Al-Shawkani stated that every rescue comes from Him, the Exalted, and if it occurs through the hand of another, the reality belongs to Him, the Exalted, and to the other it is figurative.

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. I read in the book *Al-Durr al-Nadid fi Ikhlas Kalimat al-Tawhid* by Al-Shawkani: “And the scholars have mentioned that it is obligatory for every person of legal capacity to know that there is no one to call upon for help and no one to provide help, absolutely, except Allah, the Exalted. And every rescue comes from Him. And if any of that occurs through the hand of another, the reality belongs to Him, the Exalted, and to the other it is figurative.” So his statement “to the other it is figurative” was unclear to me. Is this correct?

Answer:
No, the most appropriate is that he said “to the other it is a cause.” The created being is a cause, and Allah, the Exalted, is the one who causes. But he, may Allah have mercy on him, holds the view found in the science of rhetoric that speech is divided into reality and figurative. The correct view is that there is no figurative in speech; the speech of the Arabs in the Arabic language is not figurative. It is said that the created being is a cause, and the result and the one who causes is Allah, the Exalted. Yes.