Let All Of Us Praise “The Appreciative One”

Discriminating of what, nevertheless? What have I done, as a servant of God, in order that He would be appreciative of me? He gave me life as I was dead, yet I return that debt by being sinful and also disobedient. There's nothing that I could do for God; yet He still is al Shakur, or the Appreciative. He is appreciative when I “do what is good,” or “advance God a good loan,” or if I'm “grateful and faithful.” What an amazing, awesome God we have.

God: The Appreciative

Thus, in respect of Thanksgiving, I want to reflect over a especially fascinating good name for God: Al Shakur, or “The Appreciative.” There are numerous verses of the Quran which speak of God as “appreciative”:

…And if anyone willingly does what is good, God is appreciative and cognizant. (Quran 2:158)
Why would God punish you if you are grateful and faithful, since God is most appreciative, most cognizant? (Quran 4:147)
As God will pay them their due and more, from the bounty divine, for God is most forgiving, most appreciative. (Quran 35:30)
And for anyone who brings about good, We will add goodness to it, for God is forgiving, appreciative. (Quran 42:23)
If you advance God a good loan, God will multiply it for you, and forgive you; for God is most appreciative, most clement. (Quran 64:17)

This is really, really splendid. The Lord God – Originator of the heavens and the earth, maker of all that exists, Giver of Life, the absolute most Powerful of all things, the King of all kings – is al Skakur, or “the appreciative.”

It is a significant manifestation of God’s endless Love. He loves us a great deal that He is merciful towards us. Furthermore, He is appreciative of the faith and servicing we give to Him, although we constantly sin against Him. How much of an amazing, awesome God we have.

The 99 Names of God

So, the “99 Names of Allah” enter your mind.
In Islamic tradition, it is believed that God has 99 names or attributes that explain God for the believer. Included in this are the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Loving, the Shaper, the Maker, and many others. A great deal of these names are found in the Qur’an, and many others are found in the Prophetic literature.

Here is a specifically beautiful example:

This is the God, other than which there is no deity: Knower of the invisible and the evident, the Benevolent, the Merciful. This is the God, other than which there is no deity: the Sovereign, the Holy, Peace, the Giver of Safety, the Protector, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Overwhelming; glory to God, beyond any association they attribute. This is the God, the Originator, the Creator, the Shaper, to Whom refer the most beautiful names, celebrated by everything in the heavens and the earth, being the Almighty, the Perfectly Wise. (Quran 59:22-24)