Alhamdulillah is the essence of a Muslim’s life. Allah (swt) says:
“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ ” (Quran, 14:7)
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The word ‘hamd’ has the connotation of both gratitude and praise. We praise Allah for who He is, for His perfect qualities and attributes, and we are thankful to Him for everything He has given us (or not given us) and has decreed for us. No matter how hard life is, it’s always good as long as you remain a believer. We often don’t see the benefit behind a seemingly bad event in life, and we become hopeless. And on the other hand, sometimes when we receive a blessing, we may become too elated and forget to remember Allah. An ideal Muslim’s life must have a balance of hopefulness and fear, of patience and happiness.
Our whole life is embellished with ‘alhamdulillah’. From the time he wakes up from sleep till he goes to bed, an ideal Muslim, who follows the sunnah of the Prophet (sa) closely, says ‘alhamdulillah’ many times every day. Here are just a few sunnah duas that involve praising Allah at different times throughout our day.
Waking Up:
الحَمْـدُ لِلّهِ الّذي أَحْـيانا بَعْـدَ ما أَماتَـنا وَإليه النُّـشور
“All praise is for Allah who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the resurrection.” (Bukhari)
الحمدُ للهِ الذي عافاني في جَسَدي وَرَدّ عَليّ روحي وَأَذِنَ لي بِذِكْرِه
“All praise is for Allah who restored to me my health and returned my soul and has allowed me to remember Him.” (Tirmidhi)
After Meals:
الْحَمْـدُ للهِ الَّذي أَطْعَمَنـي هـذا وَرَزَقَنـيهِ مِنْ غَـيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلا قُوَّة
“All praise is for Allah who fed me this and provided it for me without any might nor power from myself.” (Tirmidhi)
الْحَمْـدُ للهِ حَمْـداً كَثـيراً طَيِّـباً مُبـارَكاً فيه، غَيْرَ مَكْفِيٍّ وَلا مُوَدَّعٍ وَلا مُسْتَغْـنىً عَنْـهُ رَبُّـنا
“Allah be praised with an abundant beautiful blessed praise, a never-ending praise, a praise which we will never bid farewell to and an indispensable praise, He is our Lord.” (Bukhari)
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During and After Every Prayer:
Apart from expressing our gratefulness and praise for Allah in Surat al-Fatihah, there are other duas and dhikrs we say throughout salah that contain hamd of Allah.
سُبْـحانَكَ اللّهُـمَّ وَبِحَمْـدِكَ وَتَبارَكَ اسْمُـكَ وَتَعـالى جَـدُّكَ وَلا إِلهَ غَيْرُك
“How perfect You are O Allah, and I praise You. Blessed be Your name, and lofty is Your position and none has the right to be worshipped except You.” (Abu Dawud)
The Messenger of Allah (sa) said, “There are some words, the reciters of which will never be disappointed. These are: Tasbih [saying ‘Subhan-Allah’ (Allah is free from imperfection)], thirty-three times, Tahmid [saying ‘Al-hamdu lillah’ (praise be to Allah)] thirty-three times and Takbir [saying ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is Greatest)] thirty-four times; and these should be recited after the conclusion of every prescribed prayer.” (Muslim, qt in Riyad al-Salihin Book 16, Hadith 13)
Morning and Evening:
أَمْسَيْـنا وَأَمْسـى المـلكُ لله وَالحَمدُ لله ، لا إلهَ إلاّ اللّهُ وَحدَهُ لا شَريكَ لهُ، لهُ المُـلكُ ولهُ الحَمْـد، وهُوَ على كلّ شَيءٍ قدير ، رَبِّ أسْـأَلُـكَ خَـيرَ ما في هـذهِ اللَّـيْلَةِ وَخَـيرَ ما بَعْـدَهـا ، وَأَعـوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَـرِّ هـذهِ اللَّـيْلةِ وَشَرِّ ما بَعْـدَهـا ، رَبِّ أَعـوذُبِكَ مِنَ الْكَسَـلِ وَسـوءِ الْكِـبَر ، رَبِّ أَعـوذُبِكَ مِنْ عَـذابٍ في النّـارِ وَعَـذابٍ في القَـبْر
“We have reached the evening and at this very time unto Allah belongs all sovereignty, and all praise is for Allah. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner, to Him belongs all sovereignty and praise and He is over all things omnipotent. My Lord, I ask You for the good of this night and the good of what follows it and I take refuge in You from the evil of this night and the evil of what follows it. My Lord, I take refuge in You from laziness and senility. My Lord, I take refuge in You from torment in the Fire and punishment in the grave.” (Muslim)
Wearing Clothes:
الحمدُ للهِ الّذي كَساني هذا (الثّوب) وَرَزَقَنيه مِنْ غَـيـْرِ حَولٍ مِنّي وَلا قـوّة
“All Praise is for Allah who has clothed me with this garment and provided it for me, with no power nor might from myself.” (Bukhari)
Receiving a News:
Good news:
الْحَمْـدُ للهِ الَّذي بِنِـعْمَتِهِ تَتِـمُّ الصّـالِحات
“All Praise is for Allah by whose favour good works are accomplished.”
Bad news:
الْحَمْـدُ للهِ على كُـلِّ حال
“All Praise is for Allah in all circumstances.” (Ibn as-Sunni)
Going to Sleep:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنَا وَسَقَانَا وَكَفَانَا وَآوَانَا فَكَمْ مِمَّنْ لاَ كَافِيَ لَهُ وَلاَ مُئْوِيَ
Prophet Muhammad (sa) said:
“When you go to bed, say: “Praise is due to Allah Who fed us, provided us drink, sufficed us and provided us with shelter, for many a people there is none to suffice and none to provide shelter.” (Muslim 2715)
For more detailed references and more duas, check out Al-Qahtani, Fortress of the Muslim, Darussalam Publishers.
Related Video – Why Did Allah Choose Alhamdulillah
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