His ﷺ words, “Seek Allah’s help,” are sublime when placed immediately after, “Be keen on what benefits you.” A rational, perceptive person will pursue what is advantageous, choose the most beneficial course, strive hard and exert himself. Yet his soul may deceive him so that he begins to depend on his own strength and forgets to seek Allah’s support. Many people fall into this: they become impressed with themselves, fail to remember Allah, and neglect to rely on Him. Once someone notices within himself the ability to act, an eagerness for benefit, and the power to achieve it, he may grow self-admiring and forget to seek Allah’s aid. Hence the Prophet ﷺ combined the two commands: “Be keen on what benefits you and seek Allah’s help,” meaning, do not neglect reliance on Allah even in the slightest affair. The hadith states: “Let one of you ask his Lord for all his needs—even for salt, even for the strap of his sandal when it breaks.” In other words, never overlook seeking Allah’s help, even for the tiniest matter. Whether you intend to perform wudu, to pray, to turn right or left, or to set something down, hold in your heart that you are relying on Allah, and realize that without His assistance none of this would come to pass.

He then said, “Do not give up,” that is, keep at the task; do not falter, fall behind, or complain that the journey is long and the work abundant. As long as, at the outset, you determined that this course is the most beneficial for you, sought Allah’s help, and embarked upon it, then do not quit.

Indeed, this hadith would require volumes to explore all its countless applications and scenarios—for instance, the situation of a student of knowledge