[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
ٱلْحَمْدُ
([All] praise…)
Root حمد — to praise, commendation, gratitude · 63 times in the Quran
ٱلْحَمْدُword 1
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱلْ at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. The letter after it is a 'moon' letter — a letter not made in the same part of the mouth as ل — so the ل of the prefix keeps its own sound, both written and heard, resting with the sukūn ـْ (a small circle written above the letter): ٱلْحَمْدُ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. حَمْدُ names such a thing: 'All praises and thanks', from the root حمد: to praise, commendation, gratitude. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ٱلْحَمْدُ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes when it is the subject or main topic of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl written above the final letter. ٱلْحَمْدُ carries that ḍammah ـُ because 'praise' is what this whole statement is about: praise — is for Allah. L2 · R10
Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is the noun — the naming word — a sentence opens by talking about: its topic. It must typically be definite and stands in the nominative, marked by a ḍammah ـُ (a small curl written above the final letter) — and ٱلْحَمْدُ shows both signs: the definite prefix ٱلْ ('the') at its front and that ḍammah ـُ on its last letter. The rest of the sentence then tells us something about this topic: the praise — is for Allah. L6 · R2
The letters Alif and Lām before Ḥamd serve to encompass all types of thanks and appreciation for Allah — a statement Allah liked for Himself and loves to have repeated.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:2
لِلَّهِ
(…is [due] to Allāh,)
Root اله — god · 2,851 times in the Quran
لِلَّهِword 2
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لِ at the front of لِلَّهِ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'to/for' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the naming word after it into the genitive, the ending marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the letter — and لِلَّهِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L4 · R1
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea — and in Arabic this includes proper names. لَّهِ is a proper name: '(be) to Allah'. L1 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes after a preposition — a little word like 'in' or 'to' — and it is marked by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the letter. لَّهِ stands right after such a little word, so its final letter carries exactly that kasrah ـِ: لِلَّهِ. L2 · R12
All thanks are due purely to Allah — alone, not any of the objects worshipped instead of Him, nor any of His creation — for His innumerable favors and bounties, whose full amount only He knows.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:2
So far: “[All] praise is [due] to Allāh,”
رَبِّ
(…Lord…)
Root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector · 980 times in the Quran
رَبِّword 3
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. رَبِّ names such a thing: 'the Lord', from the root ربب: Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. رَبِّ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is a noun ending shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter — and رَبِّ ends with exactly that mark. It carries the same ending as ٱللَّهِ ('to Allah'), the word it renames, which stands in the genitive after the little word لِ ('to/for'). L2 · R12
Apposition (Badal) · بدلAn apposition is a second noun (naming word) that renames the noun before it to make it clearer, and it matches that noun in its case ending. رَبِّ ('Lord') renames ٱللَّهِ — praise is for Allah, that is, the Lord — and so it wears the same genitive kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter). L7 · R4
Ar-Rabb is the owner with full authority over his property — the master, the one with authority to lead. Used alone, the word Rabb is only for Allah, and it was reported that Ar-Rabb is Allah's Greatest Name.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:2
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ
(…of the worlds -)
Root علم — to know, knowledge · 854 times in the Quran
ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَword 4
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱلْ at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. The letter after it is a 'moon' letter — a letter not made in the same part of the mouth as ل — so the ل of the prefix keeps its own sound, both written and heard, resting with the sukūn ـْ (a small circle written above the letter): ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. عَٰلَمِينَ is such a naming word: 'of the universe', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. Even as a plural, ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is a masculine noun; its ending is the 'sound' plural ending Arabic reserves for masculine nouns. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more of something. The sound masculine plural carries its role in its ending — ـُونَ for the nominative (the 'subject form', with the ḍammah ـُ sound), ـِينَ for the accusative and genitive (the 'object' and 'of' forms); ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ closes with exactly such an ending: not one, but a whole group. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the 'after-of / after-preposition' family of endings a noun — a naming word — can wear; on most nouns it is shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. The sound masculine plural carries its role in its ending — ـُونَ for the nominative (the 'subject form', with the ḍammah ـُ sound), ـِينَ for the accusative and genitive (the 'object' and 'of' forms); ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ wears its genitive inside that shared plural ending. L2 · R7
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic says 'of' by chaining two nouns — two naming words — directly together: رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ reads 'the Lord — of the universe'. The second word of such a chain, the owner, always stands in the genitive — the after-'of' ending, usually a kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter) — and this plural wears that genitive inside its own plural ending instead. L5 · R5
Al-ʿĀlamīn is the plural of ʿālam — everything in existence except Allah, the different creations in the heavens and the earth, every generation of creation; ʿālam is related to ʿalāmah, 'sign', for every created thing is a sign testifying to its Creator and His Oneness.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:2
So far: “[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -”