As for whoever thinks that reliance upon Allah dispenses with the means He has commanded, he is misguided. This is like someone who thinks he can rely on the felicity or misery decreed for him without doing what Allah has commanded. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked about this very question. As reported in both Sahīh collections, he said:

“There is not one of you whose place in Paradise or Hell has not already been written.” He was asked, “O Messenger of Allah, should we not then abandon deeds and rely on what has been written?” He replied, “No. Act, for everyone will be enabled to do that for which he was created.”

Likewise, both Sahīh collections report that he was asked:

“Tell us about the deeds people perform and strive to accomplish: do they concern matters for which the pens have already dried and the scrolls have been rolled up?”

When he was asked, “Should we not then rely on what has been written?” he replied, “No. Act, for everyone will be enabled to do that for which he was created.”

He, peace and blessings be upon him, also explained that the means Allah has created and prescribed are themselves part of the divine decree. He was asked:

“Tell us about the healing recitations we seek, the protective measures we take, and the medicines we use: do they avert anything of Allah’s decree?” He replied, “They are part of Allah’s decree.”

Placing one’s trust in means is to associate partners with Allah, violating His oneness; denying that means have any causal role is a deficiency in reason; and turning away from the means Allah has commanded undermines the revealed law. A servant’s heart must therefore rely upon Allah, not upon any means. Allah will make available to him the means that benefit him in this world and the Hereafter. If the means are