When he rose at night, he would say:

“O Allah, Lord of Gabriel, Michael, and Isrāfīl, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen! You judge between Your servants concerning that over which they differed. Guide me, by Your permission, to the truth concerning which people differ. Indeed, You guide whom You will to a straight path.”

He and his Companions would chant:

“O Allah, were it not for You, we would not have been guided,
Nor given charity, nor prayed.
So send down tranquillity upon us,
And make our feet firm if we meet the enemy.”

This holds for knowledge just as it does for the will in matters of action. The servant depends upon Allah to make faith beloved to him and disbelief hateful to him. Otherwise, he may know the truth without loving or desiring it, and thus be among those who stubbornly reject and deny it.

Allah Most High says:

“They denied them, though their souls were convinced of them, out of injustice and arrogance.”

And He says:

“Those to whom We have given the Scripture recognize him as they recognize their own sons.”

Just as a person depends upon Allah and needs His assistance in the deeds he performs—for there is no power or strength except through Him—so too does he depend upon Him in the knowledge he acquires. Nevertheless, no one can plead any argument against Allah to justify neglecting the means He has commanded through which beneficial knowledge and righteous action are attained.

But the issue lies in