What is the meaning of “la hawla wala quwata illa bil-lah”?
The meaning of la hawla wala quwata illa billah is: “No one can evade sinning except with Allah’s protection and no one has the ability to obey except with Allah’s help,” i.e., no one can prevent himself from sinning except if Allah protects him from that, and no one has the strength to obey Allah without His help. The explanation of this statement was stated upon in a hadith narrated by Abu Ya^la with a good chain of narration from ibn Mas^oud from the Messenger of Allah, salla-l-lahu ^alayhi wa sallam. It is confirmed that the Prophet urged his followers to say it.