"I praise God with praise"; whereas the interpretation in the statement of one who says: {All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds}, reciting the Surah of the Mother of the Qur'an, is not "I praise God," but rather the interpretation of that is what we described before: that all praises belong to God on account of His Godhood and His bestowal of blessings upon His creation with the blessings for which there is no equal in religion and worldly life, the immediate and the deferred.

For that reason and meaning, the reciters and scholars of the Ummah consistently agreed on reciting "praise" in the nominative case in {All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds}, rather than in the accusative case, which would lead to indicating that the meaning of its reciter is likewise: "I praise God with praise." If a reciter were to recite it in the accusative case, he would, in my view, be altering its meaning and deserving of punishment for reciting it as such, if he deliberately recited it in that manner while being aware of his error and the corruptness of his interpretation.

If someone says to us: What is the meaning of His statement "All praise is due to God"? Did God—exalted be His praise—praise Himself and extol Himself, then teach it to us so that we say that just as He said it and described Himself with it? If that is so, what is the meaning of His statement, exalted be His mention, then: {You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help}, when He, mighty is His mention, is the Worshipped, not a worshipper? Or is that from the speech of Gabriel or Muḥammad, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him? For in that case it would be invalidated that this is the Speech of God.

It is said: Rather, all of it is the Speech of God, exalted be His praise. However, He, majestic is His mention, praised Himself and extolled Himself with what He is worthy of, then taught that to His servants and obligated its recitation upon them as a test and trial for them. So He said to them: Say, {All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds}, and say, {You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help}. Thus His statement, {You alone we worship}, is among what He, majestic is His mention, taught them to say and to profess its meaning to Him; and that is connected to His statement, {All praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds}, as if He said: Say this and this.

If he says: Where is His statement "Say", such that the interpretation of that would be what you claimed? It is said: We have demonstrated in what has passed that it is the custom of the Arabs—when they know the place of a word,