The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam describes to us
the moment on the Day of Judgment
where he will fall on his face,
and he will pray to Allah
in the most consequential du'a
in the history of mankind.
And he says, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that "In this great moment of intercession
that I will fall face first,
and Allah will inspire me with muhaamid,
with words of hamd, words of praise,
that I don't even know right now."
SubhanAllah
Think about the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
with his face on the ground,
and Allah giving him the best way
to praise Him Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
for the benefit of all of His creation.
The beauty of this concept of hamd, muhaamid,
words of praise, "Alhamdulillah"
is that it is the most natural form of du'a,
and it's the most open-ended.
(calm ethereal music)
And so a man came to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
And said to the prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
"Ya Rasulullah
"I have praised my Lord with some of these muhaamid,
with some words of praise.
And then I just let my du'a go wherever it went."
And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, said,
"Inna rabbaka yuhibbul hamd"
"Your Lord loves praise."
And so when a person starts to make du'a,
they can say, "Alhamdulillah",
they can praise Allah.
And then they can mention
any of His names and attributes that they want.
They can mention any of the favors of Allah.
They can mention any of the specific blessings
that they want to mention,
or something that they want more of.
The point is you really can't go wrong with this dhikr,
and then using this dhikr to propel your du'a forward.
"Alhamdulillah" for who you are.
"Alhamdulillah" for what you have given me.
"Alhamdulillah" for anything that I'm even asking you for.
And we find that the angels,
they struggle to record,
just like they struggle to record Tasbih.
The weight of this hamd.
And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
one time while he was praying,
he heard a man behind him say,
Rabbana wa lak alhamd hamdan katheeran
tayyiban mubarakan feeh
"O Allah, to you belongs all praise, hamdan katheeran,
plentiful, tayyiban, pure, mubarakan feeh,
that is blessed and abundant."
And in one narration,
Alhamdulillah
Hamdan tayyiban mubarakan feeh
mubarakan 'alayh kama yuhibbu rabbuna wa yardha
"Like our Lord loves and is pleased with."
And Rasulullah SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Who said that du'a
when we were rising from rukuuh?"
And when the man was identified,
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
"I saw 30 angels that were rushing
to try to capture your praise
and take it back to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la."
So now what's the difference,
and how are Tasbih and Tahmid
complimentary to one another?
Al Hafidh ibn Kathir Rahimahullah, he says that
Tasbih, saying SubhanAllah
is to affirm Allah's freedom
from any a'aib or naqs,
from any flaw or deficiency.
And then Tahmid is to praise Allah
for His perfection and for His grace.
And together these are the two 'adhkar
that fill the meezan.
They fill the scale on the Day of Judgment,
and they fill what is between the heavens and the earth,
and Allah connects them together when He says,
fasubhaan Allahi heena tumsoona wa heena tusbihoon
wa lahu alhamdu fil samawati wal ard
"So declare the perfection of Allah
when you wake up and when you retire in the evening
and His praise fills the heavens and the earth."
Now what does it mean to praise Allah?
What is the deeper meaning of "Alhamdulillah"?
You see, the word "hamd" is comprehensive.
And this is from the mercy of Allah
that He gives us comprehensive ways
that we can praise Him.
The word "hamd" combines both,
as the scholars say,
thanaa' and shukr,
praise and gratitude.
So you're not just praising Allah,
you're not just thanking Allah,
but you're doing both with a single word.
And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la,
because He is who He is
does not actually need anyone to praise Him
for Him to be praiseworthy, He is Al-Aziz, Al-Hamid.
He is the One who is Almighty
whether you acknowledge His might or not.
And He is all praiseworthy whether you praise Him or not.
And we even see that beauty in the Quran itself
in Surat ul Fatiha
that the first one to praise Allah in the Quran
is Himself Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameen.
Allah's word starts with the hamd of Allah,
the praise of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la Himself.
And this praise is different
from what's known in the Arabic language
as al madh.
Al madh, as the scholars say, could be praise,
but it doesn't necessarily have embedded
in that praise, love and honor.
Hamd is, as the scholars say,
Al thanaa' bil jameel al aljameel
ala wajhil muhabbati wa ta 'adheem.
"It is beautiful praise upon One who is beautiful,
and it has embedded within it love and glory."
And so it's a very special way
that you speak to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi
Now the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said,
"Inna affdarud du'a Alhamdulillah
wa affdalul dhikr La ilaha illa Allah."
that the best du'a is "Alhamdulillah"
and the best dhikr is "La ilaha illa Allah."
