Beautiful Description of Tawakul on Allaah

Sheikh ul Islaam Imâm Ibnul Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah Rahimahullah said: 

“The condition of the one who relies on Allaah is like the condition of the one who is given a dirham by a king, then it gets stolen from him; so the king says to him: ‘I have many times as much as that, so don’t worry. When you come to me, I will give you from my treasures much more than that.’ Thus if (this person) knows the truthfulness of the king’s statement, and trusts him, and knows that his treasures are full of that, then what he missed will not make him sad.”

[Madaarij us-Saalikeen, Tawakkul; Vol.1, pg.527]

The EASE of having Tawakkul...!

وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَىاللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ

"And whoever relies upon Allaah,  then He is sufficient for Him."

[At-Talaaq 65:3]

With tawakkul, (reliance upon Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى), a person can live his life with contentment and confidence knowing that it is ONLY Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى Who is in control of his affairs, and that Allaah is Sufficient to ease the hardships that come his way. With tawakkul comes ease, alhamdulillah! Allaah alone is enough for me !!

 

إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ اللّهُ فَلاَ غَالِبَ لَكُمْ وَإِن يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَن ذَا الَّذِي يَنصُرُكُم مِّن بَعْدِهِ وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكِّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ

'If Allâh helps you, none can overcome you; and if He forsakes you, who is there after Him that can help you? And in Allâh (Alone) let believers put their trust. '

(Aali Imran 3:160)

Indeed, all I have seen teaches me to trust my Creator for all that I have not seen...

Reality of ‘Tawakkul' (relying upon Allaah) by Sheikh Saalih Al-Fawzan- Part 1

The Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul) on Allaah

Shaikh Saleh bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan   حفظه الله

 

Relying on Allaah (tawakkul) is one of the Greatest forms of worship. Allaah says: 

وَعَلَى اللّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُواْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

“So upon Allaah, put your trust if you are truly believers.”

Surah Al-Maa’idah (5:23)

So He made relying upon Allaah (tawakkul) a condition for Eemaan (Faith). Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى  said to His Prophet ﷺ : 

فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللّهِ

“So when you have made a decision, then put your trust in Allaah.”  

Surah Aali ‘Imraan (3:159)

So He ordered His Prophet to put his trust and reliance on Allaah. He سُبحانه وتعالى  says: 

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللّهُ وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“O Prophet! Allaah is sufficient for you & for the believers who follow you.”

Surah Al-Anfaal (8:64)

وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا

“And whosoever fears Allâh & keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).”

At-Talaq (65:2)

وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَىاللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُلِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا

“And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allâh, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allâh will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allâh has set a measure for all things.”

 Surah At-Talaq (65:3)

وَمَن يَتَّقِاللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْرًا

“And whoever is dutiful to Allaah, He will make his matter easy for him.”

Surah At-Talaaq (65: 4)

Reality of ‘Tawakkul' (relying upon Allaah) by Sheikh Salehh Al-Fawzaan- Part 2

The Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul) on Allaah

Furthermore, relying upon Allaah does not mean that you abandon the means and entrust all of your affairs to Allaah. So (for example) you should not abandon seeking (your daily) sustenance, saying: “If Allaah wanted us to have sustenance, it would come to us even if we are sitting.” We should also not abandon seeking knowledge, saying: “If Allaah wanted us to have knowledge, it would come to us even if we are sitting in our homes.” This also applies to abandoning all of the other necessary things that we must have, saying: “If Allaah had decreed it for us, it would come to us without us embarking on the means for it.” This is extremely wrong.

So there MUST be a combination of the two: 

(1) Putting one’s trust in Allaah;

(2) Abiding by the necessary means.

So a person must embark on the means when seeking after sustenance, whilst at the same time putting his trust in Allaah to achieve his objective.

A person plants crops while putting his trust in Allaah that his crops will grow and produce fruit. At the same time, he protects his crops from threats. In order for you to reap the benefits of the crops and for them to be useful to you, you must plant the crops, sow the seeds, water them and care for them. At the same time, you should put your trust in Allaah that He will protect them, make them grow, allow them produce fruit, enable you to reap their benefits and use them.

Similar to this is when a person forsakes marriage, saying: “This is part of putting one’s trust in Allaah since if Allaah intended children for me, they would come to me without me getting married.”

We say: This is wrong. No one with any common sense, let alone a believer, says such a thing. 

Explanation of the Hadeeth: ''Were You To Depend upon Allaah with True Dependence...''

 

Explanation of the Hadeeth from 'Umar, رضي الله تعالى عنه that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: 

"Were you to depend upon Allaah with true dependence, He would have provided for you like He provides for the bird; early in the morning he leaves hungry, but returns at the end of the day with a full stomach."

(At-Tirmithi no. 2344, Ibn Majah no.4I64, Ahmad 1/30,52, Ibn Hibban no. 2548 and Al-Hakim 4/318) & was recorded by Imaam Ahmad, At-Tirmithi, An-Nisa'i, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim, and At-Tirmithi said, "This Hadeeth is Hasan Sahih."

The (Arabic) word (in the Hadeeth is) "Tawakkul," means to depend sincerely in one's heart upon Allaah Almighty, for bringing blessings & warding off harms, for this world & the Hereafter. If people were to sincerely trust & depend upon Allaah to bring them that which benefits them & to keep away that which harms them, & if they take reasonable, practical steps themselves, Allaah will send their provision to them by the simplest of means. Just as Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى gives the bird provision when it simply leaves in the morning, seeking its sustenance, & returns at the end of the day. Yes, it does go out to search, but it is an easy effort. Tawakkul in reality does not deny actually working & striving for provision, for Allaah سُبحانه وتعالى has decreed that we should work & it is from His ways that He gives people when they strive.