For instance, the basmala—saying, “In the name of Allah”—is a formula in which Allah places abundant blessing. One example is that when a person slaughters an animal and pronounces bismillah, the meat becomes lawful and wholesome; but if he were to say, “al-ḥamdu lillāh,” it would not become lawful, because the animal is only permitted through the basmala. Likewise, if at the moment of slaughter he says, “Allāhu akbar” without saying bismillah, the meat is still not lawful.

Thus every affair that is begun with “al-ḥamdu lillāh” is good and blessed, yet another expression may legitimately take its place—such as the basmala when eating, drinking, slaughtering, performing wuduʾ (ritual ablution), or when a man approaches his wife, in which case he says: “Bismillah, O Allah, keep Satan away from us and from whatever You provide for us,” and similar supplications.

Among the benefits of praise is that Allah is pleased with His servant when the servant eats a mouthful and praises Him for it, or drinks a draught and praises Him for it. But what exactly is meant by “a mouthful” (akla)? Is it the entire meal, or every single bite one puts into his mouth? The hadith can bear either meaning. Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, for his part, would say “al-ḥamdu lillāh” after every bite. When someone asked him, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, why do you do that?” he replied, “Eating with praise is better than eating in silence.” It appears, then, that Imam Aḥmad regarded an akla as a single bite, which would lead a person to praise Allah many times during a meal. Most scholars, however, hold that an akla refers to the whole meal: one sits, eats, and when finished says “al-ḥamdu lillāh.” In any event, praising Allah is always good.

Accordingly, one of the virtues of praise is that when a person thanks Allah for his food and drink, it becomes a cause for Allah’s pleasure with him. We ask Allah to bestow