Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Fatihah Verse 2

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds,[[ i.e., Lord of everything in existence including angels, humans, and animals.]]

Ruwwad Translation Center

All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

A. J. Arberry

Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being,

Abdul Haleem

Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds,

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

All praise unto Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;

Abul Ala Maududi

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the entire universe.

Ahmed Ali

ALL PRAISE BE to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,

Ahmed Raza Khan

All praise is to Allah, the Lord Of The Creation.

Ali Quli Qarai

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,

Ali Ünal

All praise and gratitude (whoever gives them to whomever for whatever reason and in whatever way from the first day of creation until eternity) are for God, the Lord of the worlds,

Amatul Rahman Omar

All type of perfect and true praise belongs to Allâh alone, the Lord of the worlds,

English Literal

The gratitude/thanks/praise to God, the creation`s altogether`s/(universe`s) Lord.

Faridul Haque

The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Hamid S. Aziz

The Beneficent, the Merciful,

Hilali & Khan

All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

Mohammad Habib Shakir

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,

Muhammad Sarwar

All praise belongs to God, Lord of the Universe,

Qaribullah & Darwish

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Al-Hamd be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.

Wahiduddin Khan

All praise is due to God, the Lord of the Universe;

Talal Itani

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.

Tafsir jalalayn

Praise be to God, is a predicate of a nominal clause, the content of which is intended to extol God [by stating that]; He possesses the praise of all creatures, or that He [alone] deserves their praise. God is a proper noun for the One truly worthy of worship; Lord of all Worlds, that is, [He is] the One Who owns all of creation; humans, jinn, angels, animals and others as well, each of which may be referred to as a `world'; one says `the world of men', or `world of the jinn' etc. This plural form with the y' and the nn [sc. `lamn] is used to denote, predominantly, cognizant beings (l `ilm). The expression [`lamn] relates to [the term] `sign' (`alma), since it is an indication of the One that created it.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Al-Hamd be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists.

Abu Jafar bin Jarir said,

"The meaning of
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ
Al-Hamdu Lillah (all praise and thanks be to Allah) is;all thanks are due purely to Allah, alone, not any of the objects that are being worshipped instead of Him, nor any of His creation.

These thanks are due to Allah's innumerable favors and bounties that only He knows the amount of. Allah's bounties include creating the tools that help the creation worship Him, the physical bodies with which they are able to implement His commands, the sustenance that He provides them in this life, and the comfortable life He has granted them, without anything or anyone compelling Him to do so. Allah also warned His creation and alerted them about the means and methods with which they can earn eternal dwelling in the residence of everlasting happiness. All thanks and praise are due to Allah for these favors from beginning to end."

Further, Ibn Jarir commented on the Ayah,
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ
Al-Hamdu Lillah, that it means,

"A praise that Allah praised Himself with, indicating to His servants that they too should praise Him, as if Allah had said,

`Say;All thanks and praise is due to Allah.'

It was said that the statement,
الْحَمْدُ للّهِ
Al-Hamdu Lillah, (All praise and thanks be to Allah), entails praising Allah by mentioning His most beautiful Names and most honorable Attributes. When one proclaims, `All thanks are due to Allah,' he will be thanking Him for His favors and bounties."

The Difference between Praise and Thanks

-Hamd is more general, in that it is a statement of praise for one's characteristics, or for what he has done.

-Thanks are given for what was done, not merely for characteristics.

The Statements of the Salaf about Al-Hamd

Hafs mentioned that Umar said to Ali,

"We know La ilaha illallah, Subhan Allah and Allahu Akbar. What about Al-Hamdu Lillah"

Ali said,

"A statement that Allah liked for Himself, was pleased with for Himself and He likes that it be repeated."

Also, Ibn Abbas said,

"Al-Hamdu Lillah is the statement of appreciation.

When the servant says Al-Hamdu Lillah, Allah says, `My servant has praised Me."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this Hadith.

The Virtues of Al-Hamd

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal recorded that Al-Aswad bin Sari said,

"I said, `O Messenger of Allah! Should I recite to you words of praise for My Lord, the Exalted, that I have collected!'

He said,

أَمَا إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يُحِبُّ الْحَمْدَ

Verily, your Lord likes Al-Hamd."

An-Nasa'i also recorded this Hadith.

Furthermore, Abu Isa At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded that Musa bin Ibrahim bin Kathir related that Talhah bin Khirash said that Jabir bin Abdullah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لَا إِلهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَأَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءِ الْحَمْدُدِلله

- The best Dhikr (remembering Allah) is La ilaha illallah and

- the best supplication is Al-Hamdu Lillah.

At-Tirmidhi said that this Hadith is Hasan Gharib.

