A second inquiry (1) concerns the relationship between ḥamd (praise) and shukr (gratitude). Scholars hold that the two stand in a relation of generality and particularity: ḥamd is broader with respect to the causes that occasion it, for it may be offered for every attribute, whereas shukr is given only in response to beneficence. Conversely, shukr is broader with respect to the means by which it is expressed, for it may be rendered through conviction, speech, and action, whereas ḥamd is rendered through action (2), speech, or conviction (3).

Shaykh Imām Zayn al-Dīn Ibn al-Munajjā al-Ḥanbalī (4) objected that this distinction pertains only to the object to which ḥamd and shukr are directed, for saying that one is offered for such-and-such or expressed by such-and-such lies outside their very essence; accordingly, it is not in truth a distinction between them. In definition, one addresses only attributes intrinsic to the essence, not what lies beyond it.

Shaykh al-Islām Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyya responded:

Meanings are of two kinds: simple and relational. [ق 43] As for the simple meanings, their definitions