and do not say, “Where is that provision that comes from where I could never expect?” Rather, wait, place your full trust in Allah’s promise, rely upon it, and you will surely find it. Do not be impatient. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The supplication of any one of you is answered so long as he is not hasty.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is meant by being hasty?” He replied, “He says, ‘I prayed, but I have not been answered.’” So be patient, abandon whatever Allah has forbidden you, and wait for relief and sustenance from avenues you could not foresee.

The fifth verse is Allah’s statement: “If you are mindful of Allah, He will grant you a criterion, wipe away your misdeeds, and forgive you. Allah is the Possessor of tremendous bounty” (Al-Anfal 8:29).

This verse contains three tremendous benefits.

1. “He will grant you a criterion” – that is, He will give you the ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and between what harms and what benefits. Included in this is knowledge: Allah opens for a person branches of understanding that He does not open for others. Through taqwa come increased guidance, expanded knowledge, and a greater share of good. It is related from Imam al-Shafi‘i, may Allah have mercy on him:

I complained to Wakīʿ about my feeble memory;
He counseled me to leave off sins entirely.
He said, “Know that knowledge is a radiant light,
And Allah’s light is never granted to a sinner.”