124 — And he and his son Ishmael said, “Make us two who submit themselves wholly to You, and raise from our descendants a nation that submits to You” (Q 2:128).

125 — They praise Allah with the praise of gratitude and the praise of worship, as has been explained at length in the section on thankfulness.

126 — Exalted is He: He makes whomever of His servants He wills deserving of praise, and He made Muḥammad the leader of all the praised. The name Muḥammad indicates that his praiseworthy qualities are more numerous, while the name Aḥmad indicates that his praise is loftier than anyone else’s—so one name points to superiority and the other to abundance. Since He is the One who produced both “Muḥammad” and “Aḥmad,” He alone deserves praise for that.

127 — The praise offered by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth is but a portion of His praise; the praise of that which is made is, in fact, praise of its Maker, just as every dominion is but a portion of His dominion. To Him belong the dominion and the praise.

Perfection of Praise through Tawḥīd

128 — Praise is perfected only through tawḥīd (pure monotheism). It rests upon tawḥīd and serves as its prelude; hence speech opens with praise and is followed by the declaration of faith. “Any discourse that is not begun with ‘praise be to Allah’ is maimed, and any sermon that lacks the testimony of faith is like a mutilated hand.”

129 — When, therefore, all praise belongs to Him… (A) unlike the case in which one affirms only the category of praise without encompassing it all, for such a claim does not establish the unique attributes of the Lord.

(A) Thus in the original.