Two Levels of Gratitude

As the mashāyikh teach, there are two types of shukr. One is what the ʿawām, the general public, practise — shukr that sits on the tongue alone: "Alḥamdulillāh, shukr yā Rabbī, how are you? Alḥamdulillāh, brother, how are you? Alḥamdulillāh." After the shukr, "alḥamdulillāh"; after the dhikr, "alḥamdulillāh"; "lā ilāha illallāh, alḥamdulillāh ʿalā kulli ḥāl"; "alḥamdulillāh, how are you? Alḥamdulillāh, alḥamdulillāh." This is the shukr of the ordinary person.

But there is another form of shukr, made by the khawāṣṣ, the elite servants of Allah (swt) who are close to Him. It is said that Dāwūd (peace be upon him) asked Allah (swt), in his duʿāʾ: "Yā Rabbī, how do I make shukr in Your court, in Your presence? My ability to make shukr itself requires a further shukr — how can I properly make shukr to You, when even my ability to make shukr to You is itself something You have granted me?" Allah (swt) answered: "This, O Dāwūd, is the true shukr to Me — when you recognise that your shukr requires a further shukr on top of it." This is a different level of understanding altogether.

Shukr is bound to Allah's (swt) generosity, and it is what causes that generosity to increase. ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Join Allah's (swt) generosity toward you to your shukr toward Him."