His statement, “the imam and the one praying alone,” excludes the follower in congregational prayer; discussion of him will come, Allah willing.

His statement, “Allah hears whoever praises Him”: the verb “hears” is commonly transitive without a preposition, as Allah the Exalted says:

“Allah has certainly heard the statement of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband.” [al-Mujādilah 58:1]

Here, however, it is used with the preposition li- (“for”). We cannot say that its use with li- is due to the weakness of the governing word, for the governing word here is a verb, and the verb is the basic form of governance. Rather, we say that it is used with li- because it carries the sense of a verb that takes li-.

The closest verb compatible with this meaning is “respond.” Allah the Exalted says:

“So their Lord responded to them: ‘I will never allow the work of any of you to be lost, whether male or female; you are of one another.’” [Āl ʿImrān 3:195]

Accordingly, the meaning of “hears” is: “responds.” This is what is intended, as indicated both by the wording and by the context.

As for the indication of the wording, it lies in the verb’s taking li-.

As for the indication of the context, mere hearing does not benefit the one who praises Allah; rather, he benefits from the response. For Allah hears whoever praises Him and whoever does not praise Him.

His statement, “Allah hears whoever praises Him”: it has previously been explained that ḥamd (praise) is to describe the one praised as possessing perfection, accompanied by love and veneration. (1)

Yet someone may ask: How can you say that “hears” means “responds,” when praise contains no supplication?