Al-Fatihah · Makki · ayah 2 of 7

Al-Fatihah 1:2

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord[4] of the worlds -”

Saheeh International

Essence

Before you ask Him for anything, you are taught to say what was always true: every praise, and every thanks, already belongs to Him.

A reflection

Who am I to praise Him?

Notice what the ayah does not say. It does not say I praise Allah. It says al-ḥamdu li-llāh: praise, all of it, belongs to Allah. One classical reading draws out the difference. 'I praise' would make the praise depend on me. This sentence says He was praised before anyone praised Him, and will be praised whether or not I manage it. It is as if the speaker says: who am I to praise Him? He already has the praise of every praiser.

Then comes rabbi al-ʿālamīn, Lord of the worlds. The sources trace ʿālam to ʿalāma, a sign. Every kind of creature is a world, and every world is a signpost pointing past itself to its Maker. A man once said al-ḥamdu li-llāh before an early master of the spiritual path. The master told him to finish it: Lord of the worlds. 'And who are the worlds,' the man asked, 'to be mentioned alongside Him?' 'Say it, brother,' the master replied. 'When the made is set beside the Maker, nothing of it remains'.

Now think of the retired head teacher who, for twenty years, signed every letter to the local paper 'former head of St Mark's'. We all have a version of that signature. The ego wants its title read out. It wants the praise to stop, for a moment, on us.

Someone may ask: isn't it arrogant for God to praise Himself, when He tells us not to praise ourselves (53:32)? Sahih al-Bukhari reports that no one loves praise more than Allah, and that is why He praised Himself. But love is not need. He is al-Ghanī, free of all need (35:15). Self-praise is ugly in a creature because it claims a perfection it lacks, to win something it wants. In Him it is simply the truth, and He wants nothing from it.

There is mercy in it too. Sahih Muslim reports the Prophet ﷺ in prostration at night: 'I cannot count Your praise. You are as You have praised Yourself'. He praised Himself first so that we would have words that are true. The humbling part is ours: the praise was never ours to keep.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.