 with the thanks and the praises of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying to him alhamdulillah. And every week we are reminded of the bounties that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala floods us with. Every week we are reminded that we are to respond to these bounties and to these favors from Allah and that we are to respond with gratitude and that we are to respond with statements of praise. And so today insha'Allah I wanted to look at what does it mean when we say alhamdulillah. What does it truly mean for us to make this statement alhamdulillah? A statement that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has chosen to begin his book with alhamdulillahirabbilalameen. A statement that which Allah has chosen to put before the praise that he gives to his Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam that is considered the highest praise that he sallallahu alaihi wasallam receives alhamdulillahirabbilalameen. A praise that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam teaches us that after you finish praying you should recite it and say alhamdulillah. A praise that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam teaches us that when you wake up you should wake up with alhamdulillah. A praise that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam teaches us that when you sneeze you should respond with alhamdulillah as was done by Adam alaihi sallam. The first thing that Adam alaihi sallam did once he was created he sneezed and the first statement that he that was said from him was alhamdulillah. A statement that is repeated over and over and over and over. What is the meaning of alhamdulillah? Now it's easy to understand that alhamdulillah means that all praise belong to Allah. But what is the intensity of that praise and what does it mean for the praise to belong to Allah? Praise can be done to many things. I can praise someone because they're a good student. I can praise someone because they dress well. I can praise someone because they have a beautiful voice. Praise can be for anything. But why does Allah choose hamd for himself as opposed to another word? Why does the Qur'an for example not start with al-madhu lillah, madhah which also translates to praise. When madhah is used it is applicable to things that are receiving praise but for equality that is either voluntary or involuntary within that thing. So if I praise how beautiful is this rose. The rose did not decide to be beautiful but the rose was created beautiful. If I decide to praise someone's looks the person did not design their own looks but Allah created them that way versus hamd. Hamd comes out of a quality that is volitional. Hamd comes because it has been willed by that person that someone practices their speech and so they are praised for their speech. They practice their poetry and so they are praised for this poetry and they are done through with hamd. And so the praise that Allah deserves is a praise that he has is a praise that is volitional within himself that it's not that just because Allah is but because Allah is the way that he is and he chooses to interact with us in a certain way that we say alhamdulillah. But then what is this al? Why do not we why don't we say ahmadullah? Why don't we say I praise Allah? The al at alhamdulillah our scholars mention it is for al istighraq. For drowning out all different types of hamd that exist that all of the different types of hamd that exist belong to Allah. So whether Allah praises himself whether Allah praises creation whether creation praises Allah or whether creation praises each other all of that belongs to Allah. For when I praise such and such or so and so it's because Allah has made them in that way and when Allah praises his creation it's because Allah has made them in that way and that when we praise Allah is because Allah is as he is and then when Allah praises himself that's a praise that we don't understand. So all praise belongs to Allah. And then what does it mean? Lillah belonging to Allah. The Lam here is used both for milkyah and istighqaq that it belongs to this person and that this person is deserving of that thing. So when we say that alhamdulillah is that Allah possesses praise. So if I say who does this hat belong to? Lee so and so it belongs to so and so. So praise itself is possessed by Allah but also for istighqaq that this person is deserving of this praise that so and so scores 100 on their test and so they are deserving of an A. Allah is deserving of that praise. So what is it about Allah that he deserves all praise and that he possesses all praise? What is it about him? Imam Razi says about this that we praise Allah because of the reason that he is the one who gives. He is the one who bestows. He is the one who provides. He is the one who does all of these things and that praise belongs to him even before he does these things. That if Allah were to not have created us, if Allah were to not have blessed us, if Allah were to not have done anything, he still deserves it. He still deserves it. And so we take the example of a sincere worshipper who has been worshipping his entire life and Allah tells the angels go and tell the slave of mine that everything that he has done for me, I reject it all and I throw it back into his face. So the angels go and they tell him, nothing you have done in your entire life of 60 plus years is going to be accepted by Allah. This servant continues to say Alhamdulillah. So