Does thanking Allah for a calamity increase calamities, based on His saying: "And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe'"? And does praise (Al-Hamd) have the same meaning as gratitude (Al-Shukr)?

Gratitude for an affliction is commendable, because it is a higher station than contentment. This is because afflictions may be blessings decreed by divine wisdom, and the aspect of the blessing in them may be hidden from a person. Gratitude for an affliction can be expressed through: 1. Looking at those who have been afflicted with something greater. 2. Knowing that the affliction expiates sins and raises one's rank. 3. Remembering that the affliction may be an expedited punishment in this world, which is better than its postponement to the Afterlife. 4. Realizing that the affliction was predestined and was bound to occur. 5. Knowing that the reward for the affliction is greater than the affliction itself, as it is a path to the Afterlife.

Gratitude for an affliction does not lead to its increase; because the increase in blessings promised in the Quran is for gratitude for blessings, not afflictions.