Furthermore, no one in the Muslim community regards it as permissible to say, “I worshipped the name of my Lord,” “I prostrated to the name of my Lord,” “I bowed to the name of my Lord,” or “O name of my Lord, have mercy on me.” This shows that these acts relate to the One named, not to the name.

As for why the commands to remember and glorify are attached to the word “name,” one proposed answer is that when someone is entitled to veneration and to being declared free of imperfection, things associated with him and connected to him may also be venerated. Thus one might say, “Peace upon the exalted presence, the lofty gate, and the noble assembly,” and similar expressions. This answer is unsatisfactory for two reasons.

First, the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not understand it in this sense. Rather, he said, “Glory be to my Lord,” giving no consideration to what you have mentioned.

Second, this would require applying to the name the declarations of greatness, praise, and exclusive divinity, and everything else applied to the One named. One would thus say, “Praise be to the name of Allah,” “There is no god but the name of Allah,” and similar expressions. Yet no one has said this.

Rather, the correct answer is that true remembrance resides in the heart, since it is the opposite of forgetfulness. Glorification is a form of remembrance. Thus, if remembrance and glorification were mentioned without qualification, only this inward meaning would be understood, not verbal utterance. But Allah Most High intends both from His servants, and He accepts neither faith nor commitment to Islam unless the two are joined together.

The meaning of the two verses is therefore: “Glorify your Lord with your heart and your tongue,” and “Remember your Lord with your heart and your tongue.” The word “name” was inserted to draw attention to this meaning, so that remembrance and glorification would not be devoid of verbal utterance. For remembrance in the heart concerns the One named, whom the name signifies, and nothing else. Remembrance with the tongue, however, concerns the spoken expression together with what it signifies, since the expression is not intended for its own sake. Let no one therefore imagine that it is the expression itself that is glorified, rather than the meaning it conveys.

Our teacher, Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah sanctify his soul—expressed this meaning to me