There Is No Real Power Except Allah

Part Three: There Is No Real Power Except Allah

Every believer acknowledges that Allah created the universe.

Yet a far deeper question remains:

Who truly governs it at every moment?

Does fire burn because it possesses an inherent power to burn?

Does water quench thirst because that ability belongs to water itself?

Does medicine heal because healing resides within the medicine?

Or are all these merely instruments through which Allah chooses to manifest His will?

The Qur'an repeatedly directs our attention toward a profound reality that many people overlook. While Allah has established causes (asbāb) in this world, those causes possess no independent authority of their own. They function only because Allah continuously permits them to function.

This distinction lies at the heart of genuine tawḥīd.

A believer benefits from the means that Allah has placed in creation, yet his heart never attributes ultimate power to those means. He recognizes that every cause is itself dependent upon the One who created it.

This understanding has been beautifully summarized by Muslim scholars throughout the centuries. They distinguished between the means and the Musabbib al-Asbāb—the Creator and Controller of all means.

The means are visible.

Their Creator is unseen.

The means are limited.

Their Creator is limitless.

The means change.

Their Creator never changes.

Whoever understands this no longer becomes a prisoner of appearances. He sees beyond the visible world to the Lord who sustains it every instant.

A Timeless Counsel from Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani

Among the great spiritual teachers of Islam, few have emphasized this reality with greater clarity than Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani رحمه الله.

Near the end of his life, he left his children and students with advice that captures the essence of true reliance upon Allah.

He taught them to engrave one principle upon their hearts:

There is no true actor in reality except Allah, and there is no true source of influence except Allah.

This statement does not deny that people act, that fire burns, or that medicine heals in the ordinary sense.

Rather, it reminds us that none of these possesses independent efficacy.

Every created thing acts only because Allah allows it to act.

Its ability is borrowed.

Its existence is borrowed.

Its influence is borrowed.

Remove Allah's permission, and every apparent cause becomes powerless.

This is precisely why the Qur'an repeatedly attributes every event—not merely creation itself—to Allah's continuous command and decree.

Nothing operates independently of Him.

The Illusion of Independent Causes

Human beings naturally become attached to what they can see.

We see food nourishing the body.

We see rain bringing life to barren land.

We see medicine restoring health.

We see wealth opening doors.

Gradually, the heart begins to associate results with visible causes rather than with the Lord who created those causes.

This is one of the oldest spiritual illusions known to humanity.

Islam does not ask us to deny the existence of causes.

Rather, it teaches us to understand their proper place.

Causes are real.

But they are not ultimate.

They are servants of Allah.

They cannot act beyond the limits He has set for them.

Fire cannot burn unless Allah permits it.

Water cannot drown unless Allah permits it.

Medicine cannot heal unless Allah permits it.

Poison cannot kill unless Allah permits it.

Even the strongest forces in nature remain completely submissive to their Creator.

The Qur'an describes the entire universe as existing in a state of willing submission to Allah. Every law of nature obeys Him perfectly. Every atom carries out only what He has decreed.

When we forget this reality, our hearts begin to fear creation.

When we remember it, our hearts return to their rightful Master.

Why We Bow Before People

If Allah alone possesses real authority, why do so many people spend their lives seeking security from others?

Why do they sacrifice their principles for worldly approval?

Why do they lower themselves before those whom they imagine to be powerful?

The answer is not difficult.

It is because they unconsciously attribute to creation powers that belong only to Allah.

They believe someone else can secure their livelihood.

Someone else can guarantee their success.

Someone else can determine their future.

Someone else can rescue them from hardship.

As long as these beliefs remain in the heart, dependence upon people becomes inevitable.

One begins flattering those in authority.

One compromises truth to gain acceptance.

One fears offending people more than displeasing Allah.

Yet all such dependence rests upon an illusion.

Every human being is himself utterly dependent upon Allah.

The employer who signs your paycheck cannot create a single coin.

The physician who prescribes medicine cannot create healing.

The judge who issues a verdict cannot change Allah's decree.

The ruler who commands armies cannot extend his own lifespan by a single moment.

Every king is a servant.

Every wealthy person is poor before Allah.

Every powerful individual stands equally in need of the One who created him.

Recognizing this does not diminish our respect for people. Islam commands believers to honour parents, respect leaders, fulfil contracts, and appreciate the kindness of others.

What it removes is servitude to creation.

The believer remains humble before people in character, but never dependent upon them in heart.

Seeing Allah Behind Every Blessing

Consider something as ordinary as drinking a glass of water.

We instinctively say that water quenches thirst.

This expression is acceptable in everyday language, but the believer's heart sees a deeper reality.

Water itself possesses no independent power.

If Allah wills, water refreshes the thirsty.

If He wills otherwise, the same water cannot benefit a person at all.

Likewise, we say that food satisfies hunger.

Yet nourishment is not an inherent property that exists independently within food.

Allah has placed that effect within it.

He may maintain it, increase it, reduce it, or withhold it entirely according to His wisdom.

The same principle applies to every blessing we experience.

Medicine heals only because Allah grants healing through it.

Knowledge benefits only because Allah blesses it.

Strength accomplishes only what Allah permits.

Intelligence succeeds only by His grace.

Once this perspective becomes deeply rooted, gratitude naturally shifts away from the gift toward the Giver.

The believer thanks people for their kindness because Islam teaches gratitude toward creation.

Yet his heart never forgets that every kindness ultimately came from Allah.

People are only the channels through which His mercy reaches His servants.

The Creator Is Never Bound by His Creation

Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is this:

Allah created the system of causes, but He is never constrained by it.

Human beings require means.

Allah does not.

We need food to survive.

He sustains without being sustained.

We need light to see.

He is the Light of the heavens and the earth.

We require time, space, effort, and resources.

Allah merely says, "Be," and it is.

Because He is not bound by causes, He may sometimes allow them to operate exactly as we expect.

At other times, He suspends them completely to remind humanity that they possess no authority of their own.

The Qur'an is filled with such moments.

Fire becomes cool.

The sea parts.

The barren woman bears a child.

The dead are restored to life by Allah's permission.

These miracles are not violations of Allah's power.

They are demonstrations of it.

They remind humanity that natural laws are not independent rulers of the universe. They are obedient servants carrying out the command of their Lord.

This truth prepares us for one of the most breathtaking moments in the Qur'an.

A prophet stands before an impassable sea.

Behind him advances the mightiest army on earth.

No bridge exists.

No escape route can be seen.

Every visible cause has disappeared.

Yet in that impossible moment, Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) utters words that have inspired believers for centuries:

"No! Indeed, my Lord is with me. He will guide me." (Qur'an 26:62)

Those words were not spoken after a miracle appeared.

They were spoken before any path existed.

And therein lies one of the greatest lessons about faith ever taught in the Qur'an.

That remarkable scene becomes the focus of the next part of our journey.