We own nothing of the affair except what You have decreed...

We own nothing of the affair except what You have decreed and nothing of the good except what You have given.”[^15] We read in the Sahifat al-’Alawiyyah , “Who can do harm to You, or fight against You, or be beyond Your reach, or be safe from Your decree.” Part of recognition ( ma’rifah ) is that a supplicant should know that Allah is near to him, nearer than any other thing, and that He is aware of what his soul tempts him to, and that He is nearer to him than his jugular vein, and that He intervenes between him and his self.

He, the Exalted, says: “When My servants ask you about Me, {tell them that} I am indeed nearmost.” [^16] “We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.” [^17] “Know that…