All praise be to Allah, Lord of the all that exists, and may Allah send His peace and praises on His Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, as well as on all of his family members and Companions, and those who follow his guidance, tread his methodology and adhere to his Sunnah until the Day of Recompense.
To Proceed: Relying on Allah (tawakkul) is one of the greatest forms of worship. Allah says: “So upon Allah, put your trust if you are truly believers.” [Surah Al-Maa’idah: 23] So He made relying upon Allah (tawakkul) a condition for Iman (Faith).
Allah said to His Prophet: “So when you have made a decision, then put your trust in Allah.” [Surah Al ‘Imraan: 159]
So He ordered His Prophet to put his trust and reliance on Allah.
Allah says: “O Prophet! Allah is sufficient for you and for the believers who follow you.” [Surah Al-Anfaal: 64]
And He says: “And whoever is dutiful to Allah, He makes a way out for him (from every difficulty). And He will provide for him from places he never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed, Allah has set a measure for all things.” [Surah At-Talaaq: 2-3]
And He says: “And whoever is dutiful to Allah, He will make his matter easy for him. That is the Command of Allah, which He has sent down to you. And whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will expiate from him his sins and enlarge his reward.” [Surah At-Talaaq: 4-5]
Furthermore, Allah has linked this reliance (tawakkul) to worship ( ‘ibaadah), as occurs in His statement: “So worship Him and put your trust in Him.” [Surah Hood: 123]
Allah orders us to put our trust in Him, and He praises those who do it. He also states in many verses of the Quran that He loves those who put their reliance in Him. All of this indicates and shows the importance of putting one’s trust in Allah.
Relying upon Allah is from the actions of the heart – so it is an act of worship of the heart. Therefore, putting one’s trust in Allah is not to be done with one’s limbs and body parts. Rather, it is found in the heart, just like fear (khawf), awe (khashyah), longing (raghbah), dreading (rahbah) and dutifulness (taqwaa) of Allah – all of these are acts of worship of the heart.
The position of tawakkul (reliance on Allah) is as some of the scholars have stated: “The position of tawakkul (Reliance) in the Religion is like that of the head on a body.”
So a person that does not have tawakkul does not have Religion, just like a body that has no head. It is well known that if a body is missing its head, it will cease to live. This is the same case with the Religion – if it lacks tawakkul, it lacks correctness – meaning that one will not have a correct religion.
Therefore, relying on Allah has a great standing amongst the stations of servitude to Allah. Allah uses it to distinguish His believing servants from everyone else. So whoever doesn’t put his trust in Allah at all is a disbeliever. And whoever puts his trust in Allah and also on others besides Allah (at the same time) is a polytheist. And as for the one who puts his trust in Allah alone – he is a monotheistic believer whom Allah loves and whose actions and statements He is pleased with. This is since he has established his actions and statements upon a correct foundation.
So what is the meaning of this tawakkul (reliance on Allah), which holds such importance and high position in the Religion?
The Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul) on Allah
Tawakkul on Allah means: Entrusting one’s affairs to Him and relying on Him in all matters. Entrusting one’s affairs to Allah entails not turning to someone else for unseen (ghaibi) support or help.
So reliance (tawakkul) upon Allah can be with regard to matters of Creed, such that the servant’s heart does not turn to anyone else besides Allah. Therefore, he is always putting his reliance in Allah, entrusting all of his affairs to Him.
The pagans did not fall into polytheism and disbelief except due to the fact that they put their reliance in other than Allah, entrusted their affairs to other than Him, and believed in their hearts that someone besides Allah was able to grant their requests, alleviate their worries and repel harms from them. So they relied on statues, idols, trees, stones, graves, shrines and the deceased.
They put their trust in created beings to grant them things that only Allah could do. So they began to ask them for help, offer sacrifices to them, make oaths to them, and directed various forms of worship to them. This is since they have relied on them apart from Allah, thinking that they have the power to benefit them, harm them or grant their requests. Due to this, when they put their reliance in other than Allah and directed their beliefs and worship to other than Him, they disbelieved in Him.The foundation of Shirk is: Entrusting one’s affairs and putting one’s reliance on other than Allah. This is why Allah says: “So upon Allah, put your trust if you are truly believers.” [Surah Al-Maa’idah: 23]
The scholars say: The object of the verb here “upon Allah” denotes limitedness. Thus the ayah means: “Put your trust in Allah alone and not anyone else.” So Allah has restricted tawakkul to Himself alone apart from others. Upon Allah” means not upon anyone else. The ayah continues: “…put your trust if you are truly believers.” Allah has made tawakkul (reliance on Allah) here a sign of one’s Faith in Him and proof of one’s Tawheed.
As for the one who claims to be a believer and an adherent of Tawheed, but yet then goes on to put his trust in other than Allah, such as stones, trees, statues, graves, the deceased, and so on, then this person’s claim is false. And he is not a believer since he has entrusted his affairs to someone besides Allah.
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