Quran Universe
34:1

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِي لَهُۥ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَهُ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ فِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ ٱلۡخَبِيرُ

Alhamdu lillahi allathee lahu ma fee alssamawati wama fee alardi walahu alhamdu fee alakhirati wahuwa alhakeemu alkhabeeru

[All] praise is [due] to Allah, to whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, and to Him belongs [all] praise in the Hereafter. And He is the Wise, the Acquainted.

Word by word
  1. ٱلۡحَمۡدُAll praises
  2. لِلَّهِ(be) to Allah
  3. ٱلَّذِيthe One to Whom belongs
  4. لَهُۥthe One to Whom belongs
  5. مَاwhatever
  6. فِي(is) in
  7. ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِthe heavens
  8. وَمَاand whatever
  9. فِي(is) in
  10. ٱلۡأَرۡضِthe earth
  11. وَلَهُand for Him
  12. ٱلۡحَمۡدُ(are) all praises
  13. فِيin
  14. ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِۚthe Hereafter
  15. وَهُوَAnd He
  16. ٱلۡحَكِيمُ(is) the All-Wise
  17. ٱلۡخَبِيرُthe All-Aware
Saba · 34:1Makkah

All praise is His, here and in the Hereafter.

The Owner of everything is the One to thank

Whose is everything
the heavensall His
the earthall His
so
all praisenow and forever
Who gets the credit
me, my effort, luck
Allah, the GiverWise, All-Aware

Saba opens in Makkah, at a time when the Prophet's message ﷺ was met with mockery and taunts. It begins with praise. Ibn Kathir explains that all praise is His because He is the Giver to the people of this world and the next, and He will be praised for eternity.

You get the promotion, pass the exam, close the deal. The first words out of your mouth are about how hard you worked. All of it, the effort included, was His gift. Alhamdulillah is the true first word.

When something good happens, it is mainly because of what I did.

Everything belongs to Allah, so the praise for every good thing is His.

Try this

The next time something goes well today, say Alhamdulillah before you say anything else.

Related28:7092:13
Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ - يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا ۚ وَهُوَ الرَّحِيمُ الْغَفُورُ

(1. All praise is due to Allah, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. His is all praise in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware.)(2. He knows that which goes into the earth and that which comes forth from it, and that which descends from the heaven and that which ascends to it. And He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving.)

All Praise and the Knowledge of the Unseen belong to Allah Alone

Allah tells us that all praise belongs to Him alone in this world and in the Hereafter, because He is the Giver and Bestower who gives to the people of this world and the Hereafter, the Sovereign and Controller of all. Allah says:

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْأُولَىٰ وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ 

(And He is Allah; none has the right to be worshipped but He, all praise is due to Him (both) in the first (i.e., in this world) and in the last (the Hereafter). And for Him is the decision, and to Him shall you (all) be returned.)(28:70). Allah says:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ

(All praise is due to Allah, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth.) meaning, all of it is His dominion and is enslaved by Him and subject to His control, as Allah says:

وَإِنَّ لَنَا لَلْآخِرَةَ وَالْأُولَىٰ

(And truly, unto Us (belong) the last (Hereafter) and the first (this world))(92:13). Then Allah says:

وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ

(His is all praise in the Hereafter,) for He is the One Who will be worshipped forever and praised for eternity.

وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ

and He is the All-Wise, means, in all that He says and does, legislates and decrees.

الْخَبِيرُ 

the All-Aware. from Whom nothing at all is hidden or concealed. Malik narrated that Az-Zuhri said, He is All-Aware of His creation, All-Wise in His commands. Allah says:

يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا

(He knows that which goes into the earth and that which comes forth from it,) meaning, He knows the number of raindrops that sink into the depths of the earth, and the seeds that have been sown, and the things that are hidden in it, and He knows what comes forth from that, how many they are, how they grow and what they look like.

وَمَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ

(and that which descends from the heaven) means, of raindrops and provision, and what ascends into it, i.e., righteous deeds and other things.

وَهُوَ الرَّحِيمُ الْغَفُورُ

(And He is the Most Merciful, the Oft-Forgiving.) means, He is Most Merciful to His servants; He does not hasten to punish them, and He forgives the sins of those who repent to Him and put their trust in Him.