How to spell Alhamdulillah: every version people type
alhamdulilah, alhamdullilah, Alhamdulillah. One Arabic phrase, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, meaning all praise is due to Allah.
The answer
alhamdulilah is a common spelling of Alhamdulillah. It means all praise is due to Allah. Arabic writes it الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, one fixed spelling, while English writes it many ways because the transliteration is done by ear. Every version below means exactly the same thing.
Arabic writes this phrase one way. English writes it dozens of ways, because English spellings of it are written by ear rather than copied from a rule. Every spelling below refers to the same three Arabic words and carries the same meaning.
Every spelling of Alhamdulillah, and what each one means
alhamdulilah
Alhamdulilah is a common spelling of Alhamdulillah. It means "all praise is due to Allah" and is said to give thanks, after eating, after good news, or when asked how you are.
Why people write it this way. The Arabic has a doubled l, written with a shadda over the lam in لِلَّهِ. English speakers rarely hear a doubled consonant as two sounds, so one l gets dropped in writing.
alhamdullilah
Alhamdullilah is a spelling of Alhamdulillah, meaning "all praise is due to Allah". It is one of the most common written forms, and it is understood exactly the same way as the standard spelling.
Why people write it this way. The doubled l is heard, but placed one syllable too early. The doubling belongs to lillah, not to dul.
al ham du lillah
Al ham du lillah is Alhamdulillah written out syllable by syllable. It means "all praise is due to Allah". The four parts are al (the), hamd (praise), du (the case ending), lillah (to Allah).
Why people write it this way. People break the phrase into spoken syllables when they are learning to say it, then type what they broke apart. The Arabic is two words, not four.
alhamdulilahi
Alhamdulilahi is Alhamdulillah with the following word's vowel attached. It means "all praise is due to Allah". The extra i appears because the full Qur'anic verse continues into Rabbil Alamin.
Why people write it this way. Arabic links words in recitation, so the genitive ending on lillahi is voiced when something follows. Heard in isolation it sounds like part of the word.
hamdulillah
Hamdulillah is Alhamdulillah with the opening al dropped. It means "praise be to Allah" and is used in exactly the same situations, especially in spoken Arabic dialects and in casual messages.
Why people write it this way. Spoken Arabic swallows the definite article at the start of a phrase. It is not an error so much as speech written down.
hamdullah
Hamdullah is a shortened spoken form of Alhamdulillah, meaning "praise be to Allah". It is heard across Turkish, Levantine and North African speech and carries the same sense of thanks.
Why people write it this way. Both the opening al and the internal vowel collapse in fast speech, leaving two syllables where Arabic has five.
alhadulilah
Alhadulilah is a misspelling of Alhamdulillah, meaning "all praise is due to Allah". The m is missing from hamd, which is the word for praise itself.
Why people write it this way. The m in hamd sits between two consonants and is easy to lose when typing quickly, particularly on a phone keyboard.
alhambulillah
Alhambulillah is a misspelling of Alhamdulillah, meaning "all praise is due to Allah". The correct middle word is hamd, with a d, not hamb.
Why people write it this way. The Arabic د after م is a light sound, and an English ear expects the familiar mb pairing found in words like number.
alhumdulillah
Alhumdulillah is a spelling of Alhamdulillah, meaning "all praise is due to Allah". The vowel in the second syllable is an a in Arabic, though many people hear it as a u.
Why people write it this way. The Arabic fatha is short and, in some regional pronunciations, sits close to the English u in but.
alhamdu in arabic
Alhamdu in Arabic is written الْحَمْدُ. It means "the praise", and with lillah after it the full phrase الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ means "all praise is due to Allah".
Why people write it this way. People often want the script rather than the meaning, usually to write it or to check a tattoo, calligraphy or a message.
Which spelling of Alhamdulillah is correct?
In Arabic, one: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. In English, none is official, because English has no standard body for transliterating Arabic and several of the sounds have no English letter. Writing alhamdulilah is not a mistake in the way a misspelled English word is a mistake. It is one reasonable attempt at writing down a sound that English does not contain.
If you want the most accurate written form, use the Arabic. If you want the most widely recognised English form, use Alhamdulillah.
Full meaning, usage and sources: Alhamdulillah meaning. How to say it out loud: how to pronounce Alhamdulillah.
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