لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله
Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh
“There is no power and no strength except through God”, said when one meets a power greater than oneself.
What it means
The phrase means that no one can turn aside from harm or gain strength for good except through God. It is said when a person meets something beyond his or her ability: hardship, fear, a heavy task or a sudden shock. A form of it appears in the Quran, where a believer tells a man proud of his garden to say, “What God has willed! There is no strength but in God” (18:39).
Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have called it a treasure from the treasures of Paradise (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). Muslims also say it in reply to the words ḥayya ʿalā al-ṣalāh in the call to prayer, as a way of admitting that they can only pray with God’s help. The phrase is also a common remedy for fear, since it places the matter in His hands.
Often misunderstood as
It is sometimes taken as a phrase of resignation, when it is a declaration that strength comes from God alone and is asked of Him.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 57, listed as LĀ ḤAWLA WA LĀ QUWWATA ILLĀ BILLĀH.. The definition is restated here.