"Know Me, Thank Me, Ask of Me"

Since none of this can be achieved except that Allah (swt) allows it, the Hadith Qudsi continues in Allah's own words: I am your Lord, so know Me. I am the Giver of every blessing, so thank Me — the highest form of gratitude, shukr, being ḥamd, praise, the opening word of the Qurʾān itself, praise belonging to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. I am the Protector, so ask Me for protection — from every form of sickness and evil, sought from Him and from no other. I am the Helper, so ask Me for help — help, naṣr, comes from Allah (swt) and from no one else. I am the Forgiver, so ask forgiveness of Me. I am your object, so make Me your object — the source of the well-known line, Ilāhī anta maqṣūdī wa riḍāka maṭlūbī, "O Allah, You are my object, and Your good pleasure is what I seek." I am the Giver, so ask of Me. I am the object of worship, so worship only Me — for the one thing Allah (swt) does not forgive is shirk, setting up another beside Him; all else, short of that, He forgives whom He wills. Finally: I am the Knower of secrets, so be wary of Me, and have taqwā of Me — Allah (swt) knows every secret and will call every person to account for it on the Day of Judgment.