Al Hamd Friday Night Circle

The word Alhamdulillah appears in the Holy Qur’an at the beginning of five surahs

Surah Fatiha, Surah An-am, Surah Saba, Surah Fatir, Surah Kahf

‫ن‬ ِ َ ‫ب ال َْعال‬
َ ‫مي‬ ّ ‫مد ُ لل ّهِ َر‬ َ ْ ‫ال‬
ْ ‫ح‬
1:2 All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds,

ُّ ‫جَعل ل‬
‫ه‬ َ ْ َ َ َ ‫ال ْحمد ل ِل ّه ال ّذي‬
ْ َ‫م ي‬
ْ َ ‫ل‬ ‫و‬ ‫ب‬
َ ‫تا‬
َ ِ ‫ك‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ه‬ِ ‫د‬ْ ‫ب‬َ ‫ع‬ ‫لى‬ َ ‫ع‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ز‬
َ ‫أن‬ ِ ِ ُ ْ َ
‫جا‬
َ َ ‫عو‬
ِ
18:1 ALL PRAISE is due to God, who has bestowed. this divine writ from on high upon His servant, and
has not allowed any deviousness to obscure its meaning:

ِ َ ‫مَلئ ِك‬ َ ‫ت واْل‬

‫ة‬ َ ْ ‫ل ال‬
ِ ‫ع‬
ِ ‫جا‬ َ ‫ض‬
ِ ْ َ ِ ‫ماَوا‬
‫ر‬ َ ‫س‬ ّ ‫مد ُ ل ِل ّهِ َفاط ِرِ ال‬ ْ ‫ح‬َ ْ ‫ال‬
‫ما‬ ْ ‫خل‬ ْ ‫زيد ُ ِفي ال‬ َ ُ ْ َ ‫رسًل ُأوِلي أ‬
َ ‫ق‬
ِ َ ِ َ ‫ي‬ َ ‫ع‬‫با‬
َ ‫ر‬َُ ‫و‬ ‫ث‬َ ‫ل‬ ‫ث‬َ ‫و‬ ‫نى‬ َ ‫ث‬‫م‬ّ ٍ ‫ة‬ ‫ح‬
َ ِ ‫ن‬‫ج‬ْ ُ ُ
‫ديٌر‬
(35:1) ِ َ‫يٍء ق‬ ْ ‫ش‬ َ ‫ل‬ ّ ُ ‫ه عََلى ك‬ َ ّ ‫ن الل‬
ّ ِ ‫شاء إ‬ َ َ‫ي‬
35:1 ALL PRAISE is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, who causes the angels to be
(His) message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four. [Unceasingly] He adds to His
creation whatever He wills: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.

َ ‫ت وال‬
َ َ ‫جع‬
‫ل‬ َ َ‫ض و‬َ ْ َ ِ ‫ماَوا‬
‫ر‬ َ ‫س‬ّ ‫خل َقَ ال‬ َ ‫ذي‬ ِ ّ ‫مد ُ ل ِل ّهِ ال‬ ْ ‫ح‬ َ ْ ‫ال‬
َ ‫فُروا ْ ب َِرب ِّهم ي َعْدُِلو‬
‫ن‬ َ َ‫ن ك‬ ِ ّ ‫م ال‬
َ ‫ذي‬ ّ ُ ‫ت َوالّنوَر ث‬ ِ ‫ما‬ َ ُ ‫الظ ّل‬
6:1 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!

‫ض‬ ‫ر‬ َ ‫ت وما ِفي اْل‬ ِ ‫وا‬ ‫ما‬ ‫س‬ ‫ال‬ ‫في‬ ِ ‫ما‬ ‫ه‬ َ ‫ذي ل‬
ِ ّ ‫مد ُ ل ِل ّهِ ال‬ ‫ح‬
َ ْ ‫ال‬
ِ ْ َ َ َ َ ّ َ ُ ْ
‫خِبيُر‬َ ْ ‫م ال‬
ُ ‫كي‬
ِ ‫ح‬َ ْ ‫خَرةِ وَهُوَ ال‬
ِ ‫مد ُ ِفي اْل‬ ْ ‫ح‬ َ ْ ‫ه ال‬
ُ َ ‫وَل‬
34:1 ALL PRAISE is due to God, to whom all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth belongs; and
to Him will be due all praise in the life to come. For He alone is truly wise, all-aware

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

Al Hamd Friday Night Circle

In Surah Jathiya the Hamd is more detailed and descriptive- It is higher to say, “To god alone
is all praise,” due rather than, “All praise is to God alone.”

