so if he perceives that the beloved can secure what he seeks, he seeks his help; otherwise, he does not. There are thus three possibilities: someone may be loved without being sought for help, sought for help without being loved, or both.

If it is understood that, at every moment and in every circumstance, a servant must have an ultimate object that he seeks—his deity—and an ultimate source from which he seeks help—his source of help, the one to whom he turns in seeking help and in worship—then it becomes clear that His words:

“You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.”

are comprehensive and all-encompassing, from beginning to end, leaving nothing outside their scope. The categories therefore become four.

A person may worship someone other than Allah and seek his help—even though he is a Muslim—for associating partners with Allah in this community is more hidden than the creeping of ants.

Or he may worship Allah while seeking help from someone else. This is the case with many religious people: they intend to obey Allah and His Messenger and to worship Him alone, without any partner, yet their hearts submit to those whom they perceive as the source of their support, provision, and guidance, whether kings, wealthy people, or shaykhs.

Or he may seek Allah’s help—even though he worships someone else. This is the case with many who experience spiritual states, possess power, or wield inward or outward authority, and with people of unveiling and extraordinary influence. They seek His help, rely upon Him, ask Him, and turn to Him for refuge; yet their aim is something other than what Allah and His Messenger have commanded, and other than following His religion and the revealed law with which Allah sent His Messenger.

The fourth category consists of those who worship none but Him and seek help from none but Him.

This fourfold classification is also mentioned later. At times, however, it is based on worship and seeking help, and at other times on the one whose help is sought. Here it is based on the one worshipped and the one whose help is sought, to show that every servant must have an object of worship and a source of help. Later, it is based on worshipping Allah and seeking His help, for people fall into four categories in this regard.