Shukr

Shukr (Arabic شكر ), an Arabic term denoting thankfulness, gratitude, or acknowledgment by humans, is a highly esteemed virtue in Islam. The term may also be used if the subject is God, in which case it takes the meaning of "divine responsiveness".

In a Sufi context, shukr is an internal state and its external expression. It is considered a station (maḳām) of the wayfarer (sālik).

God

When the subject of shukr is God, the concept signifies "requiting and commending [a person]", "forgiving" a person, or "regarding" the person "with content, satisfaction, good will"; and thus, necessarily, "recompensing". In fact, the Arabic saying shakara 'llāhu saʿyahu mean "May God recompense, or reward, his work or labour".

One of the beautiful names of God is al-Shakūr, meaning "He who approves, or rewards, or forgives, much; He in whose estimation small, or few, works performed by His servants increase, and who multiplies His rewards to them". The Qur'an refers to Him by al-Shākir too.

God is considered al-Shakūr in the sense that He widely extends His favors. God's shukr is not to be considered thankfulness in a literal sense. Rather God's shukr is a recompense to man for doing good, (just as man is recomposed for committing offenses). According to al-Ghazali, God is absolutely grateful, because of His unlimited multiplication of the reward of the pious, as they shall receive eternal bliss in Paradise. Al-Maksad writes that God's praise for man's good deeds is praise for His own work, since the good of man is His creation.