And Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—made this clear on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ. He said: “Recite, if you wish: The servant says, ‘All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all realms’ (al-Fātiḥah 1:2), and Allah responds, ‘My servant has praised Me.’ The servant says, ‘The All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful’ (al-Fātiḥah 1:1), and Allah says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ The servant says, ‘Master of the Day of Recompense,’ and Allah says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ The servant then says, ‘You alone we worship and You alone we seek for help’ (al-Fātiḥah 1:5), and Allah declares, ‘This verse is between Me and My servant, and for My servant is whatever he asks.’” ⦗105⦘

Imām Abū ʿAbd Allah commented: “This makes it plain that the servant’s petition is other than what Allah grants him, and that the servant’s utterance is other than Allah’s speech. From the servant there is supplication and humble entreaty; from Allah there is command and response.”