a cause—namely, righteous action. He, glorified is He, is able to bring about the outcome without this cause, and He may bring it about through another cause.

Likewise, whoever abandons the prescribed means of securing benefits or warding off harm, whether commanded as an obligation or as a recommendation, undermines the revealed Law and departs from sound reason. This is where they went wrong: they abandoned the means they were commanded to take, thinking that this perfected their reliance upon Allah. Yet reliance upon Allah is coupled with worship in His words:

“So worship Him and rely upon Him.”

Worship consists in doing what has been commanded. Whoever abandons the prescribed worship while relying upon Allah is no better off than someone who worships Him without relying upon Him. Rather, both disobey Allah by abandoning part of what they have been commanded to do.

Reliance upon Allah includes relying upon Him to help one do what He has commanded, and relying upon Him to grant what lies beyond one’s own power. Seeking help concerns the performance of deeds, whereas reliance upon Allah is broader than that: it includes relying upon Him to secure benefit and ward off harm. Allah Most High says:

“If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them and had said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us. Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger. Indeed, to Allah we turn in hope.’”

And Allah Most High says:

“Those to whom people said, ‘The people have gathered against you, so fear them,’ but this only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs.’”

Whoever does not do what he has been commanded is not seeking Allah’s help in doing it. Thus, he has abandoned worship and seeking help to perform it, also abandoning reliance upon Allah in this respect. Another person relies upon Allah without doing what has been commanded; this is blameworthy helplessness. As related in Sunan Abī Dāwūd: “Two men took their dispute