as numerous as all things; glory be to Allah to the fullness of all things; and say the same with ‘Praise be to Allah.’”1.

All of this constitutes remembrance of the Lord’s names and attributes.

The second form is to declare what the Lord Most High’s names and attributes entail, such as saying: Allah, Almighty and Majestic, hears the voices of His servants, sees their movements, and none of their deeds is hidden from Him. He is more merciful to them than their fathers and mothers, He has power over all things, and He rejoices more over His servant’s repentance than a man who recovers his lost mount. This and similar statements praise Him as befits Him, in accordance with the praise He has bestowed upon Himself and that bestowed upon Him by His servant and messenger Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—without distortion or negation, and without likening Him to His creation or comparing Him with it.

This form comprises three categories: praise, extolling, and glorification.

Praise is to speak of His perfect attributes—glorified and exalted is He—while loving Him and being pleased with Him. One who loves but remains silent does not praise, nor does one who extols without love truly praise, until love and extolling are combined. When expressions of praise are repeated one after another, this constitutes extolling; and when the praise concerns attributes of majesty, grandeur, greatness, and sovereignty, it constitutes glorification.

Allah Most High combined all three categories at the beginning of Sūrat al-Fātiha. When the servant says, “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds,” Allah says, “My servant has praised Me.” When he says, “The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,” Allah says, “My servant has extolled Me.” And when he says, “Master of the Day of Judgment,” Allah says, “My servant has glorified Me.”