how, then, (1) can someone fulfil his oath by turning away from it (2) to wording with which He has not praised Himself, and which has not (3) been reliably transmitted from His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or from those foremost in knowledge of Allah among his community?

When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praised Allah on occasions when (4) praise was particularly called for (5), he never used this formula at all. Such occasions include the praise offered in sermons, the praise with which undertakings are begun, the testimony of faith recited on occasions of need, and the praise offered after eating and drinking, when dressing, upon leaving the privy, and upon seeing something pleasing or displeasing.

Al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Umāmah that when the Prophet’s meal was cleared away, he would say:

“All praise belongs to Allah—abundant, pure, blessed praise—to Him who can never be repaid (6), nor forsaken, nor dispensed (7) with, [our Lord].” (8)

In another wording of this hadith:

When he finished eating, he would say: “All praise belongs to Allah, who has provided for us and sheltered us, who is never