Act With Gratitude

Allah (swt) says: they worked for him what he desired, making high rooms, images, basins as large as reservoirs, and cooking cauldrons fixed in their places. These are things that the jinn would do for Sulaymān (peace be upon him).

And then Allah (swt) says: iʿmalū āla Dāwūda shukrā. Allah here is commanding the family of Dāwūd — Dāwūd and his son — to give thanks. But notice here an important word in the ayah. What does the ayah say? Iʿmalū. We always think of thanks as a word, to say al-ḥamdu lillāh. But Allah (swt) is saying in the ayah: and act with thanks. Iʿmalū shukrā. So thanking Allah is not only through words; it is also through actions. ʿAmal — iʿmalū āla Dāwūda shukrā — act with gratitude and thanks to Allah (swt). So shukr needs action; you thank Allah (swt) through your actions. And then Allah says: wa qalīlun min ʿibādiya al-shakūr — and only a few, only a few of My servants are thankful and grateful.