distress, he calls upon Us, lying on his side, sitting, or standing. But when We relieve his distress, he goes on as though he had never called upon Us to remove the distress that afflicted him.”

Another group may intend to obey Allah and His Messenger, yet fail to rely fully upon Him and seek His help. They are rewarded for their good intentions and obedience, but are left without aid in their pursuits because they have not truly sought Allah’s help and relied upon Him. Thus, a person of this kind is afflicted at times with weakness and anxiety, and at other times with self-admiration. If he fails to attain the good he seeks, it is because of his weakness, and he may become anxious. If he attains what he seeks, he looks to himself and his own strength, becoming self-admiring. He may also become impressed with his own condition and assume that he will attain his goal, only to be left without aid.

Allah Most High said:

“And on the day of Hunayn, when your great numbers pleased you, yet they availed you nothing; the earth, vast as it was, became straitened for you, and then you turned and fled.”

The passage continues to His words:

“Then, after that, Allah turns in mercy to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

People often combine showing off with self-admiration. Showing off is a form of associating created beings with Allah, while self-admiration is a form of associating oneself with Him. This is the condition of the arrogant person. The one who shows off does not truly fulfil His words:

“You alone we worship,”

while the self-admiring person does not truly fulfil His words:

“And You alone we ask for help.”

Whoever truly fulfils His words, “You alone we worship,” frees himself from showing off; and whoever truly fulfils His words, “And You alone we ask for help,” frees himself from self-admiration. The well-known hadith states:

“Three things bring ruin: avarice that is obeyed, desire that is followed, and a person’s admiration of himself.”