﴿ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴾

“All praise is due to God alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds,”

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.