As for hope, it is to be placed in Allah, as He Most High says:

“So when you have finished, devote yourself to worship, and turn to your Lord with longing.”

[Surah al-Sharh: 7]

The same applies to taking Allah as one’s sufficiency—which is to rely upon Allah alone. They were therefore commanded to say, “Allah is sufficient for us,” not, “Allah and His Messenger are sufficient for us.” If it is not permissible for Allah and His Messenger to be * jointly sufficient for the believer, how could the believers, together with Allah, be sufficient for His Messenger?!

Furthermore, the believers need Allah just as the Messenger needs Allah * (1). They must therefore have One who is sufficient for them. It cannot be that their aid and strength come from the Messenger while the Messenger’s strength comes from them, for this would entail a vicious circle. Rather, their strength comes from Allah, and the Messenger’s strength comes from Allah. [Thus Allah] alone (2) creates their strength, and Allah alone creates the Messenger’s strength.

This is like His statement:

“He is the One who supported you with His help and with the believers—and united their hearts.”

[Surah al-Anfāl: 62–63]

For He alone supports the Messenger through two things: the first is His help, through which He grants victory (3); the second is through the believers whom He brought.

In the other verse, He said, “Allah is sufficient for you,” and did not say, “Allah’s help is sufficient for you.” Allah’s help comes from Him, just as the believers are also among (4) His creations. He thus conjoined one thing that comes from Him with another that comes from Him, since both come from Him. As for Allah Himself—glorified is He—no one else shares with Him in bringing anything at all into existence. Rather, He alone is the Creator of everything besides Him, and He needs no one else for any of this.

Once (5) this has become clear, these Rāfidah have piled ignorance upon ignorance and have consequently ended up in