In this verse of the Qur'an, "Your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but Him, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful" (Surat al-Baqara: 163), Allah informs us that there is no Creator other than Him and no other power to intervene for good or ill. Allah is the One, and there is no power other than Him Who can guide human beings to the truth, protect them and give them peace and blessings.
However, a segment of humanity is unaware of this truth. Some, when asked, say that there is no god but Allah, and that they believe He is omnipotent, but, because in their hearts they do not believe it to the full, hope for aid instead from other people, or from a change in circumstances, or even such mythical powers as luck or chance. However, neither human nor any other creation exercises any such power. As we are told in the Qur'an, ... All might belongs to Allah...
Believers, on the other hand, are cognizant that there is no god but Allah, that all glory and power are His, a truth which they sense devoutly and at every moment of their lives. They hope for help from none other than Allah, not from any other person or event. They trust Allah and rely on Him solely. They fear only Allah, and expect help only from Him, because no person or living creature can possess the attributes of Allah; they are all creatures in need of Him, who have no power to ensure any good for themselves or to protect themselves from evil. The Qur'an explains the matter with the following example:
The call of truth is made to Him alone. Those they call upon apart from Him do not respond to them at all. It is like someone stretching out his cupped hands towards water to convey it to his mouth:
it will never get there. The call of the unbelievers only goes astray.
The language of the faithful who are aware of this truth reflects this sincere faith and fear of Allah in their hearts. Whatever the subject, it can immediately be recognized from such people's way of speaking that they trust in and rely on Allah alone. Those who have understood that there is no god but Allah know that everything is under Allah's control, no matter what they may encounter. Such developments may affect their entire life, or their future, their safety, their property or their health; it may appear outwardly that all these are dependent upon the decisions of a few, or the result of some error committed by them, or on some success which they might have achieved. However, those of pure faith know that all are under Allah's control, and they thus behave accordingly. With regards to this matter we may offer the following example: A businessman who has invested all his money in a new venture enters into various advertising and promotional campaigns to secure a good market share for his products. In order to compete with other firms in the same sector, he needs to produce better quality products. In addition, he expects good performances from all those who work for the company, from the advertising executive to the marketing or sales personnel. He gives these employees the necessary instructions. He makes speeches to encourage them or to inspire them because it is clearly necessary for him to stay ahead of other companies and to achieve greater success than they have.
Now let us consider the difference between this person and someone else, in a similar situation, but who knows there is no god but Allah. That person follows all the appropriate practical steps. However, he is aware that the authority to make him rich lies not with the advertising, promotion or marketing campaigns, nor in expert personnel. On the contrary, he knows that they are human beings, who can only make decisions through the will of Allah, and achieve success only with Allah's permission. He knows that if he were to regard any of these as possessing a power independent of Allah, that would be to deify others besides Allah. For this reason, when communicating his demands, managing his employees, and monitoring all operations, he speaks with the knowledge that all such factors are at Allah's disposition. When something occurs which appears to him to be a setback, at no time does he plunge into depression, nor does he lash out angrily. No matter who was responsible for the problem, or for what reason, he takes the wisest decisions and adopts the most appropriate measures. However, at no time does he employ a manner of speaking that reflects the deification of others beside Allah, by regarding the person who caused the error as an independent power, or believing that events transpired by and of themselves. That is because, he knows that, if a mistake was made, it was made because it was in that person's fate and that Allah had willed it. The whole scenario is a part of his trial in the life of the world; of whether he will fall into the error of believing that events arise out of the disposition of others, or that he will act in the knowledge that there is no god but Allah. In this situation which we have described, one who is of committed faith knows that everything is part of the destiny decreed by Allah, according to His divine wisdom. For this reason, when a person comes up against an unexpected outcome, they remain calm, and speak in a way that is grateful to Allah, thus exemplifying humility towards Him and submission to Him. Such knowledge, when reflected in speech, is an important manifestation of faith. One who knows that there is no god but Allah, and in whom that knowledge is reflected in his speech, habitually brings attention to Allah's greatness and glory to those around him, or, otherwise, brings these things to their attention.