the angels are confused. Why do you continue? He said, I don't praise Allah because he's going to reward me. I praise Allah because he is deserving of praise. That is the sincere worshipper. And so this is a mindset and a mentality that we need to train ourselves to enter into. The mentality of worshipping Allah because he is Allah. Because when we say Alhamdulillah, when we say Alhamdulillah for whatever bounty that we have been given, if we have been given a righteous child and for that we say Alhamdulillah, your saying of Alhamdulillah is more worth the righteous child. If you are able to eat a morsel of food and you say Alhamdulillah, your saying of Alhamdulillah is more worth, has more worth than your ability to eat. For every act that you do that deserves the praising of Allah, your praising him is more worth it than the actual bounty itself. And so we are in a constant cycle of praising Allah for the ability to praise Allah, for the ability to praise Allah, for the ability to praise Allah. And for that we say Alhamdulillah and because we said Alhamdulillah, for that we say, Al Hamdulillah. And because we said Alhamdulillah, for that we say Alhamdulillah. And so we are constantly praising Allah because He is constantly deserving of that praise. And so we need to enter into this mindset of gratitude, of acknowledgement that Allah is sustaining me in every moment and He is providing for me in every moment. And so every moment of my being needs to be dedicated to His praise. And so this praise is impossible. This praise cannot be done because every time you praise Him, you owe another praise. So it is impossible for us to do. And that's why we say Alhamdulillah because you're saying Alhamdulillah once Allah takes, you're saying it once as gratitude for all of it. Your ability to say it just in one single statement suffices all of the praise that you owe Him. Saying it with sincerity, that is the meaning of Alhamdulillah. That is the mercy of our Allah. That's the generosity of our Allah that He has allowed us to praise Him. And He has accepted that praise from us. Alhamdulillah. But Alhamdulillah extends. Alhamdulillah continues to spread throughout all of creation. It continues to reach us in different ways that we don't think about. What is the Hamd of Allah? What is it? That when we say there's this Hamd that exists, what is that Hamd? That Hamd, if you know Arabic morphology, go through the process. What is the Hamd that is the greatest Hamd? What is the Hamd that is the supreme Hamd? We say Ahmed, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. What is the Hamd that is mustamiran marra ba'da marra? What is the Hamd, the Hamd that continues to happen in a moment after a moment after a moment, who deserves that Hamd? That is Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. What is the object that receives the Hamd? What is the being? Who is that one that receives the Hamd? That is Mahmood sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Ahmed, Muhammad, Mahmood, that is our messenger, Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. What is the Hamd of Allah? Once we have entered into that mindset, that we need to praise Allah, what is that Hamd? Who is that Hamd is the question? Does the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam not stand in the night until his feet swell? And then Aisha sallallahu alayhi wa sallam asks him, we all know this narration. All of your sins are forgiven. Oh messenger of Allah, why do you stand? And his response is what? Should I not be an Abdan Shakura? Should I not be a grateful slave? What is Hamd other than Thanat and Shukr? What is Hamd other than praise and gratitude? The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is our example of what it means to manifest Alhamdulillah. What it means to embody Alhamdulillah. And so within Alhamdulillah, there is a mindset and a state that we must accept within ourselves. Within Alhamdulillah, we have the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Within Alhamdulillah, we recognize that none deserve Hamd except for Allah. And so within these few letters, these eight letters that began the Quran within these letters, you have the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah Muhammadur Rasulullah. Within these eight letters, what do our Mufasirin say? They say each letter opens up one of the eight gates of Jannah for you. Within these eight letters is the mindset that allows you to be an Abd. That allows you to be a slave of Allah. Within these eight letters, you become the one who praises Allah. You become like Ahmed. You become like Muhammad. You become like him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So we recite these letters of praise for Allah. We recite these letters on a daily basis. We say them over and over and over again, yet we don't understand the impact that these words have. And so we ask Allah SWT to allow us to understand the intensity of these words and the weight of these words. Such weight that none of our prayers can be completed because the Fatiha is wajib without the words of Alhamdulillah. So we ask Allah to accept us saying these words and we ask Allah to allow us to be constant people who recite Alhamdulillah over and over and over again such that the words that we say right when we wake up are Alhamdulillah and the words that we end with, the words that the last people of Jannah are going to say وآخير دعواهم أن الحمد لله رب العالمين