—exalted is He—:

“So whoever wills may take a path to his Lord.”

“But you do not will unless Allah wills. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.”

“He admits whom He wills into His mercy; but for the wrongdoers He has prepared a painful punishment.”

And He said:

“So whoever wills may heed it.”

“But they will not heed it unless Allah wills. He is the One to be feared and the One who grants forgiveness.”

A person who places his hope in a created being seeks with his heart what he wants from that being, yet that being is powerless to provide it. Moreover, this is part of the association of partners with Allah that He does not forgive. Thus, among the manifestations of His perfect grace and kindness toward His believing servants is that He prevents them from attaining their aims through associating partners with Him, so that He may turn their hearts toward His oneness. Then, if the servant worships Him alone, he attains happiness in this world and the Hereafter.

But if he is among those described in His words:

“When harm touches man, he calls upon Us, lying on his side, sitting, or standing. But when We remove his harm, he carries on as though he had never called upon Us concerning the harm that afflicted him. Thus, what the transgressors used to do has been made appealing to them.”

And in His words:

“When harm befalls you at sea, those you invoke vanish from your thoughts, except Him. But when He delivers you safely to land, you turn away. Man is ever ungrateful.”

Then whatever realization of Allah’s oneness he had attained becomes evidence against him.

Likewise, Allah, glorified is He, established His case against the polytheists who acknowledge that He is the Creator of everything, yet associate partners with Him rather than worship Him alone, without partner. The Most High said:

“Say, ‘To whom belong the earth and everyone upon it, if you know?’”

“They will say, ‘To Allah.’ Say, ‘Will you not then take heed?’”