Al-Hamid
The Praiseworthy
Exalted and Glorious
And know that Allah is Rich, Free of all wants, and Worthy of all praise. (2:267)
They said, “Do you wonder at the Decree of Allah? They Mercy of Allah and His Blessings be on you, Oh the family of Ibrahim. Surely, He, Allah is All-Praiseworthy, All-Glorious. (11:73)
And Moses said, “If you disbelieve, you and all on earth together, then verily Allah is Rich, Free of all needs, Owner of all praise.” (14:8)
And whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for the good of his own self. And whoever is unthankful, then verily, Allah is All-rich, Free of all needs, Worthy of all praise. (31:12)
To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. And verily, Allah – He is Rich, Free of all needs, Worthy of all praise. (22:64)
This name clearly reveals that we must praise and love Allah, be grateful to Him, and adore and worship Him with sincerity, purity, and with our complete heart and soul. Allah is the Creator, Controller and Sustainer of all creation, and He is the most Beneficent and Merciful. All praises, merits, and virtues originate from Him. Allah is the only One to be praised and glorified and thanked by all creatures.
He who repeats this name will be loved and respected by the world.
Repeating this name 99 times after the morning prayer enlightens the day; 66 times after the morning and evening prayers, Allah beautifies the reciter’s words and actions; 100 times after each of the 5 daily prayers, Allah counts that person among His devout servants who will be loved and served by all people and every living creature.
Al-Hamid is the All-Praised, the One Who is entitled to all praise and whatever it concerns. He is He Who is the Praised for everything that exists, and for every human being. So let the exceeding of all praise be to Allah alone.
From: The Meanings of the Names of Our Lord by Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i Head of the Higher Sufi Council in Jerusalem and the Holy Land Teacher at the Dome of the Rock (al-Aqsa)
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Allah is the Most Praiseworthy. He is the one praised by all existence. Praising is honoring with respect and thankfulness the Great One who gives infinite gifts. All that exist praise Allah with their tongues, with their actions, or simply by their very existence. He is the only one who is finally worthy of devotion, of respect, of thankfulness, and of praise. How can one praise another than He in His presence, while all is from Him? He is the source of all gifts and all perfection.
He has given us life, a beautiful form, strength, intelligence, language, so many wonders directly. He has given us further gifts through the hands of other people or the mediation of His other creatures. These gifts praise Allah; the ones through whom these gifts came praise Allah. Should we not praise Allah? Man invented the computer, which works, speaks, writes, communicates, captures the forms and sounds of things. The machine itself, in doing these things, praises its inventor. It is in this way that all nature praises Allah with its existence and its function. The people who use and benefit from that computer praise its inventor; that is how the servant praises the Creator. Then the inventor praises himself! Allah the Inventor of all this praises Himself and is not in need of the praise of any other.
Allah in His mercy and generosity has ordered human beings to perform certain duties for our own good, and to escape form certain evils for our own peace and salvation. These are such duties to be executed at every hour of one’s life. When we perform these duties at their appointed times, we receive both material benefit and spiritual joy and wisdom, especially if these tasks are consciously performed for Allah’s sake. A reward of special enlightenment comes with such action. Humanity learned what it knows in that way, and has advanced in that way. With what Allah forbade people to do, He protects us from Hellfire.
The greatest of all sins is kufr, denial. Denial is the opposite of praise. Imagine the benefactor of a community who has helped everyone, from whom everyone has equally profited, and furthermore, on whom the life and harmony of that society depend. If someone insulted this benefactor, denied his good deeds, what would the community that loved and respected him do? They would all be angry, hostile, vengeful toward that person. Even though that person had not done any harm to the people directly, all the people would hate him and curse him and try to destroy him. Because he had insulted the benefactor, the people would consider the harm done to all of them.
That is how, if one denies Allah’s existence, criticizes His canons, or minimizes His perfect qualities and beneficent doings, one is cursed not only by men, but by all creation. Since there is no place which is not His, such a one will not be able to escape. We take refuge from Him in Him. All praise is due to the Lord of the whole creation, who leads us from darkness to light, who clears hearts of the night of denial and fills them with the divine light of faith. As all Muslims’ day in reciting Surah Fatihah at every prayer, Al-hamdu li-Llahi rabb il-‘alamin: Praise belongs to God, Lord of all the worlds.
‘Abd al-Hamid is the servant to whom Allah shows Himself with His most beautiful attributes. All those beauties become manifest in such a one. All people praise that person who praises only Allah.
If someone whose faith, worship, and character befit a Muslim recites this Name 99 times after morning prayers, Allah will enlighten that person’s day. If someone recites this Name 66 times after morning and evening prayers, Allah will beautify his words and actions. If someone recites this Name 100 times after each of the five daily prayers, Allah will count that person among his devout servants who will be loved and served by all people and every living creature.
If someone has a foul mouth, his writing ya Hamid on a cup and drinking from it regularly may refine his speech.
From: The Name & the Named by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti
