Favor includes thousands of favors, and the bounty is more than what is deserved, and when we say during the mentioning of Allah (Adh- dhikr) (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Disposer of affairs) we must invoke its meaning so that remembrance is transmitted to our hearts to achieve the steadfast and certain of Allah’s will, decree, victory and promise. The nicest of what has been reported of Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) is his saying:

“I wonder by one who is distressed does not remember the words of Allah (swt):

فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

{And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”.} (Al-Anbiyaa: 87)

for Allah (swt) says after it:

فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَكَذَلِكَ نُنجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

{So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.} (Al-Anbiyaa: 88)

And I wonder by one who is afraid and does not remember the words of Allah (swt):

الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُواْ لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَاناً وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

{“Those to whom hypocrites said, “Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.!”But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, “Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs.”} (Ali-Imran: 173)

For Allah says right after that:

فَانقَلَبُواْ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ وَفَضْلٍ لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَاتَّبَعُواْ رِضْوَانَ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ

{So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.} (Ali-Imran: 174)

And I wonder that the one who finds himself being cornered does not remember the words of Allah (swt):

وَأُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

{and I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of [His] servants} (Ghafer: 44)

For Allah (swt) says right after that:

فَوَقَاهُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِ مَا مَكَرُوا

{So Allah protected him from the evils they plotted} (Ghafer: 45)

And I wonder that the one who wants to protect his property does not remember the words of Allah (swt):

مَا شَاء اللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ

{What Allah willed [has occurred]; there is no power except in Allah‘?} (Alkahf: 39)

For Allah (swt) says right after that:

فَعَسَى رَبِّي أَن يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْرًا مِّن جَنَّتِكَ

{may be that my Lord will give me [something] better than your garden and will send upon it a calamity from the sky, and it will become a smooth, dusty ground,} (Alkahf: 40)

Indeed, the affliction increases on a person, the believer’s faith in Allah (swt) increases, and not the other way.

لَّمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ {no harm having touched them}: They are unharmed; because they believed in Allah and His decree, and as long you make Allah (swt) your protector, no one can harm you.

وَاتَّبَعُواْ رِضْوَانَ اللّهِ {And they pursued the pleasure of Allah}: There is a difference between just listening to and pursuing.

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

{Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”} (Ali-Imran: 31)

Sadly, we treat with the words of Allah (swt) and the sayings of the Prophet (saws) by just listening not by pursuing, while we have to follow the path that leads to Allah’s pleasure.

One may ask why does Allah (swt) refers to His commands by His pleasure? Because if you want to please Allah (swt), you must follow His commands.

وَاللّهُ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَظِيمٍ {and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.}:

Allah’s bounty over people is great, and his favors are countless. A person wakes up in the morning in good health, gets up, drinks, performs ablution and walks. How many favors does a person overlook at the moment he wakes up and thinks only of what he has in one aspect, and this is because the monotony of makes a person forgets the great bounty of Allah (swt) upon him, but if he looks closely, he would find thousands of blessings and that the bounty of Allah (swt) upon him is great.