to be nothing more than a partial cause, incapable of acting on its own.
No agency enjoys autonomous efficacy—free of dependence on other factors—except Allah, the One, the All-Compelling; therefore none but He should be hoped in or feared.
This is an incontrovertible proof that attaching hope or fear to anything other than Him is futile. Even if one were to suppose that a given cause could act independently, its very causality would still come from Him, not from itself; it possesses no inherent power by which to operate. For “there is no might nor power except with Allah.” He alone holds every form of might and every degree of power; the might and power for which a creature is either hoped in or feared in truth belong to Allah and are in His hand. How, then, can one fear or hope in a being that has neither might nor power?
Indeed, placing one’s fear or hope in a created being is itself a cause of deprivation and the descent of misfortune upon the person who does so. In direct proportion to your fear of anyone besides Allah will that person be given authority over you, and in direct proportion to your hope in other than Him will be your share of deprivation.
This is the condition of all creation, though most people remain unaware of it in both knowledge and practice. Whatever Allah wills must inevitably come to pass, and whatever He does not will can never occur, even if every creature were to join forces to make it happen.
Monotheism (tawḥīd) is the refuge of both His enemies and His allies.
For His enemies, it delivers them from the stresses and hardships of this world: “When they board the ship they call upon Allah, devoting the religion sincerely to Him; but when He delivers them safely to land, behold, they associate others with Him” (65) [al-ʿAnkabūt: 65].
As for His allies, He rescues them through it from the crises and tribulations of both this world and the Hereafter. Thus Jonah sought refuge in it, and Allah delivered him from those layers of darkness; likewise, the followers of the messengers sought refuge in it and were saved by it from the punishment that befell the polytheists in this world and from what has been prepared for them in