two acts of willing (1): His willing that His servant act, and His willing to help him Himself. The servant has no way to act except through this will, and has no control over it (2), as Allah Most High says:

“But you cannot will unless Allah, Lord of all worlds, wills.” [al-Takwīr: 29]

If the servant possesses another spirit, whose relation to his own spirit is like that of his spirit to his body, he thereby seeks Allah’s willing to do for him what enables him to act. Otherwise, he is not receptive to the gift (3), nor does he have a vessel in which the gift can be placed (4). Whoever comes without a vessel returns deprived, and should blame no one but himself.

The point is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sought refuge from worry and grief, which are paired, and from helplessness and laziness, which are also paired. A servant’s failure to attain perfection and righteousness is either due to his inability to do so, which is helplessness, or to his being able but unwilling, which is laziness. These two qualities lead to the loss of every good and the occurrence of every evil. Among these evils is his failure to be of benefit through his bodily efforts, which is cowardice, and through his wealth, which is miserliness. This, in turn, leads to two forms of being overpowered: one rightfully, namely being overwhelmed (5) by debt; and the other wrongfully, namely being overpowered by men. All these evils are the fruit of helplessness and laziness.

Another example is his statement in the authentic hadith to the man against whom he had ruled. The man said, “Allah is sufficient for me, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” The Prophet replied, “Allah censures helplessness, but you must