Continuation of the explanation of the statement of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "."

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in what he quoted from the hadith of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) that He said This phrase indicates the vastness of the dominion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the perfection of His self-sufficiency (Blessed and Exalted is He). If the first and the last, and the humans and the jinn, all stood upon a single plain and asked Allah for whatever their souls reach, no matter how great the request, and Allah gave every person what he asked for—indeed, Allah gave every supplicant what he asked for—that would not diminish anything from the dominion of Allah, because Allah is Generous, the Possessor of wealth, of immense self-sufficiency, and vast in giving (Mighty and Majestic), except as a needle diminishes the sea when it is dipped in it. Dip the needle in the sea and see what it diminishes from the sea; it does not diminish the sea at all, and it is not possible to attribute to the sea what the needle takes from it. And that is because He (Mighty and Majestic) is vast in self-sufficiency, Generous, Noble, and Kind (Glorified and Exalted is He).
This means that the whole matter is that a person is judged by his deeds; Allah tallies his deeds, and then on the Day of Resurrection He repays him with them. So whoever finds good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself. It is he who erred; it is he who prevented himself from good. As for when he finds good, let him praise Allah, because Allah the Exalted is the One who bestowed upon him, first and last. He bestowed upon him first by the deed, and then He bestowed upon him secondly by the ample reward. So this hadith is a great hadith; the scholars have explained it and derived benefits and rulings from it. Among those who wrote a separate book on it is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), who explained this hadith in a standalone book.
So a person should reflect upon this hadith and contemplate it, especially the last phrase of it, which is that a person is rewarded for his deed: if it is good, then it is good, and if it is evil, then it is evil. This is the reason the author placed this hadith in the chapter on striving (mujahadah): that a person should strive against his self and do good until he finds what is with Allah to be good and the greatest reward. And success is from Allah.