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The Gratitude of Man and the Gratitude of God. Notes on šukr in Traditional Islamic Thoughts
Original title : “The Gratitude of Man and the Gratitude of God. Notes on šukr in Traditional Islamic Thoughts”
SUMMARY: The present essay is intended as a contribution to the study of gratitude or šukr within the Islamic tradition, beginning with the Koranic use of the root škr (and more particularly its derivative šakūr), examining its explicit implications for early lexicography (IbnManẓūr), noting the presence of these implications in traditional thought (Ibn Abī al–Dunyā and al–Ḫarā’iṭī) and proposing some comparisons with theological speculation (Abū Ḥāmid al–Ġazālī and Ibn Qayyim al–Ǧawziyya). In the light of the sources consulted, gratitude emerges as a crucial ingredient of faith, a cornerstone of a conscientious Islamic ethic, and not least an important linking element between the divine practice and the duties of man, both in terms of the harmony between man’s thankfulness to God and God’s satisfaction with the believer, and in terms of the close connection between the gratitude owed to God and that owed to a brother benefactor. Finally, man is seen as a creature endowed with an awareness whose highest vocation is, precisely, gratitude.
Titre original : “The Gratitude of Man and the Gratitude of God. Notes on šukr in Traditional Islamic Thoughts”
Résumé
Le présent essai est une contribution à l’étude de la gratitude dans la tradition islamique, en commençant par l’usage coranique de la racine škr (et plus particulièrement du mot šakūr), en examinant ses implications explicites dans la lexicographie primitive (Ibn Manẓūr), en notant la présence de ses implications dans la pensée traditionnelle (Ibn Abīal – Dunyā and al-Ḫarā’iṭī) et en proposant quelques comparaisons avec la spéculation théologique (Abū Ḥāmid al–Ġazālī and Ibn Qayyim al–Ǧawziyya). A la lumière des sources consultées, la gratitude émerge comme un ingrédient essentiel de la foi, la pierre angulaire d’une éthique islamique consciente, et surtout un lien important reliant la pratique divine et les devoirs de l’homme, à la fois en termes d’harmonie entre la gratitude de l’homme envers Dieu et la satisfaction de Dieu à l’égard du croyant, et en termes de relation étroite entre la gratitude due à Dieu et celle qui est due à un bienfaiteur humain. Enfin, l’homme est vu comme une créature douée d’une conscience dont la plus haute vocation est précisément la gratitude.
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