In the year 1924, a professor of agriculture in Japan acquired a dog as a pet. Daily, he would walk to the train station, accompanied by his dog, to board the train and travel to his work place. As the train would depart from the station, his dog would turn around and return home. Thereafter, at the end of the day, the dog would make its way back to the station, arriving at the precise time the train pulled in, so that it could welcome its master and escort him back to his home.

This continued for just 16 months, until one day, the professor passed away unexpectedly at work. This, in itself, is of no significance, but what was remarkable and noteworthy was that the dog continued to come to the train station to wait for its master. Since it did not know that its master had passed away, it continued to wait for him – and continued doing so every single day without fail for the next 9 years and 9 months, until it eventually died.

Such was the loyalty, devotion and faithfulness of this dog (despite spending only 16 months with its master) that it was taken as a Japanese icon and its incident is taught to schoolchildren in that country.

Another creature which displays remarkable loyalty, devotion and faithfulness is the horse. In the Quraan Majeed, Allah Ta‘ala makes mention of the horse’s loyalty and devotion to its master. Whether it is the dark of night or the early hours of the morning, it is prepared to bear his weight on its back and carry him wherever he needs to go. It plunges into the thick of battle, amidst swinging blades, flying arrows and thrusting spears, in order to serve and obey him. All this it does out of a sense of duty, loyalty and faithfulness, as its master is the one who feeds it, looks after it and provides it with shelter.

In essence, in exchange for the few handfuls of oats and grain, and the stable roof over its head, it is willing to lay down its life for its master. Subhaanallah! What a deep and profound sense of gratitude and appreciation!

In stark comparison to this is the human being. Every breath that the human being takes, every morsel that he swallows, every thought that passes through his mind, every movement of his limbs, every scrap of clothing on his body – anything and everything that he enjoys, whether small or big, is a bounty, gift and blessing from his Creator – Allah Ta‘ala.

Undoubtedly, the bounties and blessings which Allah Ta‘ala has bestowed to us are far more abundant and superior to the measly ‘favours’ that man shows to his horse and dog. In fact, so numerous are the bounties of Allah Ta‘ala upon us that the Quraan Majeed has declared these bounties as ‘innumerable and countless’.

Yet, for the little that they receive, the horse and dog show far more gratitude, appreciation and faithfulness to their master than most people show to their Creator. After describing the loyalty of the horse, Allah Ta‘ala Himself mentions the ingratitude of man saying, “Indeed, man is most ungrateful to his Rabb.”

All that Allah Ta‘ala asks of man is that He bring imaan in Him, follow His Rasul (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), fulfil the injunctions of Deen and refrain from the prohibitions of the sharee‘ah. Sadly, due to his inordinate love for this world, man continues, time and time again, to give preference to pleasing himself over pleasing Allah Ta‘ala.

The reality of the matter is that even if man has to lead His entire life in accordance to Deen and the sunnah, he will not be able to fulfil the right of gratitude which he owes to Allah Ta‘ala – yet such is the kindness and generosity of Allah Ta‘ala that when a person leads a life of righteousness, then Allah Ta‘ala blesses him even further and bestows him with entry into Jannah!

When our Master is so kind and generous, has blessed us with so much and offers us so much more which is still to come, and asks for so little in return, then how can we disobey Him by disregarding his commands and following a way other than the way of His beloved Rasul (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)?

As we ponder over this, and realize just how blessed we are, let each of us reflect in the mirror of our soul and ask ourselves, “Do I have more appreciation in my heart, or do the horse and dog have more appreciation in them?”

May Allah Ta‘ala grant us the taufeeq to be perpetually grateful to Him and to remain obedient to Him at all times, aameen.