Say: He Is the One God: God the Eternal, the Uncaused Cause of all being

E. Tahmid: Alhamdulıllâh

(All The Praise And Thanks Be To Allâh (Swt)!)

Sûrah Al-Fâtihah, which is the crown of the Noble Qur’ân, begins with AlhamdulIllÂh. A believer who performs regular prayers offers praise and thanks (hamd) to ALLÂH (SWT) by repeatedly reciting Sûrah Al-Fâtihah again and again.

It is almost impossible to translate “hamd” in one word. “Praise” does not correspond to “hamd”. Because to praise means to eulogize. Man praises things that are lower than himself too, man even praises a mountain, a stone. Not every eulogy is genuine, sometimes eulogy is delivered where it is not deserved. Because eulogy has within itself flattery. In that case “praise” cannot be the exact equivalent of the word hamd. Let us admit that hamd is an invasion peculiar to the Noble Qur’ân. In our opinion, there is not a word in any other language that is the exact equivalent of this concept. All the praises and thanks are due to ALLÂH (SWT) for His Teaching hamd to us.

Taking into account that the sentence Al-Hamdu Lillâhi Rabbi’l-`Âlamîn is a statement of ALLÂH (SWT), this sentence is understood as notification of an attribute that belongs to ALLÂH (SWT). This view is reinforced by the fact that the word hamd has the definiteness affix (al) and that the sentence comes as a noun-phrase. In that case, the meanings is “All the praises and thanks before and after, at all times are due to Him (SWT). To Be praised is His Attribute, if He Wished people would not be able to express praise and thanks”.

The letter lâm in Lillâhi denotes peculiarity and ownership for the subject, and submersion for the predicate.

The peculiarity can be understood in the following two senses:

1) All the praise and thanks are due to ALLÂH (SWT) Alone. This is the first meaning of AlhamdulIllÂh. Hamd is a way of expressing gratitude that should only be devoted to the Creator. Nothing is worthy of hamd save ALLÂH (SWT). To be ALLÂH (SWT) is to deserve hamd. And to be a servant of ALLÂH (SWT) is to be compelled and obliged to express praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT). Trying to praise and thank anything other than ALLÂH (SWT) is trying to stealing a role from ALLÂH (SWT). Doing this, man attempts to ascribe the role that he tries to steal from ALLÂH (SWT) either to himself or to another being. It is transgression of limits. As a matter of fact, the offering of praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT) is knowing one’s limits. The more a person knows one’s limits, the more he knows his Lord (SWT). The more one knows, recognises and understands his Lord (SWT), the more he offers praise and thanks to his Lord (SWT).

2) None can praise ALLÂH (SWT) as is due except for ALLÂH (SWT). This meaning is the deepest of the telescoped meanings of AlhamdulIllÂh. One reaches this meaning when one is deeply concentrated on offering praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT). Only he can praise ALLÂH (SWT) in a perfect way who has complete and flawless knowledge of ALLÂH (SWT). Well, who can have complete and flawless, i.e. proper knowledge of ALLÂH (SWT)? Of course, the answer to this question is obvious: Only ALLÂH (SWT) Knows Himself completely. Because none of the creatures can comprehend His Personal-Self. Only He (SWT) Attains His Secret. As said by the Messenger (SAWS),“He Is Such as He Praises Himself.” None can praise and exalt Him (SWT) properly. Mind is helpless in knowing Him (SWT). Intellect becomes exhausted in understanding Him (SWT). Consciousness is unable to comprehend Him (SWT).

The sense in which lâm denotes ownership is the following: (Hamd) All the praise and thanks are in His Ownership. That means all the praise and thanks of every sort and form are due to ALLÂH (SWT). To be offered praise and thanks is the Right of ALLÂH (SWT) on His servant. Just as the Ownership of Hamd is due to ALLÂH (SWT), so the servant, who is required to offer praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT), is also a possession of ALLÂH (SWT). It is required from man, who is the possession of ALLÂH (SWT), declare that he realizes the Ownership of ALLÂH (SWT). Offering praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT) is putting forth this very declaration. Man is required to join as a conscious being the chorus of the whole existence, wherein each creature by its actions presents its praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT), and to become the leader of this chorus.

This sentence is the only noun-phrase in Sûrah Al-Fatihah. A noun-phrase at the beginning of a sentence indicates that a fact stated in that sentence is an established fact that is beyond time. Because names, except in very rare cases, do not bear a clue to time. In terms of eloquence, sentence is an “indicative sentence”. The thing it informs about first is the fact that all the praise and thanks are due to ALLÂH (SWT). But, at the same time this sentence is “an imperative sentence” which implicitly commands something. Because the message it gives, simultaneously commands man “O man, you also must ascribe all Perfect Attributes only to ALLÂH and not regard as perfect anything other than Him (SWT)”

Hamd is not only man’s expression of gratitude to ALLÂH (SWT) in return for a blessing. It is called shukr.

