for what lies ahead, whereas Allah—exalted is He—is overtaken by neither drowsiness nor sleep.
Allah the Most High says, “Whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him” (al-Ṭalāq 65:3), meaning that He will be enough for him. If you rely upon Allah, He will spare you every concern; but if you rely on someone other than Allah, He will leave you to that person, and you will be forsaken and your affairs will come to nothing.
Allah likewise says, “True believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts tremble; when His verses are recited to them, they grow in faith; and upon their Lord they depend—those who establish the prayer and spend out of what We have provided them. Such are the believers in truth” (al-Anfāl 8:2-4).
His words, “when Allah is mentioned,” mean that when His greatness, majesty, and sovereignty are recalled, hearts are seized with fear and awe and a person is moved. Some of the early Muslims, when the verses of threat were recited to them, would fall ill for several days so that people would come to visit them. As for us, our hearts have grown hard—may Allah soften them. The verses of fear are recited to us and pass by like cool water; they leave us unmoved, and we take no admonition except those upon whom Allah shows mercy. We ask Allah for well-being.
The believer, however, is the one whose heart quakes and fears whenever Allah is mentioned. Some of the predecessors, when told “Fear Allah,” would tremble so violently that whatever was in their hand would drop.
As for His statement, “and when His verses are recited to them, they grow in faith” (al-Anfāl 8:2), when they hear the words of Allah—mighty and sublime—their faith increases in two ways:
- By believing everything Allah has reported concerning unseen matters of the past and the future.
- By accepting and yielding to Allah’s rulings: they carry out what He commands—thereby their faith grows—and they refrain from what He forbids, seeking closeness to Him and out of fear of Him.