Surah Ibrahim (14) — Ayah 7

(Ayah7) ➊ The meaning of { وَ اِذْ تَاَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ : ’’آذَنَ يُؤْذِنُ‘‘} is to inform, to announce. By entering the verb form "tafa‘‘ul," the meaning is intensified, so it has been translated as "clearly announced."
➋ { لَىِٕنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَاَزِيْدَنَّكُمْ:} Because appreciating someone’s favor and thanking them increases the bond with them, and then what can be said about Allah Almighty! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ وَلَا شَخْصَ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ الْمِدْحَةُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ، مِنْ أَجْلِ ذٰلِكَ وَعَدَ اللّٰهُ الْجَنَّةَ ] [ مسلم، اللعان : ۱۴۹۹ ] "There is no one to whom praise is more beloved than Allah, that is why Allah has promised Paradise." When verbal gratitude is so beloved to Allah, then how great will be His reward for practical gratitude and obedience.
➌ { وَ لَىِٕنْ كَفَرْتُمْ :} Its answer was actually {’’لَأُعَذِّبَنَّكُمْ‘‘} that if you disbelieve, I will surely punish you, but this was omitted and such a sentence was used that conveys the same meaning and also expresses the utmost severity of Allah’s punishment, that is, He said: «{وَ لَىِٕنْ كَفَرْتُمْ اِنَّ عَذَابِيْ لَشَدِيْدٌ }» and this too is a miracle of the Qur’an.

7. 1. He has informed and warned you with His promise. And it is also possible that this is in the meaning of an oath, that is, when your Lord, swearing by His honor, majesty, and greatness, said (Ibn Kathir).
7. 2. Upon showing gratitude for a blessing, I will bestow even more rewards.
7. 3. This means that ingratitude for blessings (ungratefulness) is disliked by Allah, for which He has stated a severe warning of punishment. That is why the Prophet ﷺ also said that the majority of women will enter Hell due to their ingratitude towards their husbands (Sahih Muslim).

7. And when your Lord proclaimed: "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you; but if you are ungrateful, then indeed My [9] punishment is severe."

[9]
Gratitude and Its Benefit:

Allah Almighty has placed such an effect in gratitude or appreciation that it preserves goodness and even attracts further blessings towards itself, while the result of ingratitude or ungratefulness is that such an unappreciative person loses even the previous blessing, and the circumstances become even worse. These consequences extend from this world to the Hereafter as well. For the details of this subject, we mention here two hadiths:
1. Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: Among the Children of Israel, there were three men: one was a leper, one bald, and one blind. Allah Almighty wanted to test them and sent an angel to them. The angel first came to the leper and said, "What do you wish for?" He replied, "Good color and good skin, for people dislike and shun me." The angel passed his hand over him, and his color and skin became good. Then the angel asked, "Which wealth do you like?" He said, "Camels." The angel provided him with a ten-month pregnant she-camel and said, "Allah will bless it for you." Then the angel came to the bald man and said, "What do you wish for?" He said, "That my baldness goes away and I get good hair." The angel passed his hand over him, and he became healthy and grew good hair. Then he was asked, "Which wealth do you like?" The bald man said, "Cows." So the angel provided him with a pregnant cow and said, "Allah will bless it for you." Then the angel came to the blind man and asked, "What do you wish for?" He said, "That my eyesight is restored to me." The angel passed his hand over his eyes, and he became able to see. Then he was asked, "Which wealth do you like?" He said, "Goats." So the angel provided him with a pregnant goat and said, "Allah will bless it for you." After some time, the leper had a large herd of camels, the bald man had a large herd of cows, and the blind man had a large herd of goats. Now the angel came to them again (in human form). He first went to the leper and said, "I am a needy man, all my belongings are gone, and without Allah's help and then yours, I cannot reach anywhere. I ask you in the name of Allah, who gave you good color and skin and much wealth, to give me one camel so that I may reach my destination." He replied, "I have many people's debts to pay." The angel said, "I recognize you; you were a leper, people disliked you, and you were needy, and Allah showed mercy to you and gave you all this." The leper said, "No, I got all this as an inheritance from my forefathers." The angel said, "If you are lying, may Allah return you to your former state." Then he went to the bald man. The same questions and answers took place as with the leper, and the angel finally said to him as well, "If you are lying, may Allah return you to your former state." After that, the angel came to the blind man and asked the same question as he had asked the leper and the bald man. Upon hearing this, the blind man said, "Indeed, I was blind. Allah gave me sight. I was needy, and Allah made me wealthy. Now you have asked me in the name of Allah; take whatever you want, I will not stop you." The angel said, (I am not needy, I am an angel) "Keep your goats with you. Allah tested you three men. Allah is pleased with you and angry with your two companions (the leper and the bald man)." [بخاری، کتاب الانبیاء۔ باب ما ذکربنی عن اسرائیل حدیث ابرص واقرع واعمیٰ]
2.
The Consequence of Ingratitude:

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbasؓ says that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Hell was shown to me, and I saw that most of its inhabitants were women who commit kufr." The Companions asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" He replied, "No, they are ungrateful to their husbands and are unappreciative. If you do good to a woman all your life, and then she sees something unpleasant from you, she will say, 'I have never seen any good from you.'" [بخاری، کتاب الایمان۔ باب کفران العشیر وکفر دون کفر]