his soul, he is content with the provision Allah has allotted him.

Likewise, what he related from al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād—that he said to Bishr al-Hāfī, “Contentment is better than renouncing worldly pleasures, for the contented person does not wish for a station above his own”—is a fine saying. However, I doubt whether Bishr al-Hāfī heard directly from al-Fudayl.

Likewise, he related the following without a chain of transmission: “It is said that al-Shiblī said in al-Junayd’s presence, ‘There is no power nor strength except through Allah.’ Al-Junayd replied, ‘Your saying this expresses distress, and that distress comes from abandoning contentment with Allah’s decree.’” This is among the finest sayings.

Al-Junayd, may Allah be pleased with him, was the leader of the Sufi community and among its finest teachers, guides in proper conduct, and correctors of faults. This expression is a plea for help, not an affirmation that we belong to Allah and to Him we return. Yet many people say it when calamities strike as though it were that affirmation, uttering it out of anguish rather than patience.