“Allah’s blessing in what He has kept back from me of this world is greater than His blessing in what He has given me of it: I have seen Him give it to people, and they were ruined.”

Abu Hazim Salamah ibn Dinar (d. c. 140 AH / 757 CE) was one of the Successors of Madinah, remembered for his plain-spoken counsel to the caliph Sulayman ibn ‘Abd al-Malik. Ibn Abi al-Dunya records this in his book on gratitude and Abu Nu‘aym in Hilyat al-Awliya’. It widens gratitude to include what was withheld — the hardest thing to be thankful for, and often the thing that was protecting you.