Shukr (gratitude), according to some linguists is the converted form of the word “k-sh-r” which means “to discover, find out, discern”. It means to discover something the beauty of a thing. A she-camel whose udder is full of milk is called nakatun shakiratun. At any rate it is to pay for the value of labour, to employ a bestowed blessing in such a manner that suits its purpose.

The earth’s gratitude is its turning green when watered. The sweet smell of a rose when looked after is its gratitude. The nightingale’s song on seeing a rose is its gratitude. The sun gives thanks and gratitude by its warming, the moon by its lighting, the bee by its honey, the hen by its egg. A human gratitude is his using the bestowed blessings in their proper places. This is the difference between hamd and shukr. Hamd is only due to ALLÂH (SWT), but shukr, being first of all offered to ALLÂH (SWT), is suitable for whoever labours for your benefit: “…be grateful towards Me and towards thy parents...” (31:14). Since gratitude to one must be as much as the blessing one gives, thanks to ALLÂH (SWT) must be proportionate to the blessing bestowed by Him (SWT). If this proportion is observed, man will have no time left for anything else except for giving thanks to ALLÂH (SWT). Gratitude causes blessing to increase, ingratitude causes blessing to reduce: “…If you are grateful [to Me], I Shall most certainly Give you more and more; but if you are ungrateful, verily, My chastisement will be severe indeed! ” (14:7)

Gratitude is the opposite of disbelief in the sense of “ingratitude”. Those who do not give thanks are ungrateful. The thing that diverts man to ingratitude is the blessing blindness. It is a fact that people who, in spite of owning countless blessings, gaze at the things that they do not possess, are deficient of being grateful. In that case, there is a direct relation between patience and gratitude. The relation between patience, invocation and prayer is indisputable. Of course, if we know that patience adds up to “resistance”.

After all these explanations, I think the profound difference that distinguishes hamd from shukr has been understood. We can only describe this difference as follows: Human gives thanks when ALLÂH (SWT) Gives a blessing, but when human takes that blessing he praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT). The essential point lies here. Because:

1) ALLÂH (SWT) Gave that blessing as His Grace and Favour. Nobody has gained their eyes, heart, mind, mother, father and, above all, their existence by paying for them. Man could not take a mind even if he gives everything he has done during his lifetime. In that case, the blessings which are given to human are not rights but Favours. The Owner of the Favours decides whether to increase Favours or to reduce them. That is why human praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT).

2) The blessing can also be taken by the One (SWT) Who Gives it. He (SWT) Has the Power to give the blessing again or to give the better one if He (SWT) Wishes. That is why human praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT).

3) If He (SWT) Wishes the greater blessing could be taken away and our privation could become bigger. Since the greater blessing are not taken away human praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT).

4) The human praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT) because of his awareness of the fact that he is not only tested by the existence but also by the non-existence. The human praises and thanks ALLÂH (SWT) because He (SWT) Is both the One Who Gives blessings and the One Who Takes blessings.

5) Human sees a piece of the picture, but only ALLÂH (SWT) Sees the whole of the picture. It falls to the one who sees a piece of the picture to submit oneself to the Him Who (SWT) Sees the whole of the picture. A thing that seems unpleasant and causes pain in a piece of the picture can turn out to be a means of attaining eternal happiness. He who locks himself of a piece of the picture is broken into pieces. He who submits himself to the One (SWT) Who Sees the whole of the picture becomes safe from distress and is protected from being broken to pieces.

These deep meanings constitute the essential grounds, for which hamd is only due to ALLÂH (SWT). Above all, the meaning that you a lay on hamd tells about your belief in ALLÂH (SWT). Therefore, Tawhid is a part in hamd and Tawhid is a part of the belief.



F. How Does One Offer Praise

And Thanks To Allâh (Swt)?

Saying “AlhamdulIllÂh” is hamd of the tongue, hamd of the heart is faith, hamd of the organs is their obedience, hamd of the mind is contemplation, hamd of the life is to spend it in the manner prescribed by ALLÂH (SWT). Hamd of the eyes is to see the truth, hamd of the ears is to hear the truth, hamd of the hands is to rise for the truth, to be opened in supplication to Al-Haqq (SWT) and to come down for the truth, hamd of the feet is to move forward for the truth.

Hamd is not a payment of the servant for the blessings given by ALLÂH (SWT) and cannot be so. In fact, being able to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) is itself a Favour of ALLÂH (SWT). Which of the countless blessings can you pay for by giving Him (SWT) that which you take from Him (SWT)? Only your debt increases. Yes, hamd is not the settling accounts. It is the state of feeling admiration caused by knowing that we can never pay our debt to ALLÂH (SWT), that every breath we take in order to pay it is a new debt, every second we live is a new loan. This admiration finds its best expression in the sentence AlhamdulIllÂh.

