and this is certainty concerning what has been decreed but has not yet occurred, for seeking help and placing one’s trust in Allah concern only the future. As for what has already occurred, the response is patience, submission, and contentment, as in the hadith narrated by ‘Ammār ibn Yāsir, may Allah be pleased with him, and traced back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“I ask You for contentment after Your decree has come to pass.”

Saying, “There is no might nor power except through Allah,” brings His help. For this reason, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prescribed it in response to the call to prayer. When the caller says, “Come to prayer,” the respondent says, “There is no might nor power except through Allah.” When he says, “Come to success,” the respondent says, “There is no might nor power except through Allah.”

The believer said to his companion:

“Why did you not say, when you entered your garden, ‘What Allah wills comes to pass; there is no power except through Allah’?”

For this reason, whoever fears the evil eye affecting something is instructed to say this. The expression “What Allah wills” means “What Allah wills comes to pass.” Thus, one does not consider oneself secure, but rather believes in divine decree and says, “There is no power except through Allah.”

In the hadith narrated by Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī, may Allah be pleased with him, and recorded by both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“It is a treasure from among the treasures of Paradise.”

A “treasure” is wealth already amassed that needs no gathering. This is because these words express reliance upon Allah Most High and utter need of Him. It is well known that nothing occurs except by Allah’s will and power, and that nothing comes from created beings except what Allah brings about in them. Thus, when the heart ceases seeking