The shaykh, imam and eminent scholar Abū al-'Abbās Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah be pleased with him—was asked:

“What is the meaning of the saying of 'Alī—may Allah be pleased with him—‘No servant should place his hope in anyone but his Lord, nor fear anything but his sin’?”

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. This saying is reported from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him. It is among the finest, most eloquent and most comprehensive sayings.

Hope concerns good, whereas fear concerns evil. Evil only befalls a servant because of his sins, as Allah Most High said:

“Whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned, and He pardons much.”

And He Most High said:

“Wherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you are in lofty, fortified towers. If good befalls them, they say, ‘This is from Allah’; but if evil befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you.’ Say, ‘All is from Allah.’ What is the matter with these people that they can hardly understand what they are told?”

“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.”

Many people think that the good and evil mentioned in this verse refer to acts of obedience and disobedience.