alone in more than one passage. A report states: ‘Whoever wishes to be the strongest of people should place his trust in Allah, and whoever wishes to be the wealthiest should place greater trust in what is in Allah’s hand than in what is in his own.’” End quote.1

There is no doubt that the most beneficial and excellent supplication a servant can make is to ask Allah for help in attaining His good pleasure and for success in obeying Him. This is what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught Muādh ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, whom he loved. He said: “O Muādh, by Allah, I love you. So do not forget to say after every prayer: ‘O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You, and worship You well.’” This is an expression of seeking aid, just like the words “There is no might or power except through Allah”: it is a plea for Allah’s aid in achieving the best of all ends and the loftiest of all aims—worshipping Allah, Glorified is He, for which He brought creation into existence and for which they were created. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, therefore said: “I reflected upon the most beneficial supplication and found it to be asking for help in attaining His good pleasure. I then found it in al-Fātiha: ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.’”2

O Allah, You alone we worship; to You we pray and prostrate; toward You we strive and hasten in service. We hope for Your mercy and fear Your punishment. There is no might or power except through You. Do not leave us to ourselves for even the blink of an eye—or anything less than that. You are the Lord of the worlds and the God of the first and the last. There is no god but You. We seek Your forgiveness and repent to You.