Hamd (praise) is one of the forms of tasbīḥ (glorification) and tahlīl (proclamation of God's oneness). This is an outward act. Shukr (gratitude), sabr (patient endurance), and tafwīḍ (entrusting matters to Allah) are among its forms as well. This, in turn, is an inward act. For shukr is the opposite of kufr (disbelief); whereas hamd is the opposite of blame. Hamd is more general and more abundant, while shukr is more limited and specific. (Minhāj, 83)
Hamd is the hamd of hamd. This is the livāʾ al-hamd (the banner of hamd); since it gathers people under itself, it is the most perfect and most radiant of all forms of hamd, and the highest in rank. It is a sign of the rank of dominion (mulk). The fact that the hamd of hamd encompasses all forms of hamd is likewise so. For this is a sound hamd in which ihtimāl (possibility), doubt, and suspicion have no place. For it originates from His very essence. It is, in itself, a banner. If you say about a person, 'He is generous,' or you think to yourself, 'He is generous,' it is possible either to affirm or to deny this praise. If you receive a gift from that person through ihsān (spiritual excellence), you attribute the gift to him, along with his generosity. No other possibility can be included in this. This is the meaning of the hamd of hamd, and it has been expressed as livāʾ al-hamd. It is called a banner (livāʾ) because it encompasses all forms of hamd. Not even a single hamd is outside of it. In this way, hamd occurs from every possessor of hamd; this is the ultimate outcome. Understand! Because it gathers all forms of hamd, its shadow covers all those who praise. (Futūḥāt, II, 87)
Hamd is a general form of praise unless it is restricted (taqyīd) by any specific circumstance or by the speaker. There are three levels of hamd: the hamd of hamd, the hamd of the one being praised for himself, and the hamd of another for him. From here, a fourth level is reached. Then, in the case where something praises itself, and in the case where another praises it, there are two aspects: it is either to praise by the attribute of action, or by the attribute of transcendence (tanzīh). At this point, the third hamd, which is the hamd of hamd, is the complete realization of the two forms of hamd. For if it were not so, it would not be possible for it to be hamd. (Futūḥāt, II, 397)