So hamd actually plays the role of being
both of the greatest forms of dhikr remembrance
but also being a du'a in and of itself.
Why?
Because you are praising Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
without actually asking Him for anything.
And so you give this du'a "Alhamdulillah".
And that's why the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
"As a du'a," he said
that "this is the most superior of the supplications.
He said, SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
InnaAllaha 'stafa minal kalaami arba'ah
that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has chosen
amongst all words, four words, four phrases.
"Subhan Allah", "Alhamdulillah",
"La ilaha illa Allah", "Allahu Akbar".
Now he says in this long hadith SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that whoever says "Subhan Allah",
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la writes down
20 good deeds for them.
And whoever says "La ilaha illa Allah",
Allah writes down 20 good deeds.
And whoever says "Allahu Akbar",
Allah writes down 20 good deeds.
And with all of those, He also removes 20 sins.
So 20 good deeds and 20 sins.
But then he says, "Whoever says
Alhamdu lillahi rabbi alAAalameen min qibali nafsihi
says "Alhamdulillah" from themselves
meaning just says "Alhamdulillah" by itself,
then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la writes down
30 good deeds and removes 30 sins.
So "Alhamdulillah" is a form of dhikr,
and it's a form of du'a.
And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says
in another hadith,
"No one says 'Alhamdulillah' for a blessing
that has been given to them,
except that what you gave
is better than what you were given."
Meaning what?
The blessing that was given to you,
for which you're saying "Alhamdulillah",
is not as great of a blessing
as the "Alhamdulillah" that you gave.
Because the blessing that is going to come about,
because of your saying "Alhamdulillah"
is greater than the one
that led you to praise Him in the first place.
So how do we use this dhikr on a daily basis?
Number one, just like Tasbih,
you say it 33 times after your salah.
So "Subhan Allah" and "Alhamdulillah"
will both be 33 times.
You also will say it a hundred times a day at least.
And you can combine that with your Tasbih.
So you can do your Tasbih and your Tahmid together.
But you'll notice that "Alhamdulillah"
is ingrained in us in such a way
that when we recognize a blessing,
we immediately say "Alhamdulillah".
And the first blessing you recognize
is the one that you wake up to.
Meaning the very fact that you have woken up.
The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said
that when a person wakes up they say,
Alhamdulillah aladhi ahyaana ba'da ma
amaatana wa ilayhi an-nushoor
"You thank Allah for giving you life after death,
and to Him is the ultimate return."
And so any blessing that comes to you throughout the day
you have already started a relationship with Allah
with your entire day that just by breathing that day
you're saying "Alhamdulillah".
So what then when you eat?
The Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam taught us to say
"Alhamdulillah"
after we eat our food.
But he said specifically SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
that whoever eats and says,
Alhamdulillah aladhi at'amani hatha
wa razaqneehi min ghayri hawlin minni wala quwwah
"All praises and thanks be to The One,
Who fed this to me and provided it to me
without any strength or any capacity of my own."
He said SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
"Ghufira lahu ma taqaddama min dhanbihi"
"Allah will forgive all of your sins."
He said the same thing SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
when it comes to your getting dressed.
You know, how often do we thank Allah
for the clothes we put on every single day?
And he said SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
that "Whoever wears their clothes,
they take a new garment,
they put it on, and they say,
Alhamdulillah aladhi kasani hatha ath-thawba
wa razaqneehi min ghayri hawlin minni wa la quwwah
'All praises and thanks be to Allah,
who provided this thobe for me,
without any power, any strength, any capacity of my own."
He said SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
"Ghufira lahu ma taqaddama min dhanbihi"
"Allah will forgive all of your sins."
When anything happens to you of good,
you thank Allah for the blessing.
Of hardship, "Alhamdulillah ala kulli haal."
you thank Allah for all things, even in hardship.
When you sneeze, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam
taught that when you sneeze you say, "Alhamdulillah".
And that if a person does not praise Allah when they sneeze
then the shaytaan mocks them.
Now, if this is how it is in this dunya
where despite the imperfections of the blessings
that you have here,
you still thank Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la,
and you still say "Alhamdulillah" naturally,
imagine your sentiment
when you enter into Jannah,
and you eat the food there,
or when you wear the clothes there.
And so it's a natural extension of your goodness here
that you continue to give praise to
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la.
And it's a natural extension of Allah's excellence
that He continues to give you
more, and more, and more, and more
every time you thank him for what you already have.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)