except through affirming Allah’s oneness, for he cannot do without it. If he does not attain it, he remains poor, needy, and tormented in his pursuit of what he has not attained. And Allah Most High “does not forgive that partners should be associated with Him.”

When seeking forgiveness accompanies affirming Allah’s oneness, the servant attains sufficiency and happiness, and what torments him is removed. There is no power or strength except through Allah. The servant always needs to put his trust in Allah and seek His help, just as he needs to worship Him. He must therefore remain constantly aware of his dependence upon Allah and his need for Him as the One he worships and the One who helps him. There is no power or strength except through Allah, and there is no refuge from Allah except in Him.

Allah Most High says:

“It is only Satan who makes you fear his allies.”

That is, he frightens you by means of his allies. This is the correct interpretation held by the majority, including Ibn ‘Abbās and others, and by linguists such as al-Farrā’ and others.

Ibn al-Anbārī said: “Our preferred interpretation of the verse is: ‘He makes you fear his allies.’ The Arabs say, ‘I gave the wealth,’ meaning, ‘I gave the people the wealth’; thus they omit the first object.”

I say: This is because Satan makes people fear his allies without qualification; he has no need to frighten some people by means of others. The first object is therefore omitted because it is not the focus.

Some commentators said: “He frightens his allies, the hypocrites.” The first interpretation, however, is more evident, because the verse was revealed in connection with their being made to fear the disbelievers: it was revealed specifically concerning someone who made the believers fear other people. Allah says:

“He makes you fear his allies, so do not fear them.”

The pronoun refers to Satan’s allies, concerning whom the preceding verse says:

“So fear them.”

Those who offered the second interpretation explained the verse in terms of its meaning: Satan frightens his own allies because he has authority over them. He continually instils fears in them, even if they possess great numbers and ample equipment. The believers, by contrast, put their trust in Allah, and the disbelievers do not frighten them. Alternatively, they may have meant the first object; that is, he frightens