And he—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “…Yet it must be understood in a sound sense: namely, that the praise Allah—glory be to Him—deserves is praise that would match His blessings and equal His further bounty, even though the servant is incapable of offering it.”1

Better and more perfect than this is what is authentically reported in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and elsewhere from Abū Umāma al-Bāhilī: whenever the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had his dining spread removed, he would say: “All praise is due to Allah—abundant, pure, and blessed praise. Our Lord can never be adequately recompensed, forsaken, or dispensed with.”2 Had the other formula—“praise that matches His blessings and equals His further bounty”—been more complete and superior to this one, the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would not have turned away from it, for he chooses only what is best and most perfect.

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya—may Allah have mercy on him—said regarding the meaning of this hadith: “When a created being confers a favor upon you, you can repay him. His favors do not last; rather, he must eventually bid you farewell and cut them off from you, and you can do without him. Allah—Exalted and Majestic—cannot be repaid for His blessings. When He bestows favors upon you, He perpetuates them, for it is He alone who enriches and grants lasting possessions, and one cannot do without Him for even the blink of an eye.” End quote.3

This demonstrates the profound import of the transmitted supplications and established remembrances, the depth of their meanings, and their freedom from the error to which other formulations may be prone. Through them, one attains soundness and what is most complete.

So praise be to Allah in the words of praise with which He has praised Himself and with which those whom He chose from among His creation praised Him—abundant, pure, and blessed praise, as our Lord loves and is pleased with.