nor is his need noticed so that charity is given to him, and he does not beg people persistently.” Similar examples include his sayings concerning the bankrupt person and the person bereft of children. There are many examples of each of these three categories.

Something sought for a particular purpose is vain and counts as nonexistent when its benefit and intended purpose are absent. Nothing other than Allah may rightly be worshipped or sought for help. Thus, this intended purpose is absent from everything other than Allah, and it is therefore vain. Nothing other than Allah may rightly be a master to whom one turns, or an object of worship. There is no benefit in seeking it, nor any advantage in worshipping it or seeking its help: it is therefore vain. This is clear, and it is a universal statement admitting no exceptions.

The explanation is that everything other than Allah is sought either for its own sake or for the sake of something else.

Things sought for the sake of something else include bread sought for eating, clothing for wearing, weapons for defence, and the like—the material things Allah has created for the benefit of humankind. These are sought only for the sake of something else, not for their own sake. Likewise, wealth used to obtain a benefit or avert harm is sought for the sake of something else, not for its own sake. Whenever something is sought for the sake of something else, that other thing is what is truly sought.

The means is desired for the sake of that end. Unless that end, sought for its own sake, is attained, the means has no benefit or use. It therefore falls within the category of vain things whose significance is denied and of which it is said: “It is of no account.” It is vain and is treated as nonexistent.