My dear respected brothers and sisters! In today’s khutba, I want to share some thoughts with you on the virtue of relying on Allah, confiding one’s affairs to Allah, and trusting in Allah. This is tawakkul ‘al-Allah, a virtue that the Qur’an seeks to instill in man.
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
“Let the believers put their trust in Allah.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:122)
One of the names of Allah is al-Wakeel. It means the one who can be trusted—the Trustee. Al-Wakeel also means the Guardian, the Protector, the Defender, and the Disposer of affairs.
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
“And put your trust in Allah. Allah is sufficient as a Trustee.” (al-Nisa’, 4:81)
We should trust in Allah because everything belongs to Him.
لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
“Everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him and Allah is sufficient as a Trustee.” (al-Nisa’, 4:171)
We should trust in Allah because He is the Lord of the east and the west and there is none other worthy of worship but Him.
رَّبُّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَاتَّخِذْهُ وَكِيلًا
“Lord of the east and the west; there is no god but Him so take Him as your Trustee.” (al-Muzzammil, 73:9).
We should trust in Allah because He alone is Ever-Living and does not die.
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ
“And put your trust in the Ever-Living, the One Who does not die.” (al-Furqan, 25:58)
We should trust in Allah because He is the Mighty; the Wise.
وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
“And whoever trusts in Allah, then surely Allah is the Mighty; the Wise.” (al-Anfal, 8:49)
We should trust in Allah because He is the Mighty; the Merciful.
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ
“And put your trust in the Mighty, the Merciful.” (al-Shu’ara, 26:217)
We should trust in Allah because He alone has the knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the earth, and all affairs will return to Him for decision.
وَلِلَّهِ غَيْبُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ يُرْجَعُ الْأَمْرُ كُلُّهُ فَاعْبُدْهُ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَيْهِ
“To Allah belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth, and all affairs will return to Him. Hence worship Him and put your trust in Him.” (Hud, 11:123)
We should trust in Allah because He alone provides the right guidance. The prophets and messengers of Allah used to say:
وَمَا لَنَا أَلَّا نَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَقَدْ هَدَانَا سُبُلَنَا
“How should we not put our trust in Allah when He has guided us in our ways?” (Ibrahim, 14:12)
Putting one’s trust in Allah is not only advantageous for the above reasons, but it is also one of the demands of faith.
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ
“So put your trust in Allah if you are believers.” (al-Ma’idah, 5:23)
One of the blessed names of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is al-Mutawakkil, meaning ‘one who puts his trust in Allah’. Remember what the Prophet (SAW) said to Abu Bakr (RA) when they were in a cave during their hijrah to Makkah and some of their enemies had reached the very mouth of the cave.
إِذْ هُمَا فِي الْغَارِ إِذْ يَقُولُ لِصَاحِبِهِ لَا تَحْزَنْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَنَا
“When they were both in the cave, he [Muhammad] told his companion, Do not worry; for Allah is with us.” (al-Tawbah, 9:40)
How often we are depressed and worried about our future; about the future of our children? Allah tells us to put our trust in Him because He will manage our affairs in the way that is best for us.
وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ
“Whoever puts his trust in Allah — He will be sufficient for him.” (al-Talaq, 65:3)
According to a hadith, whoever when leaving his house says,
بِسْمِ اللهِ ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللهِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ
“In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah and there is no power and no strength except with Allah,” it will be said to him: “You are taken care of and you are protected and guided, and the devils will move away from him…”
And while entering one’s house, the prophetic du’a is to say:
بِسْـمِ اللّهِ وَلَجْنـَا، وَبِسْـمِ اللّهِ خَـرَجْنـَا، وَعَلَـى رَبِّنـَا تَوَكّلْـنَا
“In the name of Allah we enter and in the name of Allah we leave, and upon our Lord we place our trust.”
Another Prophetic tradition tells us that whoever says
حَسْبِيَ اللهُ لَآ إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ
seven times in the morning after Fajr, and seven times after Asr, Allah will take care of whatever worries him of the matter of this world and the hereafter. The meaning of this dhikr is “Allah is sufficient for me. There is none worthy of worship, but Him. I have placed my trust in Him and He is the Lord of the Majestic Throne.”
