How should a Muslim extol his Lord?
We extol our Lord by extolling His names and attributes, and our extolment of Him should lie within our hearts in the form of love for Him, acknowledgment of His magnificence, and being humbly submissive to Him.
“Whoever believes himself to be better than others and walks with a swaggering gait will meet Allah while He is angry with him.”
[Narrated by Ahmad; Sahīh (authentic)]
Moreover, we should extol Allah Almighty by our tongues and by remembering Him frequently.
{So glorify the name of your Lord, the Magnificent.}
[Surat al-Wāqi‘ah: 74]
And we should extol Him by our body organs, as we use them in worshiping and obeying Him. To extol Allah Almighty, we should obey Him and not disobey Him; remember Him and not forget Him; and give thanks to Him and not show ingratitude to Him.
Aspects of extolling Allah Almighty include extolling His messengers, angels, rituals, such as prayer, Zakah, fasting, Hajj, and ‘Umrah.
{This is so. And whoever honors the rituals of Allah, it is from the piety of the hearts.}
[Surat al-Hajj: 32]
Our extolment of Him also includes extolling His noble Book, which He describes as being magnificent:
{We have surely given you the seven oft-repeated verses and the great Qur’an.}
[Surat al-Hijr: 87]
And part of extolling Him is to extol His sanctities and the sanctities of the believers.
{Such [is the pilgrimage]; whoever honors the sacred rituals of Allah, it is best for him with his Lord...}
[Surat al-Hajj: 30]
Another aspect of extolling Him is not to give precedence to the speech of anyone, irrespective of his status, over the speech of Allah.
{O you who believe, do not decide [any matter of importance] before Allah and His Messenger, and fear Allah, for Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.}
[Surat al-Hujurāt: 1]
O You Who created this superb creation
and guarantee sustenance for all,
Your attributes are so sublime and magnificent
that we cannot extend enough praise to You.
Here I have come to You, having nothing but my trust in You with a regretful heart and tearful eyes.
Forgive the past sins of Your servant and enable him to do what is pleasing to You.
Your bounty is complete, indeed.
And I very much hope You will be Bountiful to me.
I implore Allah, the Magnificent, to make us among the pious who will win the gardens of bliss.
