through the means you undertake with the intention of drawing near to Him.

What truly realizes reliance is to employ the means that Allah has commanded. Whoever abandons them invalidates his reliance, just as taking the means that lead to good is what gives substance to hope—without them, hope is no more than wishful thinking. In the same way, when someone abandons the means, his so-called reliance is nothing but incapacity, and his incapacity he calls reliance.

The secret and essence of reliance is that the heart depends on Allah alone. Directly using the means does not harm this reliance, provided the heart neither leans on them nor places its trust in them. Conversely, merely saying, “I rely on Allah,” brings no benefit when the heart is actually depending on something else. Reliance of the tongue is one thing; reliance of the heart is another—just as verbal repentance while the heart persists in sin is one thing, and heartfelt repentance even if the tongue is silent is another. Thus, a servant who declares, “I have relied on Allah,” while his heart leans on others, is like one who says, “I repent to Allah,” yet continues to commit the very sin.

Benefit

The ignorant complain about Allah to other people. This betrays profound ignorance of both the One complained of and the one complained to: had he truly known his Lord, he would never have complained about Him; and had he truly known people, he would never have complained to them.

One of the early believers saw a man confiding his poverty and dire need to another. He said to him, “My dear fellow! By Allah, all you have done is complain about the One who shows you mercy to someone who shows you none.”

In the same spirit it is said:
“If you complain to a son of Adam, you are only
complaining of the Most Merciful to one who shows no mercy.” (1)