Ch 37 — Initial Hamd (Praise), Ultimate Hamd

Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.

Contents (44 chapters)

1. Foreword
2. Ch 1 — The Majesty of God in the Vast Universe
3. Ch 2 — The Consciousness in Human Nature of God's Existence
4. Ch 3 — The Omnipotent God and Helpless Man
5. Ch 4 — Glorification of God
6. Ch 5 — Consciousness in Nature
7. Ch 6 — Limitless Majesty of God
8. Ch 7 — Relationship with God
9. Ch 8 — Two Aspects of God-Realization
10. Ch 9 — The Importance of the Fear of God
11. Ch 10 — Loving God the Most
12. Ch 11 — Love, Obedience
13. Ch 12 — Love of God
14. Ch 13 — Closeness to God
15. Ch 14 — Two Levels of Realization (Maarifah)
16. Ch 15 — Making God One's Supreme Concern
17. Ch 16 — Submission to God
18. Ch 17 — Acknowledgement of God
19. Ch 18 — Cause of the Failure to Love God
20. Ch 19 — Praise Be to God (Alhamdulillah)
21. Ch 20 — The Source of the Love of God
22. Ch 21 — The Price of the Love of God
23. Ch 22 — Strong, Emotional Attachment to God
24. Ch 23 — Real Love, Relative Love
25. Ch 24 — Two Categories of Paradise
26. Ch 25 — Intense Love of God
27. Ch 26 — Strong Believer, Weak Believer
28. Ch 27 — People Worth Envying
29. Ch 28 — Sacred Narration
30. Ch 29 — A Case of Exceptional Mercy
31. Ch 30 — God in Our Hearts
32. Ch 31 — The Remembrance of God
33. Ch 32 — Two Lifestyles
34. Ch 33 — The Power of Helplessness
35. Ch 34 — Crying in Remembrance of God
36. Ch 35 — The Spirit of Religion
37. Ch 36 — God's Pleasure, Man's Pleasure
38. Ch 37 — Initial Hamd (Praise), Ultimate Hamd
39. Ch 38 — Thankfulness and Acknowledgement
40. Ch 39 — The High Degree of the Divine Experience
41. Ch 40 — The Feelings of Worship
42. Ch 41 — The Experience of God
43. Ch 42 — Seeking God's Pleasure
44. Ch 43 — In the Company of God

Initial Hamd (Praise), Ultimate Hamd p. 82

In this world a believer, due to his limitations, can engage only in the initial Hamd. In the unlimited world of God, a believer will have the opportunity to express the ultimate Hamd of God in eternal Paradise. p. 82

Rabindra Nath Tagore (died 1941) a famous Bengali writer, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. He wrote in one of his poems: “The whole life was spent in setting the strings of the Sitar, but I could not ultimately sing the song that I wanted to sing.” p. 82other source

Tagore said this in his particular poetic way. But this is more true of Hamd, Praise of God. When a believer discovers God, he spontaneously desires to praise God. He wants to sing the song of God’s majesty. But his time in this world comes to an end without the feeling that the glory of God has been extolled. The Quran urges the believer to say: “Praise be to God, the Lord of the universe.” The Quran (1:2) tells us that this Hamd (Praise) will again be expressed in the Hereafter. What is the difference between the two? In fact, in this world a believer, due to his limitations, can engage only in the initial Hamd. In the unlimited world of God, a believer will have the opportunity to express the ultimate Hamd of God. In present times, people are busy talking of their beloved personalities and other worldly subjects. In the Hereafter, only God and His glory will be talked about. It will be an ongoing discussion which will continue eternally with fresh aspects each time. It will never come to an end. At that time, a believer will feel that the new circumstances have given him the opportunity to tell the untold story of God, and continue to do so for all eternity. The present life is like a training period for producing this spiritual capability. In the Hereafter, he will be given the capacity to engage in unlimited Hamd (praise) of God. This is undoubtedly a manifestation of the greatest grace of God. This blessing will be given only to those who in their lives before death have proved their capability for this. p. 83original + quote