Reliance in Every State

The scholars explain lā ilāha illallāh further: it is the concise form of tawḥīd, and when it is expanded, what appears immediately beneath it is lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh. That is the true meaning of lā ilāha illallāh: there is no movement, ḥarakah, no power, no might, no anything, except with Allah, by Allah's permission. Nothing — no harm and no goodness, khayrihi wa sharrihi — comes from anywhere but Allah (swt). A person who complains of suffering, and a person swimming in beautiful mansions and the luxuries of life, are given what they have by the same source: everything is given by Allah. Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh — He is the one who gave it, so gratitude, shukr, is due. If a person is suffering, the duty is to make ṣabr, patience; if all the gifts, niʿmah, are coming one's way, the duty is to make shukr. Half and half: the fifty-fifty principle in Islam. And in either half the duty is the same — to keep the heart alive, and the lips and tongue constantly moist with this remembrance of Allah, lā ilāha illallāh.