Allah ordered Musa (AS) to take the Children of Israel from the darkness of oppression to the light of freedom by rescuing them from the clutches of Firaun. As they escaped, running for their lives, Firaun followed them with his army. The Children of Israel were stuck right in front of the Red Sea. Some of them lost hope; some of them cursed Musa (AS) for only bringing them more trouble, and some of them just kept looking back at the approaching army of Firaun. Musa (AS) remained calm. He put his trust in Allah and said,
إِنَّ مَعِيَ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ
“Most certainly, my Lord is with me and He will guide me.” (al-Shu’ara, 26:62)
Allah ordered Musa (AS)to strike the sea with his staff, and the sea split. Musa (AS) trusted in Allah, and Allah split the sea for him.
It is important to understand, however, that tawakkul does not mean to sit back and think that one’s problems will be solved just by believing that Allah will take care of one’s affairs. To put one’s complete trust in Allah is not equivalent to fatalism or the doctrine that all events are subject to fate or inevitable. One has to place one’s trust in Allah in a matter only after doing all that is in one’s power in regard to that matter. Yaqub (AS) placed his trust in Allah and he was praised for that. And yet, before sending his sons to Egypt in search of Yusuf (AS), he asked them to take the necessary precautions.
Here, as can be seen, tawakkul is regarded as being complementary, and not opposed to planning and using one’s judgment. The same lesson is taught when Allah (SWT) tells Muhammad (SAW),
وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
“And consult with them upon the conduct of affairs; and when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust.” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:159)
Just as iman is the combination of faith and acting upon that faith, the same goes for tawakkul. Don’t give up on your own efforts. Rather strive and work with the attitude that Allah will take care of your affairs and will help you get through your trials. This proactive attitude is in fact part of you having tawakkul. It is reported that one day Prophet Muhammad (SAW) noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet (SAW) then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah.” Taking advantage of available means is not only consistent with tawakkul, but an essential aspect of expressing it.
May Allah (SWT) make us of the mutawakkilun; those who gracefully rely on Him. May He guide us to work in this world to our full potential. May He protect us and make us entrust our souls to Him, both in times of ease as well as in times of hardship. Ameen!
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! Every human being comes to this earth by the decree of Allah with a pre-ordained plan that balances the nature of his temporary abode with good and evil, with ease and difficulties, and with death and life. As Muslims, we should believe that Allah (SWT) out of His wisdom may decide to let our plans not work out as desired by us for reasons that only He knows. The fruit of tawakkul is the acceptance of Allah’s decree. Whoever leaves his affairs to Allah and then accepts what he is given has truly relied on Allah. Believing in al-Qadr or Allah’s divine decree is one of the pillars of our faith. In every matter there is good for a believer.
Yusuf (AS) was thrown into a well. This was wrong. He was picked up and master’s wife tried to seduce him, and when he refused, he was put into prison! This was blatant injustice. And yet, all of this was good for him! And that is why later when Yusuf (AS) became the ruler of Egypt, he remarked that Allah was lateef towards Him. Al-Lateef is the One who is subtle. He is the One who brings benefit to His slave in a way that the slave can never perceive.
Brothers and sisters! Tawakkul requires training. We are humans, and every now and then, we face situations of discomfort and uncertainty. We begin to think whether or not our plans will work out. These are moments when we should remind ourselves to put our trust in Allah. If we truly rely on Allah, then this reliance gives us peace of mind and tranquility of heart knowing that Allah is always doing the best for us.
One of the ways of achieving tawakkul is to perform the istikharah prayer whenever a need arises. Ask Allah that if the matter is good for you; to make it easy for you and if not, to take it away from you and then be content with the decree of Allah. We should make it a habit to practice this Sunnah. The Prophet (SAW) used to teach his companions to make istikharah just as he used to teach them surahs from the Quran.
Brothers and sisters! Tawakkul is to entrust our affairs to Allah and be content knowing that He will take care of us. Tawakkul is to know that all will be well, even if things look impossible. Tawakkul is to understand and appreciate that when Allah takes away something from us, He is actually redirecting us to something better. Tawakkul is to know and believe that at the end of the tunnel there is light, even if we don’t see it.
Let us remind ourselves that Allah (SWT) is al-Wakeel, the ultimate and the best Trustee. Let us give ourselves and our affairs over to Him with a sense of full comfort and certainty in our hearts. Everything He decrees for us is good for us. He’s the best Disposer of affairs. He always opens a pathway for success when we have firm faith in Him. He’s sufficient for all of us.
May Allah (SWT) give us the tawfiq to use all His blessings in the best way we can while trusting in Him and depending on Him. Allahumma Ameen!