‫ن‬ ِ َ ‫ب ال َْعال‬ َ ‫ب اْل‬ َ ْ ‫فَل ِل ّهِ ال‬

َ ‫مي‬ ّ ‫ض َر‬
ِ ‫ر‬
ْ ّ ‫ت وََر‬
ِ ‫ماَوا‬
َ ‫س‬
ّ ‫ب ال‬
ّ ‫مد ُ َر‬
ْ ‫ح‬
45:36 And thus, all praise is due to God, Sustainer of the heavens and Sustainer of the earth: the
Sustainer of all the worlds

Stages of al-Hamd

1) Verbal- after the act of sneezing, in comfort

2) Pyschological

a. Mental- intellectual acknowledgment of perfection

b. Emotional- natural responsive feeling of thanks

3) Spiritual

a. Acknowledgement of Provider

b. Appreciate the beauty of gift

c. Apply it properly

i. Highest level is where one’s “hamd” is in total unison with everything he/she
does, says, thinks, feels, and acts upon.

Final Confession of a Human Being

How can I adequately thank when:

a. You taught me how (through Qur’an, Hadith, Dua, Prophets, and Imams)

b. You enable me (through the mercies of physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual
capacities)

Munajat Shaakireen “Kayfa lee bi tahseeli shukr, was shukru iyyaka yaftaqirun ila shukrin fa kullama
qultu lakal hamdu wajaba ‘alayya an aqoola lakal hamd.”

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

Al Hamd Friday Night Circle

“How can I ever thank you adequately, every time I say thank you, I need to thank you for this”

In order to adequately praise, we need several conditions:

1. Proper recognition of God- the Gifter (2:255)

ُّ ‫م ل‬ ْ ‫قيوم ل َ تأ‬
‫ه‬ ‫و‬ ‫ن‬ َ
ٌ ْ َ َ َ ِ ُ ‫ل‬ ‫و‬ ‫ة‬
ٌ ‫ن‬ ‫س‬ ‫ه‬ُ ‫ذ‬ ‫خ‬
ُ َ ُ ّ َ ْ ‫ي ال‬ ّ ‫ح‬ َ ْ ‫ه إ ِل ّ هُوَ ال‬َ ‫ه ل َ إ َِلـ‬ ُ ّ ‫الل‬
‫ع‬
ُ ‫ف‬َ ‫ش‬ ْ َ ‫ذي ي‬ ِ ّ ‫من َذا ال‬ َ ‫ت وما ِفي ال‬
َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ر‬ْ َ َ ِ ‫ماَوا‬ َ ‫س‬ ّ ‫ما ِفي ال‬ َ
َ ‫م وَل‬ َ ْ ‫خل‬ َ ‫عنده إل ّ بإذ ْن ِه يعل َم ما بي‬
ْ ُ ‫فه‬ َ ‫ما‬ َ َ‫م و‬ ْ ِ‫ديه‬ ِ ْ ‫ن أي‬
َ َْ َ ُ َْ ِ ِِ ِ ُ َ ْ ِ
‫ه‬
ُ ّ ‫سي‬ ِ ‫سعَ ك ُْر‬ ِ َ‫شاء و‬ َ ‫ما‬ َ ِ ‫مهِ إ ِل ّ ب‬ ِ ْ ‫عل‬ِ ‫ن‬ ْ ‫م‬ ّ ‫يٍء‬ ْ ‫ش‬ َ ِ‫ن ب‬ َ ‫طو‬ ُ ‫حي‬ ِ ُ‫ي‬
َ
ّ ِ ‫ما وَهُوَ ال ْعَل‬
‫ي‬ َ ُ‫فظ ُه‬ ْ ‫ح‬ِ ُ‫ؤود ُه‬ ُ َ ‫ض وَل َ ي‬ َ ‫ت َوالْر‬ ِ ‫ماَوا‬ َ ‫س‬ ّ ‫ال‬
‫م‬ُ ‫ظي‬ ِ َ‫ال ْع‬
2:255 GOD - there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All
Being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that
is on earth. Who is there that could intercede with Him, unless it be by His leave? He
knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them, whereas they cannot
attain to aught of His knowledge save that which He wills [them to attain]. His eternal power
overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And he alone
is truly exalted, tremendous.

2. Ability to count gifts (14:34) (16:18)

َ ‫ت الل ّهِ ل‬ ْ ْ َ ‫ل ما سأ‬

َ َ ْ ِ ّ ُ َ ِ َ ُ ُ ُ َ َ ّ ُ ‫من ك‬
‫م‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ا‬‫دو‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ت‬ ‫إن‬ ‫و‬ ‫ه‬ ‫مو‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ل‬ ّ ‫كم‬ ُ ‫َوآَتا‬
ّ َ‫م ك‬
‫فاٌر‬ ٌ ‫ن ل َظ َُلو‬ َ ‫سا‬
َ ‫لن‬
ِ ‫نا‬
ّ ِ ‫ها إ‬
َ ‫صو‬ُ ‫ح‬ ْ ُ‫ت‬
14:34 And [always] does He give you something out of what you may be asking of Him; and should
you try to count God's blessings, you could never compute them. [And yet,] behold, man is indeed
most persistent in wrongdoing, stubbornly ingrate!

The ‘urafa say that, thus, the true praise can only be done by God Himself. Allah is Hameed.

Hameed has 2 meanings-

1. Not only is he Mahmoud- the one who is praiseworthy because He is so good and gives so
many gifts, but He is also

2. Hamid- He alone knows Himself, His gifts, how He should be praised, etc- therefore He alone
can appreciate Himself and praise Himself better than anyone

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer

Al Hamd Friday Night Circle

The higher level of Hamd is to recite it with the condition that, “Oh Allah, Your gifts are countless, Oh
Allah, Your essence is fathomless, Oh Allah, I am powerless, so I say, ‘Alhamdulillah’ because You said
it about Yourself.”

In other words, anyone recites “Alhamd” with a sense of adequacy, is claiming to have counted
the gifts of Allah, or to know Him completely, or both.

Al-Hamd gets rid of “class Muslims”

After salaat people rush to meet the wealthy, well-connected, and influential people, forgetting
that just before, in jamaa’at they all recited “al hamdu lillah” together. It should realign our perspective
with the Islamic view of success and happiness, as opposed to the common social understanding. It is
not a random word of “thanks” recited in a vacuum or in the abstract. It is recited by real people with
real issues, advantages, and situations.

A- Every man who is a source of goodness and blessings or any prophet and Divine Leader who
lightens and brightens the hearts with religious guidance - Any Gracious who grants and bestows
graces - Any physician who dresses a wound, or cures a painful disease - all of them have their power
and ability from the All-Mighty, and therefore, when they are praised for what they do, they owe their
praises to their Lord and Cherisher. So is the sun, if it shines, and is praised for radiating light - or the
clouds, if they rain down, and are praised - and the earth if it is extolled for giving us so many
provisions and products - all such praises and glorifications, belong to Allah the cherisher of them all.

B- A remarkable point is, that the praise is not only at the beginning and commencement of affairs and
works, or whatever, but it should also be ended with the praise of God, as we are instructed by the
Holy Qur’an:

“(There in Paradise), Their prayer will be; Glory to You Lord! And their greetings is, `Peace!' and they
end their prayers in; (Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds).'' Holy Qur’an 10:10

QUR'AN: All praise is due to Allah.

It has been said that "al-hamd" is to praise someone for a good acquired by his own intention, "al-
madh" (also translated as praise) is more general - it is used to praise even that good which someone
is given without his will and power. If you praise someone for his benevolence, you may use either
word - al-hamd or al-madh but if you want to praise a pearl for its luster, you may use the verb al-
madh, but not al-hamd because the pearl has not acquired that luster by its own will and power.

"al" (translated here as "all") in "al-hamd" denotes either species or praise, or each and every praise.
The end-result is the same in either case; that is why it has been translated here as "all."

Allah says: That is Allah, your Lord, the Creator of everything (40:62).

Whatever there is, is created by Allah. Again He says: ...Who made good everything that He has
created (32:7).

Everything is good because it has been created by Allah and is attributed to Him. In other words, a
thing becomes good because it is created by Allah; and everything created by Him is good. Every
creature is good and beautiful because Allah has made it so; and every good and beautiful thing is
created by Allah, attributed to Him.

The above discourse was about Allah's action. Coming to His names,

He has said: Allah is He besides Whom there is no god; His are the very best names (20:8);
Surah Al Fateha Tafseer
Al Hamd Friday Night Circle

And Allah's are the best names; therefore call on Him thereby, and leave alone those who violate the
sanctity of His names (7:180).

It is clear that Allah is good in His names and good in His actions; and that every good and beauty
emanates from Him. Therefore, Allah is praised for His good names as He is praised for His good
actions. Every praise uttered by any speaker for any good deed is in reality addressed to Allah only;
because every good (which is the object of praise) emanates from Him only. In short, to Him belongs
the species of the praise and all and every praise.

Surah Al Fateha Tafseer