Surah Al-Muminoon (23) — Ayah 78

(Ayah 78) ➊ { وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْشَاَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَ الْاَبْصَارَ … :} Before this, the disbelievers were mentioned in the third person; now they are addressed directly and reminded of favors. This is a rhetorical shift from third person to second person, because sometimes threats do not have an effect, but a pleasant reminder of a favor can incline the heart.
➋ { وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْۤ اَنْشَاَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ …:} That is, those people neither bowed to their Lord nor adopted humility, even though the Lord is only He, no one else. He is the One who, without any prior example, created for you ears, eyes, and hearts, which are the centers of hearing, seeing, and understanding. These three things are mentioned because all bodily blessings are subject to them; if these do not exist, nothing else matters.
➌ { قَلِيْلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُوْنَ :} The statement that you give very little thanks can be understood in several ways. For example, think: if someone were to give you these three blessings and you wanted to repay him, what could you give? Or think this way: if Allah Almighty were to take these three blessings away from you, what would your condition be? Now, since He has given you all this, how much obedience are you showing in gratitude for these blessings? What greater ingratitude could there be than, while acknowledging your Creator and Master, instead of worshiping Him alone, you have made partners for Him, who have created nothing, and instead of believing in His Messenger, you are denying him? Gratitude for these faculties is to use them to seek guidance to the right path; otherwise, even other animals fulfill their physical and material desires through them. Your duty is that, through these faculties, you observe with your eyes, listen with your ears, and understand with your heart the proofs of monotheism found in the universe, and believe in the oneness of Allah with all your heart and soul.
➍ {’’ قَلِيْلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُوْنَ ‘‘} can also mean that you do not give thanks at all, because the Arabs use {’’قَلِيْلٌ‘‘} in the sense of nonexistence as well, as Abu Kabir Hudhali said in praise of {’’تَأَبَّطَ شَرًّا‘‘}:
{قَلِيْلُ التَّشَكِّيْ لِلْمُهِمِّ يُصِيْبُهُ ¤ كَثِيْرُ الْهَوٰي شَتَّي النَّوٰي وَ الْمَسَالِكِ}
“He complains very little about impending difficulties, has many objectives, and various intentions and paths.” By “complains very little,” it is meant that he does not complain at all.

78-1. That is, He granted intellect, understanding, and the faculties of hearing so that through them they may recognize the truth, listen to it, and accept it. This is the gratitude for these blessings. But those who are grateful, that is, those who adopt the truth, are few.

78. He is the One who gave you hearing, sight, and hearts [79] (so that you may listen, see, and reflect), but little are you grateful.

[79] That is, Allah did not give you eyes, ears, and hearts so that you would use them only as much as animals do. That you only see what appears to bring you worldly benefit, and only listen to such things, and only think about your business and livelihood, or be concerned only with which means can increase your sources of income. After all, Allah has granted you faculties greater than those of animals—how have you used them? Allah gave you eyes not just to fulfill your worldly needs, but also to see the signs of Allah scattered throughout the universe. Listen attentively with your ears to the verses sent down from Allah. Then, by reflecting on all these signs, attain the recognition of Allah and express gratitude to Him. To use these faculties merely for worldly interests, like animals, not only indicates ingratitude to Allah, but also shows that you are proving yourselves to be even worse than animals.