🎯 {الحمد} — al-Ḥamd (The Praise)

• الحمد: Praise for that which is beautiful — whether it be a blessing (نعمة) or something else — expressed only by the tongue (باللسان وحده).
• Its opposite: الذم (blame or censure).
• ⚖️ It is not the reverse of مدح (praise), contrary to Ibn al-Anbārī, because:
  • The two are equal in morphology (التصريفات).
  • However, madḥ may relate even to inanimate objects, e.g.:
    • You praise a jewel (تمدح جوهرة).
    • But you do not say: تحمد جوهرة.

🧠 Difference Between “al-Ḥamd” and “al-Shukr”

• There are three scholarly views:
  1. الحمد and الشكر mean the same thing.
  2. الحمد is broader (أعم).
  3. الشكر is praise of Allah based on His actions, while الحمد is praise of His attributes.
• ✅ Most correct view: الحمد is more general (أعم).

💡 Therefore, the ḥāmid (praiser) is of two kinds:

• شاكر – One who is thankful (for actions).
• مثنٍ بالصفات – One who praises divine attributes.

🎯 {لله} — li-llāh (To Allah)

• The لـ (lām) can indicate:
  • Ownership (لِلملك) — e.g., “That wealth is for Zayd.”
  • Granting (للتمليك) — e.g., “I gave you a dinar.”
  • Entitlement (للاستحقاق) — He deserves it.
  • Attribution (للنسب) — e.g., “Zayd has an uncle.”
  • Reason (للتعليل) — e.g., {لِتَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ} [النساء: 105]
  • Conveyance (للتبليغ) — “I said to you.”
  • Amazement (للتعجب) — {هِيتَ لَكَ} [يوسف: 23]
  • Clarification (للتبيين) — to specify the purpose.
  • Result (للصيرورة) — e.g., {لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا} [القصص: 8]
  • Time/place (للظرفية) — e.g., {سَقْنَاهُ لِبَلَدٍ مَيِّتٍ} [الأعراف: 57]
  • Limit (للإنتهاء) — e.g., “Until that moment.”
  • Elevation (للإستعلاء) — e.g., {وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلأَذْقَانِ} [الإسراء: 109]

📌 In this verse, the لـ is for الاستحقاق — “Praise is deserved by Allah.”

🎯 {رب العالمين} — Rabb al-ʿĀlamīn (Lord of the Worlds)

• الرب means:
  • The Master (السيد)
  • The Owner (المالك)
  • The Sustainer (الثابت)
  • The Worshipped One (المعبود)
  • The Reformer (المصلح)
  • Some also include: The Companion (الصاحب), referencing this poetic line: فدنا له رب الكلاب بكفه
    بيض رهاف ريشهن مقزع 📝 He approached, the lord of the dogs in his hand, sharp white blades with fine feathers.

🌍 “العالمين” — al-ʿĀlamīn (The Worlds)

• It is a plural without a singular, like الأنام.
• Derives from:
  • العلم (ʿilm) — knowledge.
  • العلامة (ʿalāmah) — sign.
• Its meaning varies:
  • Every soul-bearing being, said Ibn ʿAbbās.
  • People, said al-Bajali.
  • Humans, jinn, angels, again from Ibn ʿAbbās.
  • Humans, jinn, angels, devils, said Abū ʿUbaydah and al-Farrāʾ.
  • Two weighty creatures (الثقلان): humans & jinn — Ibn ʿAṭiyyah.
  • Descendants of Adam, said Abū Muʿādh.
  • People of Paradise and Hell, said al-Ṣādiq.
  • All the provided for, said ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd.
  • All created beings, said al-Ḥasan and Qatādah.
  • Spiritual beings (الروحانيون), said others.

📚 Many early scholars reported different views — Allah knows best which is accurate.

🎯 Qirā’āt (Recitations) of “الحمد”

• The majority of reciters read it as:
  👉 “الحمدُ” — with a ḍammah on the dāl (nominative).
• Ibrāhīm ibn Abī ʿUblah: matched the mīm to the lām of “lillāh” due to the ḍammah on “ḥamd”.
• al-Ḥasan and Zayd ibn ʿAlī: changed the dāl to kasrah to match the lām (a rare case).
  • This involved making the declined word follow an indeclinable, which is unusual.
• In al-Ḥasan’s reading, it’s possible the matching occurred:
  • In nominative or accusative, making the grammatical case hidden due to this match — as in elided or merged cases.

🧠 Other Readings

• Hārūn al-ʿAtakī, Ruʾbah, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah: read “الحمدَ” (with naṣb – accusative).

📚 “الحمد” as a Verbal Noun (مصدر) Defined by “أل”

• It may be:
  1. For familiarity (للعهد) — the praise known among you is for Allah.
  2. For essence (تعريف الماهية) — like “A dinar is better than a dirham.”
     → i.e., Any dinar is better than any dirham.
  3. For genus (تعريف الجنس) — to include all types of praise.

📝 By default, ḥamd is not pluralized, as it is a maṣdar.
But Ibn al-Aʿrābī narrated a plural: “Aḥmad” (أحمد) — due to the diversity of praise.

📜 Poetic reference:

وأبلج محمود الثناء خصصته
بأفضل أقوالي وأفضل أحمدي

🌟 A radiant one praised in words, I favored him with my best sayings and finest praises.

