taste hunger (famine) and fear, because of that which they (its people) used to do.

Then in verse 114 He says:
فَكُلُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ حَلَالًا طَيِّبًا وَاشْكُرُوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ
So eat of the lawful and good food which Allah has provided for you. And be grateful for the Graces of Allah, if it is He Whom you worship.

And in verse 121, He says:
شَاكِرًا لِّأَنْعُمِهِ اجْتَبَاهُ وَهَدَاهُ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
(Prophet Abraham was) thankful for His (Allah's) Graces. He (Allah) chose him and guided him to a straight path.

Compare all these 3 verses. They have a common denominator, and that is being grateful for God's blessings.

In verse 112, God speaks of a nation that was blessed, but because they failed to acknowledge these blessings were from God and because of their denial, that lead to their very destruction.
In verse 114, God then commands us to acknowledge His favors upon us and thank Him and not be ungrateful.
Finally in verse 121, God speaks of prophet Abraham, and He gives us a quality that this noble prophet had. What was it? Being thankful to his Lord for all the blessings he had.

You see how throughout the entire chapter, God is naming blessing after blessing, favor after favor, and then to conclude, commanding us to acknowledge these blessings and warning us to not be ungrateful? Opening your eyes and seeing this makes the entire chapter tie in so well together. No wonder this chapter is also known as "Blessings" because that really is the gist of what you can conclude. God gave us so much, so why be ungrateful? The least we can do is acknowledge what He gave us, and be thankful. Yes, be thankful.