Explanation of the statement: "Praise be to Allah for His apparent and hidden blessings, past and present."
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The Shaykh : He (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Praise be to Allah for His apparent and hidden blessings, past and present".
The book begins with praise of Allah, following the example of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Noble Qur'an made the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) begin with the opening of the Book, which, as you know, starts with what? With praise of Allah. It is not the first thing revealed, as is well known, but it is the first in the arrangement of the Mushaf by the consensus of whom? By the consensus of the Companions. Therefore, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) thereafter began their books with "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds," following the practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is one aspect. Another aspect is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach his companions the "khutbat al-hajah" (sermon of need), which they would recite at the beginning of every need, and it begins with what? With praise of Allah. Thirdly: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to begin his sermons with praise and glorification. Therefore, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) began their books with that.
He says: "Praise be to Allah for His apparent and hidden blessings". First: we speak about the "al" in the phrase "al-hamd lillah." The scholars say that the "al" here is for comprehensiveness (istighraq). The sign of the "al" of comprehensiveness is that "kull" (all) with a shaddah on the lam can replace it. Accordingly, the meaning of "al-hamd lillah" is "all praise is for Allah." So what is praise (hamd)? Praise is describing the praised one with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification. By saying "accompanied by love and magnification," we exclude mere commendation (madh), because commendation is describing the commended one with perfection but not accompanied by love and magnification. Then Allah the Exalted is praised for the perfection of His attributes, and He is praised for the perfection of His bestowal. Allah the Sublime and Exalted said:[Al-Kahf 18:1] And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Isra 17:111] This is praise for what? For the perfect attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Likewise, Allah the Exalted is also praised for His bestowal. Among that is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Riyad as-Salihin 1396 This is praise for what? For the bestowal. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) here praised Allah for His bestowal. And his saying: "for Allah", what do we say about the lam? We say that the lam carries two meanings: the first meaning is exclusivity (ikhtisas), and the second meaning is deservingness (istihqaq).
As for the first meaning, the one who is exclusively deserving of complete praise in all ways is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Others are praised, but with limited praise, not in all circumstances. As for the Lord (Mighty and Majestic), He is praised in all circumstances because He is perfect in attributes and bestowal. Likewise, it is for deservingness, meaning that the exclusive attribution of complete praise to the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) is that He is the one who deserves it and is worthy of it, the Sublime and Exalted. As for "Allah," its original form is "Ilah," meaning Allah is the God. But due to frequent usage, the hamzah was dropped for ease of pronunciation. They gave another example for this, which is "al-nas" (people), whose original form is "al-anas," but the hamzah was dropped for ease of pronunciation due to frequent usage. Accordingly, if "Allah" means "Ilah" originally, then it is a fa'il (active participle) meaning maf'ul (passive participle), so "Ilah" means "ma'luh" (the one who is worshipped), i.e., the one who is worshipped, loved, and magnified. It is not "Ilah" meaning "ilah" (gods) as the theologians (mutakallimun) claimed, because they interpret "Ilah" as the one capable of creation, and this is an error, a great error. But the meaning of "Ilah" is the one who is truly worshipped.
And his saying: "for His apparent blessings". "Ni'm" (blessings) is a singular noun in the possessive case, encompassing all religious and worldly blessings, apparent and hidden. The apparent are those that are visible to people, and the hidden are those that are concealed from people. The blessings of Allah the Sublime and Exalted upon the servant are, as the author said, apparent and hidden. As He (Mighty and Majestic) said:[Luqman 31:20] So the apparent are those that are seen with the eye and witnessed by people, and the hidden are those below that level.
Among the apparent blessings are security, ease, strength, eating, and drinking, and the like. Among the hidden blessings are the blessings of religion: establishing faith in the heart, turning to Allah, relying upon Allah, and sincerity to Allah, and the like. These are blessings that not everyone knows; none knows them except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). These are the hidden blessings.
And his saying: "past" means previous, and "present" means subsequent. In his saying "present," there is a skillful introduction (bara'at al-istihlal), which is known in the science of rhetoric (al-badi'). Skillful introduction is when the speaker begins his speech with what indicates the subject of his speech. This is called skillful introduction, meaning that he began his speech with what indicates the subject of the speech, but without explicit statement. Therefore, it is called "bara'ah" (skill) meaning proficiency and intelligence. So what is the skillful introduction here? It is that this book is about what? About hadith.
