Beneath the two prepositions “from” and “to” in this expression lies a profound secret of tawḥīd (monotheism). Fleeing to Him—glorified be He—implies singling Him out as the sole object of one’s quest and worship, together with every concomitant of worship: love, awe, repentance, reliance, and all the other stations of servitude. Thus the phrase encompasses the tawḥīd al-ilāhiyya (monotheism of divinity) (1) upon which (2) the summons of all the messengers—may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon them all (3)—was unanimously based.

As for (4) fleeing from Him to Him, it embodies the tawḥīd al-rubūbiyya (monotheism of Lordship), the affirmation of divine decree, and the certainty that every disliked or feared thing in the cosmos from which the servant takes flight exists solely by Allah’s will. Whatever (5) Allah wills comes to be, its existence necessitated by His will; whatever He does not will never occurs, its existence impossible for lack of His will. Accordingly, when the servant flees to Allah, he is in fact fleeing from something [to something] (6) that has arisen by Allah’s will and decree; in reality, then, he is fleeing from Allah to Allah.

Whoever grasps this as it ought to be grasped will understand the meaning of his—Allah bless him and grant him peace—statement: “I seek refuge in You from You” (7), and his statement: “There is no shelter and no escape from You except with You” (8). For it is not