Alhamdulillah in Arabic: Meaning and How to Write It
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
al-ham-du lil-LAAH (the h in hamd is a breathy h from the throat)
Alhamdulillah is written ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ in Arabic and means "all praise belongs to Allah" or "praise be to Allah". Muslims say it to thank Allah in good times, after finishing something, after sneezing, and also as a way of accepting hard times with trust.
What the words mean
The phrase has two parts. Al-hamd means praise, and the word al (the) gives it the sense of all praise, or praise in full. Lillah means for Allah or belonging to Allah. Put together, the phrase says that every kind of praise ultimately belongs to Allah.
Hamd is a little different from shukr, the usual word for thanks. Shukr is a response to a favor received, while hamd also includes praising Allah for who He is, whether or not you have just received something. That is why Alhamdulillah fits both happy moments and difficult ones.
Writing and pronouncing it
The phrase is written as two words: الحمد and لله. The first h, the letter ha (ح), is made deep in the throat with a breathy sound, a bit like breathing on glasses to clean them. It is different from the soft h (ه) at the very end of Allah.
In transliteration you will see Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillaah, Al-hamdu lillah and Elhamdulillah. They are all the same phrase.
Where it appears in the Quran
Alhamdulillah is the first phrase after the Bismillah in the Quran. Surah Al-Fatihah opens at 1:2 by praising Allah, Lord of the Worlds, so every Muslim says it many times a day in prayer.
Four other surahs also open with it: Al-An'am (6:1), Al-Kahf (18:1), Saba (34:1) and Fatir (35:1). It is also described as words of the people of Paradise. In 10:10 their prayer ends with praise of Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and in 35:34 they praise Allah for removing all sorrow from them.
When Muslims say it
People say Alhamdulillah when they hear good news, after eating, on waking, and when someone asks how they are. It is also said after sneezing; a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari teaches that the person who sneezes says Alhamdulillah and the one who hears replies Yarhamuk Allah, may Allah have mercy on you.
Many Muslims also say Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal, praise be to Allah in every situation, when things are hard. It is a way of saying that they trust Allah even when they do not understand what is happening. In 14:7 the Quran links gratitude with increase, which many people remember when they say it.
After the prayer
A hadith in Sahih Muslim describes saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar thirty-three times each after the obligatory prayers. Many Muslims keep this habit, counting on their fingers or with prayer beads.
Verses mentioned here
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿٢﴾
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَىٰ عَبۡدِهِ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ وَلَمۡ يَجۡعَل لَّهُۥ عِوَجَاۜ ﴿١﴾
Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book to His servant, and allowed in it no distortion.
دَعۡوَىٰهُمۡ فِيهَا سُبۡحَٰنَكَ ٱللَّهُمَّ وَتَحِيَّتُهُمۡ فِيهَا سَلَٰمࣱۚ وَءَاخِرُ دَعۡوَىٰهُمۡ أَنِ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿١٠﴾
Their call therein is, “Glory be to You, our God.” And their greeting therein is, “Peace.” And the last of their call is, “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.”
وَإِذۡ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمۡ لَئِن شَكَرۡتُمۡ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمۡۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرۡتُمۡ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدࣱ ﴿٧﴾
And when your Lord proclaimed: “If you give thanks, I will grant you increase; but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is severe.”
Questions
What does Alhamdulillah mean in English?
All praise belongs to Allah, or praise be to Allah. People also use it simply to say thanks, in the sense of thanks be to Allah.
Is it correct to say Alhamdulillah when something bad happens?
Yes. Many Muslims say Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal, praise be to Allah in every situation, as an expression of patience and trust.
What do you say after someone says Alhamdulillah after sneezing?
You reply Yarhamuk Allah, may Allah have mercy on you, as taught in a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari.