There is no doing without Allah, exalted is He, for even the blink of an eye. Whoever imagines himself self-sufficient—independent of Allah for so much as a blink—has fallen into disbelief and become one of the doomed. Allah becomes angry and pleased, yet not in any way resembling the emotions of created beings.

Rather, He—glorified be He—administers every affair alone and sets it in motion according to His wisdom. Allah, majestic and exalted, is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy, while all creatures are destitute before Him; none of them can dispense with Him. The Most High says, “O mankind, you are the ones in need of Allah, whereas Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy” [Fāṭir: 15].

Thus no one can do without Allah, even if he possessed the dominion of the whole world: kings are needy before Allah, and so are the wealthy. Not a single being is independent of Him—not the angels who are near to Him nor anyone beneath them in the order of creation. Whoever claims that he is free of need for Allah has disbelieved and departed from the religion. It is therefore incumbent upon the servant to lay bare his weakness before Allah and not be deluded by the strength, health, or wealth he enjoys, for every matter lies in Allah’s hand, and independence from Him is impossible.

Among Allah’s active attributes is that He becomes angry and that He is pleased. The Exalted says: “The foremost pioneers of the Emigrants and the Helpers and those who followed them with excellence—Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him” [Al-Tawbah: 100]. Indeed, Allah is pleased with His servants; He, Most High, also says: “But approval from Allah is greater” [Al-Tawbah: 72].