The skyscraper was left half way done and he did not have...

The skyscraper was left half way done and he did not have the ability to complete it. Nobody else would give him a loan. Now, he has a huge debt on his shoulders that is increasing daily due to interest and his skyscraper remained half way done and nobody wanted to rent it. He decided to commit suicide by jumping off the top floor. He then thought, maybe I will not die by jumping so it is better to drink poison and then jump off the building.

He thought that he would definitely die from one of the two reasons. He drank the poison and jumped, head-first, off the building. On his way down he crashed into a pole on the building and threw up the poison. So, he did not die in either way that he had thought he would. When Allah does not want something, there is nothing that one can do. We must understand that life is not in our hands, not the start of life and not the continuance of life. Likewise, death is also not in our hands.

We have been created, raised and remain living without choice. Everyone is dependent on Allah and Allah is the only independent existence. Man must have the ability to do whatever he wants to do. Is he able to bring about this ability in himself? Do not say: “I am doing this.” Do you have the ability to do what you want? Your existence is not in your hands for you to be able to say that qualities such as ability are in your hands. Lā hawla wa lā quwata illa billah .

A Scholar Is Also In Need Of Allah Regarding His Knowledge One should not consider himself independent, no matter how much knowledge he has. Being dependent is part of man's nature. One must not forget that he is dependent as long as he is alive. The place of knowledge is in one's memory. Allah decides how long knowledge remains in one's memory. Fifty years ago, there was a scholar who taught a book called Muttawil . One day when he woke up he forgot how to recite the first chapter of the Qurān.

He was in a state of forgetfulness. When he entered the classroom it was as if he had never read the book before, and as if he had never attended school before. He even forgot how to say 'in the name of Allah.' The memory stores knowledge like a computer and this memory is one of the proofs that one's nafs is immaterial. The memory holds all information learned, for example the alphabet that one learns in first grade. If one's memory is taken from him he will even forget the alphabet.

So, a scholar is still in need of Allah, even in regards to his knowledge.