Legitimate and Illegitimate Causes

Three principles must be kept in mind regarding causes:

First: No single cause is sufficient to secure the desired result on its own. It must be joined by other causes, and even then there may be impediments. If Allah does not complete the set of causes and remove the obstacles, the intended outcome will not occur. He—glorified be He—brings to pass whatever He wills, even if people do not will it, and whatever people will cannot occur unless Allah so wills.

Second: Nothing may be deemed a cause without knowledge. Whoever claims that something is a cause without evidence, or in opposition to the Sacred Law, is in error—for example, the person who imagines that making a vow wards off calamity or secures blessings. It is authentically reported in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections that the Prophet ﷺ forbade vows, saying, “They do not bring about any good; they are only extracted from a miser.”

Third: No religious deed may be adopted as a cause unless it is legislated, for acts of worship are founded upon textual warrant. Hence it is impermissible for someone to associate partners with Allah by calling upon others besides Him—however much he may think this serves his interests—and it is likewise impermissible to worship Allah through innovations that contradict the Sharia, even if one imagines some benefit in them. Indeed, devils may sometimes assist a person in achieving part of what he seeks.