🔹 Raised Case (ٱلۡحَمۡدُ): Why It’s Preferred

✅ The nominative form “ٱلۡحَمۡدُ” (with damma) is considered more meaningful and complete, which is why:

• 📚 All Seven Canonical Reciters (القرّاء السبعة) unanimously chose it.
• 🎯 It indicates that praise is firmly established and permanently belongs to Allah.
  • This includes:
    • His own praise of Himself.
    • And others’ praise of Him.

🔹 The Meaning of the لام (lām) in “لِلَّهِ”

✅ The lām (لـ) here signifies ownership and full entitlement (الاستحقاق).

“To Allah” means that He alone deserves all praise.

🏷️ Accusative Case (ٱلۡحَمۡدَ): Alternate Reading and Its Implications

(Though not the canonical reading, scholars discussed it grammatically.)

🔸 If read in the accusative form (with fatḥa as in “ٱلۡحَمۡدَ”), then:

• It requires an implied verb (عَامِل):
  • Example: “أحمد الله” – “I praise Allah”
  • Or: “حمدت الله” – “I have praised Allah”
• This structure:
  • 💡 Narrows the praise to the speaker’s action (i.e., the praise is now tied to who is doing it).
  • ✨ Implies renewal or occurrence in time (i.e., not necessarily permanent).

🧾 In such a case, “الحمد” becomes a source noun (مصدر):

• Its verb is omitted, and it stands in its place.
• A common grammatical style in Arabic expressions:
  • “شكراً” (Thanks!)
  • “لا كفراً” (Not disbelief!)
• Example: “اللهم ضبعاً وذئباً” (O Allah, [protect from] hyenas and wolves) — the verb is omitted.

🏷️ Other Interpretations of the Implied Verb (عامل)

Some grammarians suggested the verb might not even derive from ḥamd (praise), but:

• Could be something like:
  • “أقول الحمد لله” – “I say: praise belongs to Allah”
  • “الزموا الحمد لله” – “Stick to: praise belongs to Allah”

🔎 However, the first interpretation (implying an omitted verb like “أحمد”) is considered more accurate, because:

• 💬 It directly aligns with the wording and intention of the verse.

🏷️ What’s the Role of لِلَّهِ in the Accusative Reading?

🔸 In this structure, the lām (لـ) in “لِلَّهِ” serves a different role:

• It’s not for possession (استحقاق) but clarification (التبيين).
  • Like saying: “أعني لله” – “I mean: for Allah”

❌ It cannot function as a causative tool (i.e., making the verb transitive), because:

• The source noun (like “الحمد”) can’t take objects directly.
• Evidence: You can say “سقياً لزيد” (a drink for Zayd), but not “سقياً زيداً” (you can’t make Zayd the object directly).

✔️ So, “لِلَّهِ” in this reading is not the object of the noun “الحمد”, but tied to another implied verb.

🔍 Linguistic Analysis of “رَبّ العَالَمين” in Recitation

🏷️ Variations in Recitation 🎤

• Zayd ibn ʿAlī and a group recited “رَبَّ العَالَمِينَ” (in the accusative case) — 🔹as an expression of praise (على المدح).
• 💡 This is linguistically eloquent, except when followed by genitive adjectives (like: “الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ”) — in that case, it loses strength because: ❗ There is a grammatical principle: no apposition (اتّباع) follows a detachment (قطع) in adjectives.

🏷️ How It Was Recited by Zayd ibn ʿAlī

📌 According to al-Ahwāzī, Zayd ibn ʿAlī recited:

• “رَبَّ العَالَمِينَ، الرَّحْمٰنَ، الرَّحِيمَ” — all three in accusative (نَصب).

✅ This removes the weakness, since the sequence maintains grammatical consistency.

🏷️ Grammatical Interpretations 🧠

• The weak view:
  ➖ “رَبَّ” is taken as an object of an implied verb like:
  “نَحْمَدُ اللهَ رَبَّ العَالَمِينَ” (We praise Allah, the Lord of the worlds).
  🚫 This is grammatically weak, because: It relies on mental inference (التوهم) — something more common in conjunctions (العطف) but not standard in other structures.
• Another weak view:
  ➖ That “رَبَّ” is a substitute (بدل).
  ❌ But this is invalid due to interruption by the phrases “الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ”.

🏷️ On the Word “رَبّ” 📚

• Grammatically, “رَبّ” may be:
  • A verbal noun (مصدر) used as an adjective.
  • Or a derived active participle (اسم فاعل), originally راب, with the alif dropped, just like:
    • بارّ (righteous), بِرّ (righteousness).

🕌 The word “الرَّبّ” was reserved for Allah alone.

• For others, it always comes qualified:
  • 🏠 “رَبّ الدَّار” (master of the house)

🏷️ “العَالَمِين” – Who Are They? 🌍

• The “al” (أل) in “العالمين” indicates universality (الاستغراق).
• 🔹 “ʿĀlam” is already a collective noun, so its plural is:
  • Rare (شاذ) → “العالمين”
  • Even rarer (أشذّ) when ending with و+ن — this form breaks typical grammatical rules.

🏷️ Who Does “العَالَمِين” Refer To? 👥

✅ The preferred opinion:

It refers specifically to those held accountable (المكلفين) — i.e. humans and jinn.

🕊️ Supported by the verse:
﴿إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ﴾
“Indeed in that are signs for the worlds.”
📍[Sūrah al-Rūm, 30:22]

• The recitation of Ḥafṣ with a kasrah on the lām (العٰلَمين) supports this view.