First, the easy part: “ḥamd” just means praise.

When you praise someone, you say nice things about something good they did on purpose.

• You praise your friend for sharing their snack (they chose to do that). ✅
• You don’t really “praise” your friend for having black hair — they didn’t do anything, they were just born that way. ❌

So the rule is: you praise people for the good things they CHOOSE to do.

(There are a few other fancy words — thanāʾ, madḥ, nithāʾ — that are just cousins of “praise.” Skip them. They don’t matter for the main idea.)

Now the puzzle. Read this slowly:

We praise God for being super smart (He knows everything) and super strong (He can do anything).

But here’s the confusing part:

God didn’t choose to become smart. He didn’t study. He didn’t practice. He has just always known everything, forever and ever.

So someone asked: “Wait — if praise is for things you CHOOSE to do… and God didn’t choose to be smart, He just always was… then how can we praise Him for it?”

That’s the puzzle. 🤔

Now the answer. This is the cool part:

Think about a person who is just naturally tall. Did they do anything special to be tall? No. So being tall isn’t really impressive — they got lucky.

For humans, “I didn’t choose it, I was just born this way” usually means it’s no big deal.

But for God, it’s the OPPOSITE.

God being smart “without choosing” means something amazing: He’s so perfect that He could NEVER be any other way. He doesn’t need to learn. He doesn’t need to try. He just is perfect — always.

So:

• A human not choosing something = kind of a weakness 👎
• God not choosing something = actually a strength 👍

The simplest version of the whole thing:

You become smart by studying. That means you used to be less smart. 📖

God never had to study. He was always perfectly smart. 💡

Which is better? God’s way is better — and that’s exactly why we praise Him for it.