A limitless praise, with which You are Pleased
The author begins by praising Allah 'azza wa jall, as He is ought to be praised.
The Prophet – SallAllahu 'alaihi wa-sallam would begin his Khutbas by
praising Allah. The Quran starts by praising Allah in Surat al-Fatiha.
Hence, most of the scholars begin their works with Bismillah, and then
praising Allah.
Allah began the creation with praise, thus He said: 'Praise be to
Allah, who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darknesses
and light' (al-An'am 1)
Similarly, the end of the world will also be marked with Allah's
praise, as He said: 'And it will be judged between them in truth, and
it will be said: All praise to Allah, the Lord of the worlds'
(al-Zumar 75)
The Arabic word used for 'praise' is al-Hamd, an often repeated word
amongst Muslims, for when one is enquired how he is, the usual
response is:al-Hamdu liLlah, i.e. Praise be to Allah.
Al-Hamd refers to the act of praising, just as it refers to the praise
itself. Hamid , is the one who praises, while Mahmud is someone
praiseworthy. Muhammad, which comes from the same root, refers to
someone highly praiseworthy.
Praising someone means to refer to one's beloved by mentioning all of
his excellent qualities. But onecannot praise his beloved, unless and
until one knowsthose excellent qualities in the object of praise.
In case of Allah 'azza wa jall, His excellent qualities and bounties
are too numerous, as they are too obvious for anyone to deny or be
unmindful of. Hence, one of the names ofAllah 'azza wa jall is:
al-Hameed , which refers tothe one immensely praised; for Allah, as
al-Ghazzali beautifully states, is praised by Himself since eternity,
and by His servants to eternity, for His
Ibn al-Qayyim says, that a brief look at Surah al-Fatiha shows us how
and in what ways Allah is always praised.
Allah begins the Quran by praising Himself:
Al-Hamdu li –Llahi Rabbi l-'Aalameen
'Praise be to Allah'
Meaning, He is praised due to His quality of Deity and Lordship:
'… Allah – The Lord of the Worlds.'
He is praised due to His quality of Mercy:
'The Most Merciful – the Most Gracious.'
He is praised due to His quality of Sovereignty:
'Sovereign of the Day of Judgement'
Hence, Allah is praised for His Uluhiyya (His right of worship),
Rububiyya (His Lordship), Rahmaniyya (HisMercy) and Mulk (His
Sovereignty), thus Allah is praised for all of His perfectAttributes
and qualities.
Thanks (Shukr)
Thanking someone is similar to Praising, yet different.
Praising is more general in meaning than Thanks, for the latter is
usually performed in return for a favour, while the former does not
depend on any favour.
For example: A person maybe praised for the good he does to himself.
But a person would only be thanked, for the good he does to others,
and only bythose whom he does the good to.
Hence, thank is more of an act than a comment, and therefore, every
act of thanks is praise, but not every praise is necessarily an act of
thanks. This is themain difference between Praise and Thanks.
Allah 'azza wa jall is both, praised and thanked. Praised for His
exalted Attributes, and thanked forHis bounties.
There are many Ahadeeth concerning the virtue of praising Allah.
The Prophet SallAllahu 'alaihi wa-sallam said: 'The speech most
beloved to Allah are four', one of thembeing: 'al-Hamdulillah (Muslim)
The Prophet – SallAllahu 'alaihi wa-sallam said: 'Cleanliness is half
of faith and Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) fills the scale'
(Muslim)
The Prophet's companion, Rafi' states: 'One day we were praying behind
the Prophet. When he raised his head from bowing, he said,
"Sami'a-l-lahu Liman hamida." A man behind him said, "Rabbana walaka-l
hamd hamdan Kathiran taiyiban mubarakan fihi" (O our Lord! All the
praises are forYou, many good and blessed praises). When the Prophet
completed the prayer, he asked, "Who hassaid these words?" The man
replied, "I." The Prophet said, "I saw over thirty angels competing to
write it first." Prophet rose (from bowing) and stood straight till
all the vertebrae of his spinal column came to a natural position.'
The Prophet – SallAllahu 'alaihi wa-sallam said: 'Allah is surely
pleased with His servant when he eats something, he thanks Allah for
it, and when he drinks something, he thanks Allah for it' (Muslim)
Ibn Zayd said: 'There is in every gathering, the one person who thanks
Allah 'azza wa jalla, and thereby,fulfils all of the needs of the
members of that gathering'
One of the best times of thanking Allah is when oneis faced with
difficulty and hardship, for thanks to Allah in such a state
demonstrates a true servitude to Allah, and happiness with what He has
decreed.....
--
- - - - - - -