and strength is an attribute by which a strong person is able to act without weakness.

His statement, “except through Allah”: the preposition denotes seeking His aid. It is as though the author is seeking Allah Most High’s help in making the matter easy for him.

“He is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.”

His statement, “He is sufficient for us”: the pronoun “He” refers to Allah, and hasb means “that which suffices.” Whoever puts his trust in Allah, then Allah is sufficient for him, as He Most High says:

“And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then He is sufficient for him.” [al-Talaq 65:3]

Whoever does not put his trust in Him, Allah is not sufficient for him; rather, he is left to the one upon whom he has placed his trust.

His statement, “and He is the best Disposer of affairs”: wakil is the subject. The grammarians say that the expression niʿma requires a subject and the entity being praised. Here, the latter is omitted, and the intended meaning is: Allah is the best Disposer of affairs.

The wakil is the one to whom a matter is entrusted. Thus, our entrusting our affairs to Allah is an entrusting born of poverty and need, for all preparation and support come from Him, just as bringing into existence comes from Him.

A parallel to this in the Quran is Allah Most High’s statement:

“Those to whom people said, ‘Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ But it merely increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.’” [Al ʿImran]

Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Abraham, peace be upon him, said it when he was cast into the Fire” (1), in order to ward off what was feared and to seek what was desired—namely, deliverance.