Alhamdulillah: saying thank you to Allah
We say Alhamdulillah to thank Allah for everything, big and small, and even when things do not go our way.
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اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ Alhamdulillah All praise is for Allah
When things do not go the way we wanted اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ Alhamdulillahi ala kulli hal All praise is for Allah in every situation
To someone who sneezes and says Alhamdulillah يَرْحَمُكَ اللّٰهُ Yarhamukallah May Allah have mercy on you
The sneezer's reply to Yarhamukallah يَهْدِيكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَكُمْ Yahdikumullahu wa yuslihu balakum May Allah guide you and set your affairs right
The story
Little Raiha gets her milk, her favourite biscuit and a sunny spot by the window, and takes it all without a word, with Noor the cat padding after her. Yusuf and Mama explain that Alhamdulillah is how we thank Allah, who gave the milk and the cow and the sun, and Raiha tries it on everything she finds. Then it rains on her sunny spot, and Maryam teaches the harder part: Alhamdulillah for the rain too, because the lemon tree is drinking. Baba's sneeze shows that even a sneeze is a chance to remember Allah.
What your child learned
- Alhamdulillah means all praise is for Allah. It is how we thank Allah, who gave the milk, the cow and the sun, not only the person who handed it to us.
- We say it after we eat, when something good happens, and when we sneeze. Every single thing is a gift from Allah, so there is nothing we cannot say it for, and Allah promises in the Quran that if we are grateful, He will give us more.
- When things do not go our way, we say Alhamdulillahi ala kulli hal, all praise is for Allah in every situation. The rain on Raiha's sunny spot is what the lemon tree drinks.
- When someone sneezes and says Alhamdulillah, we answer Yarhamukallah, may Allah have mercy on you, and they reply Yahdikumullahu wa yuslihu balakum, may Allah guide you and set your affairs right.
Talk about it at dinner
- What did Raiha forget to say after her milk and biscuit? Who gave her the milk?
- What did Maryam say when it rained on Raiha's sunny spot? Why was the rain a good thing?
- What do we say when Baba sneezes, and what does Baba say back?
Try this week
Pick one moment each day this week, perhaps after dinner, when everyone names one thing to say Alhamdulillah for. When something goes wrong, a spilled cup or a rainy afternoon, say Alhamdulillahi ala kulli hal together, as Maryam did.
Print and do
The free pack for this episode: a colouring page of the scene, the fridge cards with the phrase, and Raiha's sticker chart for the habit of the week. Three pages, as a PDF to print at home.
Download A4 (846 KB) US Letter
More to print from the same art, including the colouring book and the phrase posters, is in the shop.
Where it comes from
The teaching in this episode rests on these sources. The links open quran.com and sunnah.com, where you can read each one in Arabic and English.
- Saying Alhamdulillah after eating: Tirmidhi 3458 (hasan)
- Alhamdulillah after sneezing, and the replies: Sahih al-Bukhari 6224
- Alhamdulillah in every situation: Ibn Majah 3803 (hasan)
- Gratitude increases blessings: Quran 14:7
In this episode
- 0:00 Welcome
- 0:03 Raiha forgets something
- 1:04 What Alhamdulillah means
- 2:00 Noor's sunny spot
- 2:13 Rain!
- 3:23 Baba sneezes
- 4:15 The Alhamdulillah song
- 4:52 Goodbye
From the same episode
- Bismillah and Alhamdulillah! Two Episodes, a longer sitting (from Sunday 8 November).
- Bismillah, Alhamdulillah and Salam! Three Episodes, a longer sitting (from Sunday 15 November).
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