Are You The Trusting Kind?
By Naseeb Khan
When we read the Qur’aan, we will find that Allah describes to us the many qualities and behavior of the believers. These various descriptions help us to get a clear idea of how we should behave as believers ourselves. Among the various qualities mentioned we find a very interesting one that needs detail attention by all of us. This is the quality of “tawakkul alallaawh” or trust in Allah. It is very important to really understand this issue as it is mentioned in many places in the Qur’aan and is an integral part of the creed of the believer in Allah. Allah says in the Qur’aan (5:23): “And put your trust in Allah if you are indeed believers”. In another part of the Qur’aan (64:13), we again find that Allah says: “And in Allah therefore let the believers put their trust”
In both of these verses the issue of trust in Allah is mentioned in very strong terms as if it were an indispensable part of a believers’ creed. And indeed it is. We are obligated to put our trust in Allah. But what does putting our trust in Allah really means. When we trust in something, it means we are putting our reliance on that thing. We are expecting that thing to provide for us whatever we trusted it with. When we trust the bank with our money, we are expecting that bank will keep our money safe and give it to us whenever we need it. When we jump into a taxi cab, we are trusting that the driver will drive us safely to our destination and when we visit the doctor we are trusting him to give us a proper diagnosis of our health problems and prescribed appropriate treatments. In each of these types of trusts, there is a clear defined expectation of what is to be delivered by the party we are placing our trust in. The question we must ask ourselves is what it is that we are expecting Allah to deliver for us when we place our trust in Him.
This is a very important question that we must understand before we can really place our trust in Allah. You see when we trust the doctor or taxi driver or bank, there is a limitation that we place on them. For example, we do not trust our taxi driver to build a house for us or to keep our money like a bank. We only expect him to take us to our destination. When we place our trust in Allah, there is a serious difference in that Allah can deliver everything we need or ask for. So we again ask the question as believers, what should we put our trust in Allah about?
The answer to this important question is highlighted in the verses quoted above. Allah did not specify any particular area but left it general. Thus for the believer, we are expected and obligated to place our trust in Allah regarding every affair of ours. We must recognize that nothing in the Universe happens without the permission of Allah. Thus it is Allah who is responsible for all results. Thus our ‘tawakkul alallaawh” (trust in Allah) must be practiced for all of our actions. We perform our actions and then depend on Allah to give us the successful results.
But there is something else to this matter that we must recognize. Allah has created this Universe and He as also defined specific rules of how it should function. For example, gravity will always pull us to the ground. When we plant a cherry seed, we will get a cherry tree out of it. In other words, there are specific rules that Allah has laid out in nature for everything. We must live our lives following these rules or we will lose or get hurt. For example, if we jump out of a high building expecting that gravity may not work, we will get a huge surprise before we die. Thus before we put our trust in Allah, we must first try to do our best to solve our problems first. We must recognize that this is the way Allah expects us to function. We have to make every preparation and effort to meet our challenges while we are trusting Allah. This is the only way that our tawakkul in Allah will work and be meaningful.
This was the way of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who came to teach us. We can take any aspect of his life and we will see a clear demonstration of this. Take for example, his migration from Makkah to Madina. It had become dangerous to stay in Makkah as the Quraish wanted to kill him. He was literally fleeing for his life. He was the Prophet of Allah. He could have just made dua’ to Allah and trust that Allah would not allow him to be killed. Instead he meticulously planned his escape from Makkah. He asked Abu Bakr to accompany him. He made arrangements for food and water with Asmaa the daughter of Abu Bakr. He arranged for a good riding camel to be used for the long journey. He employed an expert guide who was familiar with the routes of Al Madinah. The Prophet (SA) got Ali to sleep in his bed so as to confuse his enemies when they came to kill him. The Prophet and Abu Bakr hid in a cave. Thus the Prophet Muhammad (SA) followed all the steps needed for a successful escape while putting his trust in Allah. When we do this, then Allah will respond and assist us to be successful.
In this particular incident, the enemies came to the very mouth of the cave and all they had to do was to look down and they would see the Prophet (SA) and Abu Bakr (RA). Abu Bakr (RA) voiced his anxiety and said “O Messenger of Allah! If one of them were to look down below his feet, he would detect us” The Messenger of Allah of course knew that he had done all that he could do and thus he had absolutely no doubt in his mind regarding the protection of Allah. He said to Abu Bakr “O Abu Bakr! What do you think of the two with whom Allah is the third?” When a believer does all that they are able to do in this physical world and then puts his or her trust in Allah, then Allah intervenes and comes to their aid. Allah will even change His natural laws if this is what it takes to help the believer. Nothing is out of bounds for Allah. This is how much Allah will intervene. We call this miracles but it is Allah’s way of responding. When the Prophet (SA) and Abu Bakr (RA) was in that cave with the enemies in front of them, Allah intervened and the pagans saw only a cobweb covering the entrance of the cave and a pigeon laying on her egg. They believed no one could go through that cave. This was the miracle of Allah coming to the aid of the believer who had understood tawakkul and practiced it properly.
What is important to note here is that after the Prophet (SA) had done his best and then put his trust in Allah, there was no doubt in his heart about Allah coming to their aid. Quite often when we have a problem or challenge before us and we cannot see anyway out of it, we say we will put our trust in Allah but deep inside of us we still doubt that Allah will help us. We do not have the full confidence that our challenge or problem will be resolved. This is not tawakkul in Allah. We first do our best to solve our problem even when we see no solutions in sight and then in this difficult situation put our trust in Allah. We must have the confidence that Allah will help us. No doubt must exist in our hearts. This is tawakkul in Allah. This is the way of the believer. For the believer there is a recognition that every success they have, is from Allah even if it is a simple task. The believer knows intimately that without Allah nothing is possible. It is with this consciousness that the believer puts their trust in Allah. As Allah so eloquently quotes in the Quran (3:173) “and they said ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs”
Allah wants us to put our trust in Him. He says “Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)” Quran (3:159)
The Prophet (SA) in a beautiful Hadith illustrates the power of Tawakkul in Allah.
He said “If all of you were to rely upon Allah in the manner He deserves from you, then He would certainly grant you provision as He provides it to the birds who depart hungry in the morning and return with a full belly at dusk” (At tirmithi)
The Prophet (SA) used the analogy of the birds. They truly trust in Allah. They do not hoard food. They have to go out each day and hope to get food for that day. They depend solely on Allah. I do not feed birds often and I am sure you do not. It is Allah who feeds them for we do not find any dead birds falling out of the sky from hunger. This is what the Prophet (SA) is saying to us. We will enjoy that same blessing when we properly put our trust in Allah. Let us use this blessing that Allah has placed before us. The Prophet (SA) used to say the following upon leaving his home:
“Bismillaahi tawakkaltu ‘alaallaah, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah” (at tirmithi). This means “In the name of Allah; I trust in Allah; there is no might and no power but in Allah.”
Finally, when the Prophet (SA) foretold of the seventy thousand people who shall enter Paradise without a reckoning, he described their qualities:
“They are those who do not seek ‘ruqyah’(incantations), practice cauterization, nor follow omens, but they put their trust in their Lord (Allah)” (Bukhari and Muslim)
When we put our trust in Allah, He is now working on our problem and knowing this, we are able to feel a sense of calm and solace even though we still have our problems. We are able to bask in the warm realization that Allah will find the way for us if we are indeed believers. So let us all learn to do the best we can with our challenges and then put our trust in Allah.
