# Alhamdulillah الحمد لله



## freelancer

Al_Hamdu~Lillah This phrase that is very unique in the Arabic language that can’t be applied to any person but its correct usage is solely to show thanks and gratitude to ALLAH.
We can’t say Al_Hamdu~Li George Bush or Tony Blair even if the person is intentionally wants to blaspheme. An Arab leader can say thanks and I am grateful, even He can open His entire country to them but yet the act of Al_Hamdu is not applicable.
Al_Ham~d, is like praise or thanks, not even in the Biblical English such as King James you will find close word in meaning or one to use as a synonym.
The only word that some Christians scholars had found was the word Himda witch was the translation for the word parakletos and that to describe a person or at least that what we have on our hands so far. Parakletos translated as a comforter or like what is found in the encyclopedia Paraklete, the Holy Spirit that Christ promised to His disciples would take His place as their teacher and guide after He left them. 
But then some scholars duged in deep in the Greek language to find the link and the meaning of both Himda and Paraklete and found that it mean the praised one. 
Himda is praise or the name Muhammad witch was never used before in the history of names 
One priest named Abdull_Ahad Dawood declared his conversion to Islam after this discovery and wrote a book titled Muhammad in the Bible putting all the years of his priesthood in linking where Jesus promised of the Paraklete for coming. 
Yet until today we can’t find a proper and equivalent English word to AL_HAMDU~LILAH.


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## elroy

I believe "Praise be to God" is a very close, if not exact, translation.


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## ayed

Praise be to Allah
praise is due to Allah


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## freelancer

That is the close meaning of it but there is no exact meaning for it in english .
try to look it up in the dectionary

praise
exalt
deify

it is like they say in english:
beating around the bush


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## elroy

The monolingual definitions you provide hardly prove that there is no English equivalent.


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## Josh_

I agree that there is never an exact translation from one language to another, but there are very close equivalents. And "praise be to God" is as close as it gets.  No "laff wa-dawaraan" here.


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## mmeigooni

[Mod note: Thread merged with the previous one. Cherine]

As-Salamu Alaykum,

The following three images (attached) are works of Haji Noor Deen who is a master calligrapher that has a style that involves the unique fusion of Arabic and Chinese elements.

I believe that all three are renditions of "Alhamdulillah", but I am not certain. Can anyone confirm?

Thanks!


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## ayed

Welcome, mmeigooni, to the Arabic forum.
Yes, you've right..


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## Mahaodeh

No, only the first two are الحمد لله, I read the third one محمد.


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## apricots

Praise be to God.


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## thedriver51

Thanks God


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## elroy

apricots said:


> Praise be to God.





thedriver51 said:


> Thanks God  (This is not English.)


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## Jamal31

It can convey the meaning of thankfulness to God, though.


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## elroy

Lots of things can convey meaning.  That wasn't the question.  The question was how to _translate_ the phrase, which assumes correct target-language forms.


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## Mazhara

*الحمد لله
*
It is a complete sentence. It occurs in Grand Qur'aan 23 times: (1)01:02(2)6:01(3)6:45(4)7:43(5)10:10(6)14:39(7)16:75 (8)17:111(9)18:01(10)23:28 (11)27:15(12)27:59(13)27:93 (14)29:63(15)30:25(16)34:01 (17)35:01(18)35:34(19)37:182 (20)39:29(21)39:74(22)39:75(23)40:65=23

The prepositional phrase relates to the elided predicate which can be estimated from the prefixed Preposition  لِ --It is for:الاختصاص i.e. specifying something exclusively for and indicating exclusive prerogative of its object Noun which is the Proper Noun Allah the Exalted in this phrase.

الحمد The prefixed definite article is of the type:الْجِنْسِيَّةُ لأِسْتِغْرَاقِ الْجِنْسِيَّةِ denoting/ascribing to the suffixed noun universality - not bound to time-frame or event.

This sentence can thus be rendered as:

The Infinite Glory and Praise stands specified eternally and exclusively for Allah the Exalted.

The notion of Root ح م د in English is portrayed by the semantic field "praise":

Ayah 1:2-4 one simple sentence


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## bearded

Mazhara said:


> The Infinite Glory and Praise stands specified eternally and exclusively for Allah the Exalted


Should a non-muslim (a non-believer in Allah), for example a European, use the phrase _alHamdulillah _when speaking Arabic, or would it be a scandal (blasphemy) to Arab/muslim ears?


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## momai

bearded man said:


> Should a non-muslim (a non-believer in Allah), for example a European, use the phrase _alHamdulillah _when speaking Arabic, or would it be a scandal (blasphemy) to Arab/muslim ears?


No, it's ok to use it. Alhamdulillah is pretty much the equivalent of "thanks god" in English and "Gott sei Dank" in German.


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## eskandar

bearded man said:


> Should a non-muslim (a non-believer in Allah), for example a European, use the phrase _alHamdulillah _when speaking Arabic, or would it be a scandal (blasphemy) to Arab/muslim ears?


Non-Muslim Arabic speakers (Christians and Jews) use this expression all the time. There's nothing wrong with it. "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for God and non-Muslims use it as well.

@momai : that should be "thank God" in English, not *"thanks god."


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## momai

@eskandar Right,thanks.


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## bearded

Thanks for replying to my question, momai and eskandar.


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