[1:2] Praise be to God;
The real meaning of praise (ḥamd) is extolling the One Who is praiseworthy (maḥmūd) by mentioning His sublime attributes and beautiful acts. The [letter] lām here [from the particle al in al-ḥamdu li-llāh] indicates an all-comprehensive category, since all praiseworthy acts are God's (s), either by attribution (waṣf) or creation (khalq). Praise belongs to Him because of the manifestation of His sovereign power, and gratitude belongs to Him because of the abundance of His goodness. Praise belongs to God because of what He is due for His sublimity and His beauty, and gratitude belongs to God because of the plentitude of His favors and the preciousness of His gifts. The praise for Him (s) which is from Him is from the attributes of His perfection and power, and the praise of Him which is from His creation is by virtue of His favors and His might. His sublimity and His beauty are His due because of the attributes of grandeur. They are His entitlement because of the qualities of exaltedness and loftiness. Eternal existence belongs to Him. Noble generosity belongs to Him. Unique permanence belongs to Him, as do everlasting being, eternal remaining, endless splendor, and perpetual praise. Hearing and seeing belong to Him, as do fate and divine decree, word and speech, might and power, mercy and generosity, essence (ʿayn) and existence (wujūd), and the beautiful face (al-wajhu dhū'l-jamāl) and the sublime measure (al-qadru dhū'l-jalāl). He is the One, Most High. His grandeur is His garment, His loftiness His brilliance, His magnificence His exaltedness, His being His essence, His eternity without beginning His everlasting eternity, His timelessness His endless eternity, His truth (al-ḥaqq) His self (al-nafs), and His permanence His essence. His perpetuity is His remaining, His decree (qa?āÌ) His fate (qadar), His sublimity His beauty, His prohibition His command, His wrath His mercy, and His desire (irāda) His will (mashīÌa). He is the King by His invincibility (jabarūt) and the One in His dominion (malakūt). God the blessed and glorified! Glory be to Him, how weighty is His affair!
[Section] The Real (swt) knows the intensity of the spiritual desire (irāda) of His friends to praise and extol Him and their inability to perform the praise due to Him in accordance with His exaltedness and radiance. Therefore He informed them that He has praised Himself in the opening of His address in His words, Praise be to God, and they are revived after being lowly and experience life after deadening, and their innermost selves take on the perfection of strength [through God], for they have heard the praise of the Real about the Real in the speech of the Real. They explain the symbol as a matter of appearances, saying:
A moon is attributable to her face
because of her face [itself].
Kohl is attributable to her eyes
because of her eyes [themselves].
When the Prophet, the speaker to the first and the last, the master of those who use language skillfully, and the leader of those who are eloquent, heard His praise of Himself and His laudation of His Truth, he knew that holding one's tongue is what is most appropriate in this situation. He said: 'There is no way to enumerate the praise due to You, You are as You have praised Yourself'.
If only her words
had reached David's ears
he would not have sung
his melodies.
Suʿād sang
with her voice and
the melodies of David
became mute in embarrassment.
[Section] The classes of those who give praise are different because of the disparity in their states. One group praises Him based on what they have obtained in the favors and kindnesses He grants through His helping and defending, removing and granting. What they understand concerning His goodness to them is no more than what they acknowledge of His favors with them. [God] (may His mention be exalted) said: And if you were to count God's grace, you could never reckon it [14:34 and 16:18]. Another group praises Him based on what He has made to appear to their hearts (qulūb) from the wonders of His kindnesses, and the hidden things His beneficence has placed in the inner secrets of their hearts (sarāÌir), and what He has unveiled to their innermost selves (asrār) from the secret of His Unseen, and what He has singled out for their spirits (arwāḥ) from the flashes of intuition of His glories. Other people praise Him upon witnessing what is unveiled to them through Him regarding the attributes of eternity. After observing [His] exaltedness and nobleness, they no longer pay any attention to favors or allotments. There is a difference between those who praise Him for His exalted sublimity and those who give thanks to Him for the existence of His favors, just as the one who spoke for them said:
It was not poverty that drove us away
from the land of kinsfolk.
We were just happy
to meet with you for a time.
Other people praise Him, annihilated in the expressions of praise that have caused them to speak. They speak through the realities of declaring His unity, which have eradicated their innermost selves. They speak of Him through Him and allude to Him through Him. The decrees flow over them, turning them this way and that. Their outward condition is protected by the attribute of separation, while their innermost selves are seized by the force of the union of union (jamʿ al-jamʿ). As they say,
The explanation of the explanation of the Real,
You are its explanation
Every meaning of the Unseen,
You are its mouthpiece.
[1:2 cont'd] Lord of all Worlds
The Lord (rabb) is the 'chief' (sayyid), and the Worlds are all created things. What is being specified in the plural term 'worlds' includes rational beings and inanimate things, for He is the Master (mālik) of perceived things (aʿyān). He brings them into being and, through what is in them, brings into existence the outward markings and dwellings [that characterize them].
His name Lord (rabb) also indicates the cultivation (tarbiya) of created beings, since he is the caretaker (murabbin) of the souls of the worshippers (ʿābidīn) through the giving of support (taÌyīd), the caretaker of the hearts of seekers (?ālibīn) by giving direction (tasdīd), and the caretaker of the spirits of the knowers (ʿārifīn) by the affirmation of unity (tawḥīd). He is the caretaker of the bodily forms (ashbāḥ) by the finding (wujūd) of favors, and the caretaker of the spirits (arwāḥ) by the witnessing (shuhūd) of generosity.
The name Lord (rabb) also indicates His cultivation (iṣlāḥ) of the affairs of His servants. It is said, 'I tanned or seasoned (rabaytu) the hide'. So He is the seasoner of the affairs of the ascetics (zāhidīn) in the beauty of his care (riʿāya), and He is the seasoner of the affairs of the worshippers (ʿābidīn) in the goodness of His sufficiency (kifāya), and He is the seasoner of the affairs of the ecstatics (wājidīn) in His eternal solicitude (ʿināya). He improves the affairs of some and they are enriched by His gifts. He improves the affairs of others and they long to meet Him. He improves a third group and they are rightly directed towards meeting Him. The one who spoke for them said:
As long as the stars of your glory
are fortunate
I don't care whether
people live or perish.