– “And His is all praise”: that is, every imaginable form of praise, for the definite article al- in al-ḥamd denotes totality of the genus.
– “And He is capable of everything”: this is stated for completion and perfection, for once Allah’s exclusive oneness, sovereign dominion, and complete praise have been affirmed, it necessarily follows that He has power over all things; mentioning it rounds out and perfects the meaning.
– al-Qadīr (the All-Powerful): one of Allah’s Beautiful Names and Attributes, indicating His perfect and awe-inspiring power throughout the heavens and the earth.
– “what You give and what You withhold”: meaning, whatever You grant and whatever You withhold in accordance with Your wisdom.
– al-jadd: with fatḥah in all narrations; it means wealth or affluence.
– “from You”: grammatically attached to the verb “benefits” (yanfaʿu); it cannot be taken as relating to al-jadd, as Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd noted.
What is taken from the ḥadith
- It is recommended to recite this remembrance after each of the five prescribed prayers, immediately after the salām, for the dabr of a thing is what directly follows it. Its apparent meaning is that it is said once after the prayer; the full discussion will come later.
- This magnificent supplication was legislated for recital after the obligatory prayers—which are the best of acts of worship—because it affirms Allah’s oneness and denies any partner with Him in His Essence, Attributes, and worship; it establishes His perfect, all-encompassing power, ascribes all giving and withholding exclusively to Him, and declares that no creature’s fortune, share, or wealth can avail him before Allah. He alone possesses dominion and sovereignty. When a servant realises this, his heart becomes attached to his Lord Most High and he turns his gaze away from anything else.
- The prescribed order of remembrances after the five obligatory prayers is: first to seek Allah’s forgiveness three times, then to say, “O Allah, You are Peace and from You comes peace…” and so forth, after which one recites the remembrance