—walking across the surface of the river with their horses, their camels, and their infantry, and not the slightest harm touched them! Who held this river in check so that it became as smooth and solid as stone, allowing the troops to march over it without drowning? It was Allah—Mighty and Majestic—Who has power over all things.

The same happened to al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Ḥaḍramī, may Allah be pleased with him: when he set out to conquer Bahrain and the sea blocked their way, he called upon Allah, exalted is He, and they crossed upon the water’s surface without suffering any harm.

The signs of Allah are many. Whatever Allah has mentioned in His Book, whatever His Messenger—peace and blessings be upon him—has reported, or whatever people themselves have witnessed of events that defy the usual order, believing in all of it is part of believing in Allah, for it is belief in Allah’s power.

Another aspect of faith in Allah, exalted is He, is to know that He sees you. If you do not see Him, He surely sees you. Worship Allah as though you were seeing Him; but if you do not see Him, He nevertheless sees you. Many people overlook this point: you find them performing acts of worship as a routine custom, not as though they were standing before their Lord. That is a deficiency in faith and in practice.

Part of faith in Allah is also to believe that judgment belongs to Allah, the Most High, the All-Great. Both the universal decree and the revealed law are His alone; no judge exists but Allah, exalted is He, and everything is in His hand, as Allah the Exalted says:

“Say, ‘O Allah, Lord of all sovereignty! You give dominion to whom You will, and You take away dominion from whom You will; You honor whom You will, and You humble whom You will. In Your hand is all good. Indeed, You have power over all things.’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:26).

So how many a king has been stripped of his kingdom overnight, and how many an ordinary person