One of the tokens of accepting one's expression of appreciation is that he receives an increase
of Allah's blessings according to 14:7: "If you are grateful, I will certainly give you more, and
if you are ungrateful, My chastisement is truly severe." The truth about appreciation is not
related to the qualities of Allah: appreciation comes from people; it is simply the expending of
the blessings granted by Allah in the way for which He created them. Linguistically,
appreciation is coupled with blessing, grace, gratitude. Nobody can do Allah a favour for
which He has to thank him; therefore, His appreciation must be understood metaphorically
according to Tafsir al-Manar. Allah's gratitude means that He is capable of rewarding the
doers of good, that He does not permit the deeds of such doers to be wasted or unrewarded. It
is in this sense that rewarding the doer of good with what he deserves is called appreciation,
and Allah has thus called Himself appreciative. Allah has also promised those who appreciate
His blessings to increase His blessings upon them; so, such gratitude also falls under the same
type of appreciation. The most Appreciative One has said, "... and whoever does good
spontaneously, surely Allah is Grateful, Knowing" (Qura'n, 2:158). Thus do we come to know
that Allah, Glory to Him, has a conduct which is surely the most perfect one when He called
Himself appreciative of the worlds although whatever good they do neither benefits Him nor
harms Him in the least; rather, its benefit is surely for our own good. It is, in reality, a sign of
His own blessings upon us that He guides and enables us to do it; so, it does not beseem any
sensible person to observe the great favour bestowed upon him by Allah without thanking
Him for it, or without obeying Him.
Allah also says, "Therefore remember Me, so I will remember you, too, and be thankful to
Me, and do not be ungrateful to Me" (Qura'n, 2:152). In this verse, Allah teaches His servants
to be appreciative, ordering them to remember the blessings which He has bestowed upon
them by their hearts, tongues and senses. Their reward for it is that He reminds them of His
permission to continue to enjoy such blessings, and to increase them, ordering them to praise
Him by His Attributes, to discuss His countless blessings, to glorify Him openly and secretly,
so that He may mention them in His high company and mention His being pleased with them.
In a qudsi tradition, the Messenger of Allah quotes the Almighty saying, "I am as My servant
thinks of Me: I am with him; if he mentions Me silently, I shall mention him likewise, and if
He mentions My Name before a crowd of people, I shall mention him before a better crowd;
if he gets closer to Me as much as a span, I shall get closer to him as much as a yard; if he
gets closer to Me as much as a yard, I will get closer to him more than twice that much. If he
comes to Me walking, I shall come to him running." Allah commands His servants to be
grateful to Him and not to deny the blessings which He has bestowed upon them. This is a
warning for this nation against that wherein previous nations had fallen due to the latter's
denial of the blessings which the Almighty had showered upon them. He granted them the
powers of reason, emotion, judgment, and other such blessings.