(1) Abd al-Razzaq narrated to me from Bakkar ibn ‘Ad Allah from Wahb, who said: I read in certain books and found God Almighty saying: “O son of Adam, how unjust you are toward Me: you remember Me but forget yourself; you call upon Me yet flee from Me! My good descends toward you while your evil ascends to Me, and a noble angel remains sent to you for your sake. O son of Adam, the dearest act to Me and the one by which you draw closest to Me is that you are pleased with what I have apportioned for you, and the most hateful act toward Me and the furthest from Me is that you are displeased with what I have apportioned for you. O son of Adam, obey Me in what I have commanded, and do not teach Me what would benefit you, for I know My own creation and I know best your need, which humbles you. I honor those who honor Me, and abase those who turn away from My command. I do not judge by the right of My servant until the servant judges by My right.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4: 27.) (2) Wahb said: “I read ninety-nine books of the Lord—seventy (or seventy-nine) of which are manifest in the two books [Qur’an and Sunnah], and twenty known only to a few—and I found in all of them that whoever entrusts his own will in matters of divine decree has disbelieved.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4: 24.) (3) He also said: “No one should suppose that God has apportioned sustenance unevenly or diversified it unjustly. If a person finds any deficiency in his provision, let him draw nearer to God rather than say, ‘Had God known my situation, He would have changed it.’ How could He be unaware of what He created and decreed? Does man not see His providence in other respects—bodies, wealth, colors, intellects, character—where people differ? If God has distinguished people in these, it is not extraordinary that one should excel another in livelihood or sustenance, nor that one should excel in forbearance, knowledge, intelligence, or religion. Does man not know that what sustained him in the first three stages of life was granted without his effort and that he will be sustained in the fourth? The first stage is his time in the mother’s womb, where he is created and provided for without any wealth of his own, in security, free from heat, cold, pain, or sorrow, with no hands to grasp, feet to move, or tongue to speak—but God still brought him His provision in the best form. Then He willed to transfer him to the second stage, granting him sustenance from his mother—sufficient and enriching him—without any agency, power, or effort of his own, purely by God’s grace and bounty. Then He willed a third stage, granting him sustenance through his parents’ earnings, placing compassion in their hearts so that they prefer him over themselves, nourishing him with the best food they can provide, even though he offers them no assistance. When he reaches understanding, he tells himself that his provision comes by his own skill, earnings, and efforts. Then, in the fourth stage, he falls into ill thought concerning his Lord—neglecting divine commands in seeking livelihood, and competing with others for more wealth—weakening his certainty and faith, filling his heart with poverty and fear of God even amid abundance, leading to a deadening of the heart and loss of reason. Were man to reflect and understand, he would know that only the One who enriched and provided for him in the first three stages can suffice him in the fourth; he would have no excuse except God’s mercy. For man is full of doubt, his judgement and knowledge fall short of God’s, and if he reflected until he understood, and understood until he knew, he would recognize God’s sign: He who created, then provided for His creation, and decreed for what He determined.” (Narrated by Abu Nu‘aym in al-Hilya, vol. 4: 25.) (4) ‘Ata al-Khurasani reported: I met Wahb on the road and said, “Relate to me briefly a hadith that I may preserve here.” He said: “God revealed to Dawud (peace be upon him): ‘By My Might and Majesty, no servant of Mine seeks victory through Me against any creature without My knowing his intention, although the seven heavens and all within them and the seven earths and all within them conspire against him—unless I grant him an opening and a way out. By My Might and Majesty, no servant of Mine seeks protection in any created being instead of Me without My knowing his intention, unless I sever the means of the heavens…’” (Text incomplete.)