the sower who, the stronger his expectation of a rich harvest, the more thickly he seeds his land; but when his hope wanes, he skimps on the sowing.

When Allah discloses Himself through the attributes of justice, vengeance, wrath, displeasure, and punishment, the commanding self is subdued. Its powers of lust, anger, frivolity, play, and craving for the forbidden either vanish or grow weak; the reins of its arrogance are drawn tight, and the mount receives its due share of fear, awe, and caution.

When He reveals Himself through the attributes of command and prohibition, covenant and counsel, the sending of messengers, the descent of the Scriptures, and the legislation of the sacred law, a force is stirred within the servant: the drive to comply and carry out His commands, to convey them, exhort one another to them, recall and remember them, affirm the reports, fulfill the requests, and avoid the prohibitions.

When He discloses Himself through the attributes of hearing, seeing, and knowledge, the servant’s sense of modesty is awakened. He is ashamed before his Lord to be seen in what He dislikes, to let Him hear what He dislikes, or to harbor in his secret heart what incurs His loathing. Consequently, his movements, words, and thoughts are all weighed on the scales of the Sharia, never left neglected or loosed under the sway of nature and caprice.

When He manifests Himself through the attributes of sufficiency, guardianship, attending to the interests of His servants, bringing their provisions to them, driving calamities away from them, supporting His allies, protecting them, and granting them His special company, the servant’s power of reliance awakens. He places his trust in Him, consigns all affairs to Him, and is content with Him in (1) everything He ordains for His servant and establishes him in—so long as it meets with His own good pleasure. Tawakkul (reliance) is a quality forged from the servant’s awareness of Allah’s sufficiency and His wise choice for the servant, from his trust in Him, and from his contentment with what Allah does to him and chooses for him.