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The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “While Ayyūb (Job) (peace be upon him) was taking a bath naked, golden locusts began to fall on him. Job started collecting them in his clothes.
Thereupon, his Lord addressed him: ‘O Job, have I not given you enough so that you are in no need of what you see now.’ Job replied: ‘Yes, by Your honor, but I cannot dispense with Your blessing.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
People may be given wealth, properties, children, prestige, a high position, leadership, or authority, and a person may be surrounded by servants and soldiers at his command, and people are obedient to him and subject to his authority;
nonetheless, everyone still needs Allah Almighty: {O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.} [Surat Fātir: 15]
Our Lord is the Rich and Self-Sufficient, and none is richer than Him at all. All stand in need of Him.
Allah Almighty is Self-Sufficient by His essence, attributes, and power. His self-sufficiency is so complete that He does not need anyone or anything.
It is because of His perfect self-sufficiency that He does not benefit from the worship of His obedient servants or get harmed by the sins of the disobedient ones, even if all humanity were to disbelieve in Him. Allah Almighty says: {...But whoever disbelieves - then indeed Allah is free from need of the worlds.} [Surat Ᾱl-‘Imrān: 97]
Another aspect of His perfect self-sufficiency is that He shows benevolence to His servants, intends good for them, and removes harm from them in return for nothing - only mercy and benevolence from Him. {And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of mercy...} [Surat al-An‘ām: 133]
Another aspect of His perfect self-sufficiency is that He is far Exalted above deficiencies and defects and anything that contradicts His self-sufficiency. For example, He has taken no son or wife, there is no partner with Him in His dominion, He does not need a protector due to weakness, and there is none like or equal to Him. Allah Almighty says: {And say, “Praise be to Allah Who has not taken a son, nor does He have any partner in His dominion, nor does He need any protector out of weakness. And proclaim His greatness immensely.”} [Surat al-Isrā’: 111]
Yet another aspect of His complete self-sufficiency is that He commands His servants to supplicate Him and promises that He will answer their supplications: {And your Lord said: “Call on Me and I will respond to you”...} [Surat Ghāfir: 60] The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Nothing is more honorable in the sight of Allah Almighty than supplication.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; Hasan (sound)]
The whole world, including humans and jinn, rich and poor, old and young, upper class and lower class, strong and weak, all stand in need of Allah Almighty in every moment.
Out of Allah’s bounty, He couples His name “the Self-Sufficient” with His attribute of mercy in the verse that says: {And Your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of mercy...} [Surat al-An‘ām: 133] He wants to inform His servants that He does not need their worship, yet He shows mercy to them in every aspect of their lives, even in the acts of worship and obligations they perform. Out of His mercy, He even accepts what is little and multiplies its reward.
And out of His bounty, He couples His name “the Self-Sufficient” with His name “the Praiseworthy” in the verse that says: {And Moses said, “If you and all those who are on earth were to disbelieve, indeed Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.”} [Surat Ibrāhim: 8] That is He greatly deserves praise, given the great blessings He bestows.
Everyone needs Him in everything, great or small, and at every hour and second.
Even the Prophet, who showed the most perfect servitude to Him, used to supplicate Him showing his humble submission and need for Him, and how he could not dispense with Him even for the blink of an eye. He used to supplicate saying: “Aslih li sha’ni kullah wa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘ayn (Reform all my affairs for me, and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye).” [Narrated by Al-Nasā’i; Sahīh (authentic)]
You need the Self-Sufficient Lord all the time. The more you show your need for Him, the greater your reward will be.
Always remember that Allah is the Self-Sufficient and that His self-sufficiency is inherent in Him. Even if all the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth were to ask Him and He were to grant them all their requests, this would not decrease His dominion in any way. In a Qudsi Hadīth, Allah Almighty said: “O My servants, if the first and last of you, and the humans and jinn of you were all to stand together in one place and ask of Me and I were to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I possess except like what is decreased of the ocean when a needle is dipped into it.” [Narrated by Muslim]
How can I become self-sufficient?
Answer: As the Qudsi Hadīth says: “O son of Adam, devote yourself to My worship, and I will fill your heart with self-sufficiency and fill your hands with sustenance.
O son of Adam, do not turn away from Me, or I will fill your heart with poverty and fill your hands with distractions.” [Narrated by Al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak; Sahīh (authentic)]
Once a person’s heart becomes content with Allah Almighty and pleased with whatever He gives, he becomes self-sufficient, honorable, and strong through his Lord beyond any need for people. How amazing! Self-sufficiency with no great wealth, and strength and honor without authority or supporters!
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “Successful is the one who embraces Islam and is provided with mere subsistence and Allah makes him content with what He has given him.” [Narrated by Muslim]
If a person does not have contentment within his heart, he will never feel satisfied, even if he had all the wealth in the world. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “O Abu Dharr, do you think that richness is abundant wealth? Indeed, richness lies in the contentment of the heart, and poverty is the need within the heart.” [Narrated by Ibn Hibbān; Sahīh (authentic)]
So, a person who feels self-sufficient within his heart would not care about the hardships he may face in life. Conversely, if he has poverty within his heart, nothing in the world would satisfy him. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) is authentically reported to have said: “And be content with what Allah alloted to you, and you will become the richest among people.” [Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi; Hasan (sound)]
Another Hadīth reads: “He who seeks chastity, Allah will keep him chaste, and he who seeks self-sufficiency, Allah will make him self-sufficient.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
People do not like poverty,
though poverty that makes them transgress is better than opulence.
Contentment is sufficient for a person;
yet if he does not have that, nothing will ever be sufficient for him.
In Islam, a rich person is he who feels contentment within his heart and has no need for people and who stands in need of Allah Almighty. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The honor of the believer lies in his prayer at night, and his dignity lies in dispensing with people’s possessions.” [Narrated by Al-Hākim; Hasan (sound)]
A Bedouin was told: “The loaf of bread now costs one dinar.”
He replied: “By Allah, I do not care about that, even if the grain of wheat were to cost one dinar. I worship Allah as He commanded me, and He provides for me as He promised me.”
Al-Nasafi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Al-Wāsiti said: ‘Whoever asks from Allah alone will not be in need, and whoever seeks honor from Allah will not be humiliated.’ Al-Husayn said: ‘A person becomes self-sufficient as much as he stands in need before Allah.’”
A wise man once said: “Someone may keep away from me, but when I remember that I am self-sufficient by Allah and do not need him, I feel coolness within my heart.”
Ibn al-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Indeed, true richness lies in the contentment of the heart. There are many people who are wealthy, yet their hearts are poor and dejected.”
I disown my own power and strength
and admit that I am in utmost need for my Lord.
When a person becomes self-sufficient by the Most Compassionate,
he becomes truly rich and held in awe.
O Allah, You gave us before we ask You; then what about when we actually ask You?!
O Allah, make us rich by standing in need before You, and do not make us poor by turning away from You; indeed, You are the Self-Sufficient, there is no god except You.
O Allah, grant us sufficiency with lawful things against unlawful things, and with Your bounty against being in need of others.