And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Book of Praising Allah the Exalted and Giving Thanks to Him. From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)

the Prophet (ﷺ) was presented with two drinking vessels: one full of wine and the other one full of milk. He looked at them. Then he took the vessel which was full of milk. Thereupon Jibril (Gabriel) said: "Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) Who has guided you to that, which is in accord with Fitrah (i.e., Islamic Monotheism; pure nature of Islam). Had you selected wine, your people would have gone astray."

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أتي ليلة أسري به بقدحين من خمر ولبن فنظر إليهما فأخذ اللبن، فقال جبريل: الحمد لله الذي هداك للفطرة، لو أخذت الخمر غوت أمتك

Riyad as-Salihin 1393

Narrated by Muslim. And from him (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he said:

Any matter of importance which is not begun with Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) remains defective.

كل أمر ذي بال لا يبدأ فيه بالحمد لله فهو أقطع

Riyad as-Salihin 1394

A good hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud and others. And from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a slave's child dies, Allah the Most High asks His angels, 'Have you taken out the life of the child of My slave?" They reply in the affirmative. He then asks, 'Have you taken the fruit of his heart?' They reply in the affirmative. Thereupon he asks, 'What has My slave said?' They say: 'He has praised You and said: Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall be returned). Allah says: 'Build a house for My slave in Jannah and name it as Bait-ul-Hamd (the House of Praise)."' [At-Tirmidhi] .

إذا مات ولد العبد قال الله تعالى لملائكته قبضتم ولد عبدي؟ فماذا قال عبدي؟ فيقولون: حمدك واسترجع، فيقول الله تعالى: ابنوا لعبدي بيتًا في الجنة وسموه بيت الحمد

Riyad as-Salihin 1395

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: "A good hadith." And from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah 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."

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إن الله ليرضى عن العبد يأكل الأكلة فيحمده عليها ويشرب الشربة فيحمده عليها

Riyad as-Salihin 1396

Narrated by Muslim".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These are hadiths mentioned by the author (may Allah have mercy on him) in the chapter on the virtue of praising Allah the Exalted and giving thanks to Him. It is known to us all that every blessing we possess is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that when hardship touches us, we have no refuge except in Allah. And when a person is struck by what he dislikes or what causes him pain, Allah the Exalted expiates for him thereby If a thorn pricks you, Allah expiates for you thereby. Thus, the blessings of Allah are great and numerous, too many to count. Therefore, it is obligatory for us to praise Allah the Exalted and give thanks to Him for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. Among the benefits of praise is that if a person begins a thing with praise of Allah, Allah the Exalted places blessing in it. If he begins it with praise of Allah, Allah places blessing in it. For example, if he intends to write a book, or speak in a sermon, or otherwise, if he praises Allah, He places blessing in it. And means it is stripped of blessing. However, other things may substitute for praise, such as the Basmalah (In the name of Allah). The Basmalah also brings Allah's blessing in many things. For instance, if a person slaughters an animal and says "In the name of Allah," the slaughter is lawful and the meat is good. If he says "Praise be to Allah," the slaughter is not lawful, because the slaughter is not lawful except with the Basmalah. And if he says "Allah is the Greatest" at the time of slaughter and does not say "In the name of Allah," the slaughter is not lawful. So, every matter begun with praise of Allah is good and blessed. But other things may substitute for praise, such as the Basmalah when eating, drinking, slaughtering, performing ablution, and when a man approaches his wife. He says: "In the name of Allah, O Allah, keep Satan away from us and keep Satan away from what You have provided us" and so on. Among the benefits of praise is that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is pleased with a servant if he praises Him when he eats a meal, and if he praises Him when he drinks a drink. What is a "meal"? Is it the full sitting down to eat, or is it every mouthful a person puts in his mouth, which is considered a meal? The hadith is open to interpretation. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say "Praise be to Allah" every time he took a mouthful. It was said to him: "O Abu 'Abdillah, what is this?" He said: "Eating and praising is better than eating and being silent". It seems Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) considered the "meal" to be the mouthful. On this basis, a person's praise for his food would be frequent. But most scholars say that the "meal" is the sitting down to eat; when you finish, you say "Praise be to Allah." And all praise is good. This is one of the benefits of praise: if a person praises Allah for his eating and drinking, it is a cause for the pleasure of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with him. We ask Allah to bestow His pleasure upon us and upon you, for He is capable of all things.