GOOD evening! Assalamualaikum! May peace be upon you all!

This evening, we gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, the most observed holiday in America. Although a secular event, the spirit of Thanksgiving is universal in all faiths and cultures. While this evening, we do not re-enact the first Thanksgiving of 1621 in Plymouth, nonetheless, we do so in spirit and sentiment to celebrate our own bountiful harvest of the season.

As we open the Quran, Muslims’ Holy Book, the first chapter starts with Alhamdulillah, which approximately translates to “All praise is for Allah”. In day-to-day conversations, the word Alhamdulillah signifies gratitude. When someone inquires how we are doing, Muslims would respond with “Alhamdulillah”, a shorthand for “I am fine, thanks to the blessings of Allah”.

Islam teaches us to be thankful at all times, grateful to the Almighty for all our blessings, large and small.

Syukur, or gratitude, is mentioned many times in the Quran. Gratitude to the Almighty and to our family, friends, neighbours and community. Gratitude is also related to another concept – love. In my husband’s Malay culture, when someone receives something, the response would be “Terima kasih”, or “Thank you”. The literal translation, however, is “Receive my love”.

Thanksgiving is, thus, also an expression of love for God.

In Islam, we express our gratitude to God for all of His blessings on three levels. First, within our heart, then by verbalising it, and third by doing righteous deeds.

The first is the appreciation and gratefulness that we feel in our hearts. We then fortify or reinforce that through our words or speech. And third, we express our gratitude in our actions towards our fellow human beings by doing righteous deeds.

Here in South Santa Clara county, we have all shown our thankfulness by doing good as an individual, as a family and as a community. We have come together in support of our families who are serving in the military, the homeless, those displaced by massive fires and the disadvantaged among us. Our community has also come together in solidarity against those who threaten our peaceful houses of prayer.

For our Muslim community, in particular, we are truly grateful and thankful for the support of the whole community for our application for the Cordoba Project in San Martin. Many of you spoke publicly at the recent public hearings, and have written letters of support to the county. Your words of encouragement help us persevere in our aim to build our place of worship. Mere words cannot adequately express our gratitude and thanks for your support.

Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday. It contains a good spirit and noble message. It is not a holiday of any particular religion, but it has many deeply religious and spiritual meanings and attributes. America at Thanksgiving is America at its best.

The word for thanksgiving in the Quran is syukur. It is the quality of human beings, and it is also the quality of Allah. It is the consideration of His favour and its acknowledgment by us mortals. Syukur is a central principle of Islam. It is a quality of the believers and a source of all goodness. Syukur is used in the Quran sometimes as the equivalent to faith.

In Islam, thanksgiving is not only a particular religious act or service – it is our way of life.

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we thank Allah for all our blessings, and may we all continue to be blessed with the bounty given to us by Him. Thank you all for coming to share this evening. – November 26, 2018.

* This speech was given at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at the Advent Lutheran Church in Morgan Hill, California, on November 18. The service was organised by the Interfaith CommUNITY of South Santa Clara county, with Pastor Wanita Warner officiating.

* Karen Musa is president of the South Valley Islamic Community.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.