The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

07 Rabi ul Thaani 1446/11 October 2024

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

One of the most important principles of our daily lives which our success in this dunya is built upon is Tawakkul (Trust in Allah). We are living in very trying and challenging times, and many a times we find that we may begin to lose hope and question why things happen. We often make statements like: “Why is this happening to me? What did I wrong? I done everything the right way, it seems like there’s no difference whether I do it the right way or not”. This sort of mindset is what leads to our failure in this temporary world.

Firstly and most importantly, when we are faced with difficulty we should remember:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ

“Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.” (2;286)

This is a very important verse, which we should always keep in our minds. Allah places these challenges in our path, to test us, to test our faith and trust in Allah, and this brings about the very important concept of Tawakkul (Trust in Allah). Allah make mention in the Holy Quran:

ۚ وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا

“And whoever is conscious of Allah – He will make for him a way out” (65;2)

وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ ۚ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِۚ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا

“And will provide for him from where he does not expect. And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.” (65;3)

 

Imam Qushayri , May Allah be pleased with him said: “Know that the place of trust is in the heart. Outward action does not contradict the trust in the heart.”  Once a person comes to this realisation and affirms within his heart that whatever success or failure he achieves is pre-determined by Allah and it happens only with the will of Allah, and having that absolute faith and trust and knowing that no matter what situation we are in Allah has a plan for us will help bring success in our lives in the dunya. We will stop asking ridiculous questions, making ignorant statements and complaining, but rather we will keep patient, turn to our Lord, seeking His guidance and assistance.

Allah makes mention in the Quran:

 ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

“And upon Allah rely, if you should be believers.” (5;23)

 

What is Tawakkul? Imam Qushayri makes mention that someone asked Abu Yazid al Bastami about trust in Allah, and before he mentions what Abu Yazid says, he mentions that he was asked about trust in Allah and he said: My companions say: Even if wild beasts and poisonous snakes were all around you, your innermost heart would not be unsettled/uneasy. Thereafter he was told his response was very close to the answer of Abu Yazid al Bastami, but trust in Allah is if you were to observe the people of paradise enjoying themselves in the Gardens of Paradise and if you were to observe the people of Hell being tortured by the fire of Hell, and you would give preference of one over the other, you would leave the realm of trust in Allah altogether.

Muhammad bin Ata said that someone asked him about the true essence about trust in Allah and he replied: “It is when anxiety of things of the dunya does not prevail over you despite the dire/extreme need of them and when your reliance upon Allah prevails in you despite your dependency on such things of the dunya.” Dhul-Nun said: “Trust in Allah is to give up planning for yourself and to abandon reliance on your own power and ability. The servant is capable in trust in Allah only when he has realized that Allah knows and sees his condition.”

The above mentioned are just a few of what many scholars had to say about Tawakkul. Now many a times when we say have trust in Allah and that everything happens only by the will of Allah, people misinterpret this statement and take it in the sense where they refuse to do anything. However, although everything happens through the will of Allah, we have to make an effort. We can get an understanding of this from a hadith of the Prophet (S.A.W):

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو حَفْصٍ، عَمْرُو بْنُ عَلِيٍّ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ أَبِي قُرَّةَ السَّدُوسِيُّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَنَسَ بْنَ مَالِكٍ، يَقُولُ قَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَعْقِلُهَا وَأَتَوَكَّلُ أَوْ أُطْلِقُهَا وَأَتَوَكَّلُ قَالَ ‏ “‏ اعْقِلْهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ ‏”

Anas bin Malik narrated that a man said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Shall I tie it and rely(upon Allah), or leave it loose and rely(upon Allah)?” He said: “Tie it and rely(upon Allah).” Jami at- Tirmidhi: Book 37, Hadith 2707

Allah also makes mention in the Holy Quran:

ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ ٍ

“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (13;11)

 

From the above hadith and Quranic verse, we understand that firstly we have to tie our camel, meaning we have to put in that effort to tie it and have faith in Allah and not only just leave it loose, as the advice of our beloved Nabi (S.A.W). This applies to everything in our lives, have faith in Allah but put in the effort as well, no matter what it is. From the verse we understand that we first have to make a sincere effort to change what is within ourselves before we expect Allah to change our condition.

In conclusion, we as Muslims need to come to a realization and an understanding that Allah will not test us with anything that we cannot handle. The most important tool for us is Tawakkul – Trust in Allah. After we establish the trust and belief in Allah, what’s left is for us to be patient and supplicate to our Lord and increase in the remembrance of our Lord. This firm belief and trust will also bring us closer to our Almighty. We will notice it in whatever we do. We make dua to Allah to make us from amongst those that are patient and have trust in Him and not to make us from those that complain and question the will of Allah.

We ask Allah to grant us the strength and ability to worship Allah in the manner which is due to Him. May Allah accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!