Understanding Salat — Page 52
Understanding S al A t 52 the entire S al a t we are about to observe, and then we make the intention of beginning that S al a t with the praise of Allah. b. ‘and with Your praise I declare Your Holiness’ Since we are declaring the holiness of Allah, the implied verb can continue this subject of “holiness. ” Thus, we mean to say, “Holy are You, O Allah, and by praising You I declare your holiness. ” ( َ حْتُك َّ وَبِحَمْدِك َ سَب ) and by praising Thee I extol thy remoteness, or free- dom, from every impurity. . . َ حْتُك َّ سَب being understood ( Lane’s Lexicon, Root: حمد - Entry: ٌ حَمْد ). One says also, َ وَبِحَمْدِك َّ هُم ّٰ سُبْحَانَك َ ٱلل , meaning َ حْتُك َّ َ سَب حْتُك َّ بِجَمِيع ِ آلَئِك َ وَبِحَمْدِك َ سَب [i. e. I glorify Thee by enu- merating all thy benefits, and by the praising of Thee I glorify Thee]. ( Lane’s Lexicon, Root: سبح - Entry: ٌ سُبْحَان ) There are so many small weaknesses that we falsely attrib- ute to Allah Almighty without noticing. Were it not for the countless ways of praise that have been revealed to correct our concept of God, we would have fallen into all types of shirk. When we say, “Holy are You, O Allah, and by prais- ing You I declare Your holiness,” it is a statement of humil- ity. We say that we can only do true Tasb īh because of the Ta h m ī d that we have been taught. It is by means of the praise