His bounty; yet His generosity dictated this.”1 Thus ends his statement—may Allah have mercy on him.

This clarifies the meaning of the preceding hadith: “Whenever Allah bestows a blessing upon a servant and he says, ‘Praise be to Allah,’ what he gives is greater than what he receives.” The servant offers praise, yet his praise is itself a blessing from Allah. Were it not for Allah’s enabling grace and assistance, he could not have praised Him. Thus, Allah’s blessing upon His servant by enabling him to offer praise is better than His blessings of health, well-being, wealth, and the like. All of them are blessings from Allah. Ibn al-Qayyim—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “The blessing of gratitude is greater than the blessings of wealth, status, children, a spouse, and the like.”2 Thus ends his statement.

For this reason, praising Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—and thanking Him for His blessings is itself a tremendous blessing that calls for further praise and renewed gratitude.

In his Book of Gratitude, Ibn Abī al-Dunyā narrated that Bakr ibn Abd Allah said: “No servant has ever said, ‘Praise be to Allah,’ without thereby receiving a blessing for which he owes gratitude. What, then, is the recompense for that blessing? Its recompense is to say, ‘Praise be to Allah,’ whereupon another blessing comes—and the blessings of Allah—Glorious and Exalted is He—never come to an end.”3

Hence, Imam al-Shāfi‘i—may Allah have mercy on him—said in praise of Allah: “Praise be to Allah, gratitude for none of whose blessings can be rendered except by means of a new blessing that itself requires the one rendering thanks to thank Him for it.”4.