repaid, nor denied gratitude.” (1)

Had the wording, “All praise belongs to Allah—praise that matches His blessings and repays His further bounty,” been more sublime, better, and more perfect than this praise, he would have chosen it instead, for he only ever chose what was best, most sublime, and loftiest.

I asked our shaykh about the words “who is never repaid.” He said: “When a created being bestows a favour upon you, you can recompense him with a reward or with praise. But Allah—exalted be He—can never be repaid by any of His servants for His favours, for that gratitude itself is also one of His blessings”—or words to that effect (2).

How far removed this is from the wording of the hadith narrated from Adam: “Praise that matches His blessings and repays (3) His further bounty.”

As for their explanation that it means the praise meets His blessings, so that they accompany the praise, they seem to have derived this from the expression, “I met (4) so-and-so at such-and-such a place,” meaning that I encountered him there; and “He met me,” meaning that he encountered me. On this interpretation, the meaning is that praise of Him meets His blessings and accompanies them.