The book begins with praise of Allah, following the example of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Noble Qur'an made the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) begin with the opening of the Book, which, as you know, starts with what? With praise of Allah. It is not the first thing revealed, as is well known, but it is the first in the arrangement of the Mushaf by the consensus of whom? By the consensus of the Companions. Therefore, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) thereafter began their books with "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds," following the practice of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). This is one aspect. Another aspect is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach his companions the "khutbat al-hajah" (sermon of need), which they would recite at the beginning of every need, and it begins with what? With praise of Allah. Thirdly: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to begin his sermons with praise and glorification. Therefore, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) began their books with that.
He says: "Praise be to Allah for His apparent and hidden blessings". First: we speak about the "al" in the phrase "al-hamd lillah." The scholars say that the "al" here is for comprehensiveness (istighraq). The sign of the "al" of comprehensiveness is that "kull" (all) with a shaddah on the lam can replace it. Accordingly, the meaning of "al-hamd lillah" is "all praise is for Allah." So what is praise (hamd)? Praise is describing the praised one with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification. By saying "accompanied by love and magnification," we exclude mere commendation (madh), because commendation is describing the commended one with perfection but not accompanied by love and magnification. Then Allah the Exalted is praised for the perfection of His attributes, and He is praised for the perfection of His bestowal. Allah the Sublime and Exalted said:
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book
الحمد لله الذي أنزل على عبده الكتابAnd say, "Praise to Allah, who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness
وقل الحمد الذي لم يتّحذ ولدًا ولم يكن له شريك في الملك ولم يكن له وليّ من الذّلّAllah is pleased with His slave who says: 'Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah)' when he takes a morsel of food and drinks a draught of water.
إنّ الله ليرضى عن العبد يأكل الأكلة فيحمده عليها، ويشرب الشّربة فيحمده عليهاAs for the first meaning, the one who is exclusively deserving of complete praise in all ways is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Others are praised, but with limited praise, not in all circumstances. As for the Lord (Mighty and Majestic), He is praised in all circumstances because He is perfect in attributes and bestowal. Likewise, it is for deservingness, meaning that the exclusive attribution of complete praise to the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) is that He is the one who deserves it and is worthy of it, the Sublime and Exalted. As for "Allah," its original form is "Ilah," meaning Allah is the God. But due to frequent usage, the hamzah was dropped for ease of pronunciation. They gave another example for this, which is "al-nas" (people), whose original form is "al-anas," but the hamzah was dropped for ease of pronunciation due to frequent usage. Accordingly, if "Allah" means "Ilah" originally, then it is a fa'il (active participle) meaning maf'ul (passive participle), so "Ilah" means "ma'luh" (the one who is worshipped), i.e., the one who is worshipped, loved, and magnified. It is not "Ilah" meaning "ilah" (gods) as the theologians (mutakallimun) claimed, because they interpret "Ilah" as the one capable of creation, and this is an error, a great error. But the meaning of "Ilah" is the one who is truly worshipped.
And his saying: "for His apparent blessings". "Ni'm" (blessings) is a singular noun in the possessive case, encompassing all religious and worldly blessings, apparent and hidden. The apparent are those that are visible to people, and the hidden are those that are concealed from people. The blessings of Allah the Sublime and Exalted upon the servant are, as the author said, apparent and hidden. As He (Mighty and Majestic) said:
and amply bestowed upon you His favors, [both] apparent and unapparent
وأسبغ عليكم نعمه ظاهرة وباطنةAmong the apparent blessings are security, ease, strength, eating, and drinking, and the like. Among the hidden blessings are the blessings of religion: establishing faith in the heart, turning to Allah, relying upon Allah, and sincerity to Allah, and the like. These are blessings that not everyone knows; none knows them except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). These are the hidden blessings.
And his saying: "past" means previous, and "present" means subsequent. In his saying "present," there is a skillful introduction (bara'at al-istihlal), which is known in the science of rhetoric (al-badi'). Skillful introduction is when the speaker begins his speech with what indicates the subject of his speech. This is called skillful introduction, meaning that he began his speech with what indicates the subject of the speech, but without explicit statement. Therefore, it is called "bara'ah" (skill) meaning proficiency and intelligence. So what is the skillful introduction here? It is that this book is about what? About hadith.