The Meaning of Al-Hamd

The Shaykh : So what is the meaning of al-hamd? Al-hamd is describing the one being praised with perfection, accompanied by love, magnification, and reverence. So if you describe your Lord with perfection, that is al-hamd, but it must be accompanied by love, magnification, and reverence, because if it is not accompanied by that, it is called praise (madh) rather than al-hamd. Therefore, we find that some poets praise some princes with great and extreme praise, but if you looked into their hearts, you would find them devoid of love for that prince; rather, they praise him either hoping for a benefit or to ward off a harm. As for our al-hamd to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), it is al-hamd of love, magnification, and reverence, for the love of the Exalted is above all love, and the love of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is above the love of every created being. For this reason, it is obligatory for us that Allah and His Messenger be more beloved to us than everything else, and it is obligatory for us that the love of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) be above the love of ourselves, our families, our parents, and our children, because he (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the greatest of people in his right over us. By him, Allah guided us; by him, He directed us; by him, He showed us every good; by him, He made clear to us every evil; by him, we follow the methodology of our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), which leads to the abode of His honor and His pleasure. Therefore, whoever does not have his heart filled with the love of Allah and His Messenger, whoever does not prioritize the love of Allah and His Messenger over everyone else, let him know that there is a sickness in his heart, and let him strive to cure this sickness. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: So al-hamd is describing the one being praised with what? With perfection, accompanied by love, magnification, and reverence. This is al-hamd. If you repeat this description, it is called thana (praise). So thana is the repetition of describing the one being praised with perfection. What indicates this difference is what is established in the authentic collections from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Imagine, my brother, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is confiding in you while you are in your prayer, hearing you from above the seven heavens and responding to you. When you say: "Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alamin," Allah says: "My servant has praised Me." When you say: "Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem," He says: "My servant has praised Me with thana." When you say: "Maliki yawm ad-din," He says: "My servant has glorified Me." And glorification (tamjid) is magnification. Do we realize this while we are praying? The complaint to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that most of us, and most of the time, we do not realize this. We recite al-Fatihah as a pillar without which the prayer is not valid, but we do not realize these great meanings: that we are confiding in Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). "Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil 'alamin"—Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says above His heavens: "My servant has praised Me." Whoever realizes this finds a great pleasure in the prayer and finds that his heart has been illuminated by it, and that he has come out of it with a heart different from the heart with which he entered it. "Al-hamdu lillah"—we praise Him. "We praise Him" is a verbal sentence, and "Al-hamdu lillah" is a nominal sentence. So the verbal sentence came after the nominal sentence to confirm the repetition of al-hamd, as if we are continuously praising Allah (Mighty and Majestic).