Ways
of
Praise

You know, one thing that all humans seem to agree on

is that what they want in life is Peace and Happiness.

But when you ask them what will

give them peace and make them happy

they often have very different ideas.

Some say they would be made happy by things that only last a very short time,

like "That packet of sweets",

or "That toy",

or "For my team to win the Cup".

Some might think of other kinds of things,

like "Money". or "Love",

or "Friends", or "Good Health".

But people can have all these things and still be unhappy.

What humans really need for peace and happiness

is to live in ways that help them to feel the things that will make them peaceful and happy,

and the most important of those is being thankful to God for what they have been given.

In Islam, when we feel thankful to Allah,

our praise is known as "Hamd".

Now sometimes we praise people for something special about them,

perhaps they are really good at sports or at maths,

and they are so much better at what they do than we could ever be,

and we praise them because they are awesome.

But Hamd is a different kind of praise.

It is the praise we give to God that comes from feeling Full of Thanks

full of feeling good about what God has given you

which is everything in your life.

Being thankful is about what we already have,

not thinking about what we haven't got.

What other Ways of Being do you think might make us happy?

Are there different kinds of Mercy?

Do you think it might help to be nice to other people?

Who can you trust in this world?