An Introduction: The Universal Need for Allah

The servant—indeed every living being, in fact every creature apart from Allah—is poor and in need: he must secure what benefits him and ward off what harms him. For the living, benefit belongs to the realm of bliss and pleasure, while harm belongs to the realm of pain and torment. Thus he is always in need of two things:

1. The sought-after, intended, and beloved goal from which he derives benefit and delight;
2. The aid that enables him to obtain that goal and prevents the arrival of what he dislikes.

These two are distinct—the effective cause and the final end—and from them arise four matters:

1. A beloved entity whose existence is desired;
2. A hated, detested entity whose non-existence is desired.