This sentence is a frequently repeated expression. He who reads the Noble Qur’ân, at the same time, often expresses praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT). Since Sûrah Al-Fâtihah is recited at each Rakah of prayers every believer that performs regular prayers time after time expresses praise and thanks to ALLÂH (SWT). It is a sign of the Divine Mercy that Mushaf, i.e. the Noble Qur’ân begins with Verse “All the praises and thanks be to ALLÂH, the Lord of the ‘Âlamîn (worlds).” At the same time, the Divine Revelation is a manifestation of the Lordship of ALLÂH (SWT). Because to be Rabb, i.e. the Lord means to bring into existence an object out of nothing and to make it perfect step by step. The first Verse of Sûrah Al-Fâtihah implicitly means “All the praises and thanks be to ALLÂH, Who Has Sent Down the Divine Revelation as a Favour and Kindness to man, who has an exceptional place in ‘Âlamîn (worlds), for the sake of educating man.” Because the Divine Revelation is a road map, a book of guidance for man who has gone astray. And guidance is the greatest blessing for which man ought to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) (7:43). Again, it is the blessing that requires man to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) for His Sending Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).

It is not only the Divine Revelation and the Sending of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) that make man responsible to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT), as indicated in the Noble Qur’ân. Man is told to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) because such a magnificent guest-house is prepared for man: “All Praise is due to God, Who Has Created the heavens and the earth, and Brought into being deep darkness as well as light: and yet, those who are bent on denying the truth regard other powers as their Sustainer’s equals!” (6:1) This Verse refers to the fact that there is not a single field that is independent of ALLÂH (SWT). Just like the darkness and the light, existence and non-existence, belief and disbelief, even good and evil are unthinkable independently of Him (SWT). The Noble Qur’ân bears an implication that there no (Ahriman) “deity of evil” in the Islamic Monotheism.

According to the Noble Qur’ân, the Oneness of ALLÂH (SWT), His Having no partner or equal is a reason for man praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) (17:111). This is the guarantee of the universe’s being dominated not by chaos but by order. The extermination of the communities that did wrong is a reason for man’s praising and thanking ALLÂH (SWT) (6:45). It is the Intervention of ALLÂH (SWT) in the wrong. At the same time, it is His Supporting the justice. Having a good and pious son or daughter is a cause to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) (14:39). Getting free of ignorance, to achieve knowledge and learning is a cause to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) (39:29). On coming out from lavatory, the Prophet (SAWS) praised and thanked ALLÂH (SWT). When he (SAWS) put on a new garment or shoes, the Prophet (SAWS) praised and thanked ALLÂH (SWT). He (SAWS) would praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) when he (SAWS) drank water and ate food.

ALLÂH’s Messenger (SAWS) recommended that the one who sneezes should say ‘AlhamdulIllÂh’, and the one who hears this should say ‘Yarhamuk ALLÂH’ (May ALLÂH Have Mercy on you), then to this the sneezer should say, ‘Yahdeekum ALLÂH (May ALLÂH Guide you). *44 When a one sneezes, one’s heart stops for a short moment. If this pause lengthens for a little it can cause fainting, and if this pause lengthens for a little more it can cause death. However, the heart continues to work after this short break. Praising and thanking ALLÂH (SWT), which is recommended after each sneeze, is just like remembering ALLÂH (SWT), Who Gives life and death, and Who Makes the heart work again after it stops. It is expressing gratitude that one owes to Him (SWT).

AlhamdulIllÂh is pronounced 33 times after SubhÂnALLÂH during the glorification at the end of prayers, which is recommended by ALLÂH’s Messenger (SAWS). The purpose and interpretation of the number 33 was stated above. Let us here dwell upon the secret and the hidden meaning of the repetition.

The repetition of some sentence patterns and phrases in glorification of ALLÂH (SWT) is called tasbih. We had treated the subject of tasbih under the heading of SubhÂnALLÂH. The repetition of set phrases as part of the glorification of ALLÂH (SWT) after prayers is actually an inner suggestion. A suggestion is one of the most effective ways of pacifying the inner storms in human’s heart that break out at an unpredictable time and place. Those who cannot develop a mechanism of calming oneself cannot keep themselves in hand. Those who cannot keep themselves in hand become a threat to themselves. The inner suggestion is one of the most practical methods of reducing to the minimum the destructive impact of sudden and dangerous storms that break out in the ocean of heart.

Repetition, being an effective method that one uses in order to make one’s good qualities leave a mark and make an impression on one’s spiritual world, is one of the most effective ways of engraving a truth on the memory. Essentially, persistence and repetition are two traditional methods of learning. Education without persistence and repetition brings up a generation lacking memory and determination. This is thoughtlessness. Because thought is an idea which has been made into a steadfast determination. When praising and thanking ALLÂH (SWT) becomes a steadfast action of the human’s heart, that human can produce the energy to console oneself even in most serious afflictions. Because having the ability to praise and thank ALLÂH (SWT) is tantamount to having a limitless power source that can supply inner energy even in most difficult conditions.

Hamd, which is one of the cornerstones of a Muslim’s life, can only be addressed to ALLÂH (SWT). For this very reason hamd is only due to ALLÂH (SWT). Before praising and thanking, it is necessary to know to whom it should be addressed. Takbir is the most eloquent expression which gives that knowledge. The fact that takbir comes after hamd shows that takbir is the perfection of the consciousness. For takbir is an imperative sentence. And this sentence fulfils its real function when it is a result of the human’s free reasoning.