Also, Ibn Majah recorded that Anas bin Malik said that the Messenger of Allah said,

مَا أَنْعَمَ اللهُ عَلَى عَبْدٍنِعْمَةً فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ للهِ إِلاَّ كَانَ الَّذِي أَعْطَى أَفْضَلَ مِمَّا أَخَذَ

No servant is blessed by Allah and says, `Al-Hamdu Lillah', except that what he was given is better than that which he has himself acquired.

Further, in his Sunan, Ibn Majah recorded that Ibn Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said,

إِنَّ عَبْدًا مِنْ عِبَادِ اللهِ قَالَ

يَا رَبِّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِجَلَلِ وَجْهِكَ وَعَظِيمِ سُلْطَانِكَ

فَعَضَلَتْ بِالْمَلَكَيْنِ فَلَمْ يَدْرِيَا كَيْفَ يَكْتُبَانِهَا فَصَعِدَا إِلَى اللهِ فَقَالَا

يَا رَبَّنَا إِنَّ عَبْدًا قَدْ قَالَ مَقَالَةً لَاا نَدْرِي كَيْفَ نَكْتُبُهَا

قَالَ اللهُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا قَالَ عَبْدُهُ مَاذَا قَالَ عَبْدِي

قَالَاا يَا رَبِّ إِنَّهُ قَالَ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ يَا رَبِّ كَمَا يَنْبَغِي لِجَلَالِ وَجْهِكَ وَعَظِيمِ سُلْطَانِكَ

فَقَالَ اللهُ لَهُمَا اكْتُبَاهَا كَمَا قَالَ عَبْدِي حَتَّى يَلْقَانِي فَأَجْزِيهِ بِهَا

A servant of Allah once said,

`O Allah! Yours is the Hamd that is suitable for the grace of Your Face and the greatness of Your Supreme Authority.'

The two angels were confused as to how to write these words. They ascended to Allah and said, `O our Lord! A servant has just uttered a statement and we are unsure how to record it for him.'

Allah said while having more knowledge in what His servant has said, 'What did My servant say!'

They said, `He said, `O Allah! Yours is the Hamd that is suitable for the grace of Your Face and the greatness of Your Supreme Authority.'

Allah said to them, `Write it as My servant has said it, until he meets Me and then I shall reward him for it.

Al before Hamd encompasses all Types of Thanks and Appreciation for Allah

The letters Alif and Lam before the word Hamd serve to encompass all types of thanks and appreciation for Allah, the Exalted. A Hadith stated,

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ كُلُّهُ وَلَكَ الْمُلْكُ كُلُّهُ وَبِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ وَإِلَيْكَ يُرْجَعُ الاَْمْرُ كُلُّهُ

O Allah!

All of Al-Hamd is due to You, You own all the ownership, all types of good are in Your Hand and all affairs belong to You.

The Meaning of Ar-Rabb, the Lord

Ar-Rabb is the owner who has full authority over his property.

Ar-Rabb, linguistically means, the master or the one who has the authority to lead.

All of these meanings are correct for Allah. When it is alone, the word Rabb is used only for Allah. As for other than Allah, it can be used to say Rabb Ad-Dar, the master of such and such object.

Further, it was reported that Ar-Rabb is Allah's Greatest Name.

The Meaning of Al-`Alamin

Al-`Alamin is plural for `Alam, which encompasses everything in existence except Allah. The word `Alam is itself a plural word, having no singular form.

The `Alamin are different creations that exist in the heavens and the earth, on land and at sea. Every generation of creation is called an `Alam.

Al-Farra` and Abu `Ubayd said,

"Alam includes all that has a mind, the Jinns, mankind, the angels and the devils, but not the animals."

Also, Zayd bin Aslam and Abu Muhaysin said,

Alam includes all that Allah has created with a soul."

Further, Qatadah said about,
رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
(The Lord of the `Alamin),

"Every type of creation is an Alam."

Az-Zajjaj also said,

"Alam encompasses everything that Allah created, in this life and in the Hereafter."

Al-Qurtubi commented,

"This is the correct meaning, that the Alam encompasses everything that Allah created in both worlds.

Similarly, Allah said,

قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَا رَبُّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

قَالَ رَبُّ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَأ إِن كُنتُمْ مُّوقِنِينَ

Fir`awn (Pharaoh) said;"And what is the Lord of the `Alamin!"

Musa (Moses) said;

"The Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, if you seek to be convinced with certainty." (26;23-24)

Why is the Creation called `Alam

Alam is derived from `Alamah, that is because it is a sign testifying to the existence of its Creator and to His Oneness.


Allah said next,

الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم