– al-thanāʾ (commendation): praise expressed through ascribing complete and perfect attributes.
– al-majd (glory): the utmost degree and abundance of honor and exalted rank.
– “The truest words a servant can say”: the word aḥaqqu (truest/most deserving) is the subject, annexed to the infinitive particle mā, while its predicate is the phrase “lā māniʿa limā aʿṭayt” (none can withhold what You give). What lies between them is a parenthetical insertion. The definite article on al-ʿabd (the servant) is for generic definition, not for a specific individual.
– “And all of us are Your servant”: a parenthetical clause placed between the subject and the predicate.
– “None can withhold what You give”: lā here is a particle of absolute negation and māniʿ (withholder) is its subject, treated as indeclinable with a fatḥah—that is, no one can prevent what You intend to bestow.
– “min-ka” (from You): meaning, from Your reckoning or retribution.
– “Allāhumma, Rabbana”: this is how it appears in most narrations; some omit Allāhumma. The first version is preferable, for it repeats the vocative as though saying, “O Allah, O our Lord.”
– “and no possessor of jadd benefits from his jadd against You”: the second jadd is the subject of yanfaʿ (benefit). Pronounced with an open jīm (jadd), it means affluence—one’s wealth, fortune, or high standing will not help him with You. Others read it with a broken jīm (jidd), meaning strenuous effort: a person’s striving will not avail him before You; only Your mercy benefits him.

Lessons derived from the ḥadith

1. This supplication is prescribed at this point—after rising from bowing and after the tasmiʿ. The minimum obligatory wording is “Rabbana wa-laka al-ḥamd” (Our Lord, to You belongs all praise). Adding more of it, up to the end of the supplication, is better. It is legislated for the imam, the congregant, and the individual in both obligatory and voluntary prayers. It serves as the worshipper’s response when the imam says, “Samiʿa Allahu li-man ḥamidah,” making it fitting to praise Allah with this remembrance.
2. The meanings of the supplication are explained in the following segments:
   (a) “Rabbana laka al-ḥamd” (Our Lord, to You belongs all praise). In Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab it is stated: Our Lord, we have obeyed and praised You with that praise. Authentic ḥadiths through numerous chains also record the variant: “Rabbana wa-laka …”