Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem
The Meaning of Al-Hamd
Abu Ja`far bin Jarir said, “The meaning of
[الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ]
(Al-Hamdu Lillah) (all praise and thanks be to Allah) is: all thanks are due purely to Allah, alone, not any of the objects that are being worshipped instead of Him, nor any of His creation. These thanks are due to Allah’s innumerable favors and bounties, that only He knows the amount of. Allah’s bounties include creating the tools that help the creation worship Him, the physical bodies with which they are able to implement His commands, the sustenance that He provides them in this life, and the comfortable life He has granted them, without anything or anyone compelling Him to do so. Allah also warned His creation and alerted them about the means and methods with which they can earn eternal dwelling in the residence of everlasting happiness. All thanks and praise are due to Allah for these favors from beginning to end.”
Further, Ibn Jarir commented on the Ayah,
[الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ]
(Al-Hamdu Lillah), that it means, “A praise that Allah praised Himself with, indicating to His servants that they too should praise Him, as if Allah had said, `Say: All thanks and praise is due to Allah.’ It was said that the statement,
[الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ]
(All praise and thanks be to Allah), entails praising Allah by mentioning His most beautiful Names and most honorable Attributes. When one proclaims, `All thanks are due to Allah,’ he will be thanking Him for His favors and bounties.”
The Difference between Praise and Thanks
Hamd is more general, in that it is a statement of praise for one’s characteristics, or for what he has done. Thanks are given for what was done, not merely for characteristics.
The Statements of the Salaf about Al-Hamd
Hafs mentioned that `Umar said to `Ali,
“We know La ilaha illallah, Subhan Allah and Allahu Akbar. What about Al-Hamdu Lillah”
`Ali said,
“A statement that Allah liked for Himself, was pleased with for Himself and He likes that it be repeated.”
Also, Ibn `Abbas said,
Al-Hamdu Lillah is the statement of appreciation. When the servant says Al-Hamdu Lillah, Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.’
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this Hadith.
Root word Analysis
Al- The definite article to emphasize the importance of ‘Entire / All / Each and Every’ in the noun followed.
Hamd - There are different phrases used for Praise in Arabic.
- One of them is Hamd. The root letters are ha-meem-dal. This is a kind of praise which is given to someone who has done something to deserve that praise. Not for anyone.
- The kind of praise which is given for someone with no reason is called, ‘Madd’ (meem-dal-dal). To obtain this kind of praise the person in actual wouldnt have done anything.
- There is one more kind of praise which is given to someone who has done some favor to you / helped you / assisted you / favored. Such a gratitude (a responsive attitude) is called ‘Shukr’ (sheen-kaf-ra)
The type of praise that we use in this aayah, the first verse of Surah Fathiha (1:1) is the praise to which Allah is deserving. And when we add ‘Al’ to it, it means the entire praise, each and every praise, the praise of each and every being/non-being in this world is entirely for Allah azzawajal. When we say alhamdulillah, it implies exclusivity and entirety, meaning that praise is entirely and only for Allah. Now with this concrete definition in mind, what exactly does ‘Alhamdulillah’ mean? It means: The perfect, most Beautiful praise is only for Allah.
Now with this concrete definition in mind, what exactly does ‘Alhamdulillah’ mean? It means: The perfect, most Beautiful praise is only for Allah.
Alhamdulillah appears 38 times in the Qur’an, five of them at the beginning of surahs. (Look up which surahs start with hamd if you are not aware of them)
When a surah begins with hamd, it implies three interpretations:
- Firstly, to tell and to make it known that: alhamdulillah, all praise and thanks is for Allah. As if to announce it.
- Secondly, when we open something we begin with hamd. (like a khutbah)
- Thirdly, it teaches us how we should praise Allah, by saying: alhamdulillah and we also learn that we must praise Him.
A Name of Allah that coincides with Hamd is, Al-Hameed, Allah ta’ala is Al-Hameed, The Praiseworthy. How is this different from mahmood (one who is praised)? Mahmood is one who is praised only when they are praised by someone. Hameed is One who is ALWAYS deserving of praise, NO MATTER if He is praised or not. So Allah ta’ala is The Most Praiseworthy, if we do hamd of Him or not.
Alhamdulillah. Such a short phrase with a heavy meaning. Let us remember this meaning the next time we say Alhamdulillah.
Also, in arabic, whenever the sentence is started with a nominal tense / noun, it stands for timelessness. Nouns in arabic are by default, timeless, independent. Now what does this means? This means that the Praise, in its entireity and eternity is for Allah SWT alone, forever and ever. Alhamdulillah.
P.S: Some of the notes in this post are a courtesy of IlmFruits. The Tafsir of the word in the beginning is from Tafsir Ibn Kathir. May Allah reward them all in both the worlds, with the best and excellence in everything, Aameen.
