📘 Praise be to God Sahl said:The meaning of �Praise be to God� (al-ḥamdu li�Llāh) is �thanks be to God� (al-shukru li�Llāh), [for] gratitude towards God is obedience (ṭāʿa) to Him. Obedience to Him is guardianship (wilāya) from Him, Exalted is He, and thus God, Exalted is He, has said: �Your patron (walī) is God only, and His Messenger, and the believers...� [5:55] God�s patronage can only be fully attained by becoming free of all other than Him.The meaning of Lord of the Worlds is: the Lord of all created beings and the One who rears and fosters them (murabbī); He is the One who presides over their affairs and who rectifies and orders things for them, even before they and their acts are brought into existence. He deals with them according to His pre-eternal knowledge of them, as He wills and for whatever purpose He wills, wishes, rules, and decrees, regarding that which is commanded and that which is forbidden, and they have no lord except Him.

📘 The Master of the Day of Judgement:That is, the Day of Reckoning.

📘 You [alone] we worship�,That is, we submit to, and humble ourselves before, You alone. We recognise Your lordship and we affirm Your oneness, and You do we serve. From this word (naʿbudu) is derived the word ʿabd meaning �servant�. �And You [alone] we ask for help, that is, in what You have charged us with, which is [rightfully] Yours, [and over which] You exercise Your will (mashīʾa) and volition (irāda). Moreover, knowledge and sincerity are due only to You. We are incapable of [accomplishing that with which You have charged us] except through aid (maʿūna) and steadfastness (tasdīd) that come from You, for there is no power or strength except that which comes from You.

📘 Guide us to the straight path. He [Sahl] was asked, �Has not God already guided us to the straight path?� He replied:That is so, but this refers to seeking more from Him, as He has said: and with Us there is yet more [50:35]. [Thus] what is meant by His words Guide us is: �Support us with Your aid (maʿūna) and empowerment (tamkīn)�.On another occasion he said that Guide us (ihdinā) means:Guide us (arshidnā) to the religion of Islam, which is the way to You, through assistance from You, which is insight (baṣīra), for we cannot be guided except through You, just as he [Moses] said: �Perhaps my Lord will show me the right way� [28:22], that is, �Guide me to pursue the path that leads to Him�.I heard Sahl relate on the authority of Muḥammad b. Sawwār from Sufyān, who heard it from Salīm, who was told by Abū al-Jaʿd from Thawbān, who narrated that the Messenger of God said:God says: �I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant into two halves. Half of it is for Me and the other half is for My servant, and My servant gets what he asks for.� Thus, when the servant says, Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, God, Exalted is He, says, �My servant has praised and thanked Me.� When he says, the Merciful, the Compassionate, [God says], �My servant has extolled Me�. And when he says, Master of the Day of Judgement, [God says], �My servant has glorified Me. These verses are for Me and for My servant is what he asks for [in the verses that come] after, as when he says, You [alone] we worship, and You [alone] do we ask for help.! Guide us to the straight path, until the end of the sūra.� God, Mighty and Majestic is He, says: �These verses are for My servant and My servant shall receive what he asks for.� Sahl said:The meaning of �My servant has glorified Me� here is: �He has attributed abundant beneficence (iḥsān) and munificence (inʿām) to Me�.Sahl related on the authority of Mujāhid:Āmīn is one of the names of God, Exalted is He. Ibn ʿAbbās y said, �The Christians have never envied you anything as much as your saying Āmīn.