Reliance on Allah (tawakkul) .

we will talk about what it really means to trust Allah so we can trust Him in all our situations.

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Meaning of Reliance Upon Allah

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“Reliance on Allah” is referred to in Arabic as tawakkul. The word literally means to place one’s affairs in the hands of another.Allah has many Beautiful Names. One of Allah’s personal Names associated with ‘trust’ is Al-Wakeel – the Disposer of Affairs.

The Quran refers to Allah by Al-Wakeel fourteen times. For instance,“And they said: ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the best Disposer of Affairs’” (Quran 3: 173)“Allah is sufficient as Disposer of Affairs.” (Quran 4:81)“He is the Disposer of all Affairs.” (Quran 6:102)Allah commands us to place our trust in Him: “(He is) the Lord of the East and the West. There is no true deity but He. Take Him, therefore, as Disposer of your Affairs.” (Quran 73:9)Likewise, Allah forbids us to place our reliance on His creation: “We gave Moses the Book, and made it a guide to the Children of Israel, (commanding): ‘Take not other than Me as Disposer of (your) Affairs.’” (Quran 17:2)Together, these two verses show us that reliance on Allah is an act of worship. Through our devoted trust and reliance, we express our monotheistic belief, and therefore these are things we should direct towards Allah alone.

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How to Rely on Allah?

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1. Do not confuse reliance with laziness*Tawakkul sometimes is mistaken for being laid back and thinking your problems will be solved without your intervention.

Tawakkul should not be mistaken with giving up your efforts thinking that somehow your challenges will get resolved.

Rather striving and working with the attitude that Allah will take care of your affairs and will help you in getting through your trials is part of you relying on Allah.Reliance does not mean you do not work for provision, neglect education or not apply for a job, and miss an interview deadline. Allah has decreed that we must work and it is from His ways that He give people when they strive.

Do not sit in your home and claim that your daily sustenance will come to you! Allah orders us to depend upon Him and to work at the same time.

Thus, the act of striving for our sustenance is an act of physical worship while trusting in Allah is worship of the heart as Allah says, “So seek provision from Allah and worship Him (alone).” (Quran 29: 17)Another way to truly understand trust is to look at what is Imaan (faith).

It is not just having faith in the heart, but it is a combination of faith and action. Similarly, reliance on Allah does not mean giving up on your own efforts. Rather it is to strive with the attitude that Allah will take care of your affairs and will help you get through the trials.Remember when the Prophet asked a Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” He replied, “I put my trust in Allah!” The Prophet then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah”.We must avoid a common pitfall. We tend to either rely on our efforts and forget trusting Allah or we think we are relying on Allah by not adopting any practical measures to solve our problems.

With regard to the second period during which the Revelation ceased, it was true or three nights, as mentioned above in the hadith of Jundub ibn Sufyaan (may Allah be pleased with him) Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Soorat ad-Duha was revealed after another period (of cessation of revelation), that lasted for a few nights, as is proven in as-Saheehayn and elsewhere. End quote from al-Bidaayah wa’n- Nihaayah (4/41) Thirdly: The wisdom behind the temporary cessation of revelation was so that the fear that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had felt when Jibreel (peace be upon him) first came down to him might dissipate, and so that he might long for the return of the revelation, and so that consolation might come down to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) from Allah, may He be exalted, thus increasing him in faith and steadfastness. It was also so that Allah might test the people, so that the believers would become steadfast and the disbelievers would go astray. Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The cessation of revelation refers to it being delayed for a period of time. This was so that what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) felt of fear might dissipate, and so that he would long for its return. End quote from Fath al-Baari (1/27) Mu‘tamir ibn Sulaymaan said, narrating from his father: When the revelation ceased for a while, they said: If it was really from Allah, revelations would come one after another, but Allah has forsaken him and hates him. Then Allah revealed “By the forenoon (after sun-rise)” [i.e., Soorat ad-Duha 93] and “Have We not lifted up your heart ” [.e., Soorat al-Inshiraah 94] in full. End quote from Fath al-Baari (8/710) Fourthly: It is not known exactly what the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did during the period when the revelation ceased, but what is definitely known is that this saddened him and that he longed for it to return and hoped to find comfort in it after what had befallen him of alarm and fear the first time. Ibn Ishaaq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Then the revelation stopped for a time, so that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was distressed and saddened. Then Jibreel brought him Soorat ad-Duha, in which his Lord, Who had so honoured him, swore that He had not forgotten him and did not hate him. End quote from Seerat Ibn Hishaam (1/225) What has been said about the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) having wanted on several occasions to commit suicide and throw himself down from the mountain tops because of what he felt of grief concerning this matter is false, as has been explained and stated in the answer to question Hence the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to consult his companions concerning matters when they arose, out of kindness towards them, so that they would be more motivated to do what they had decided upon. For example, he consulted them on the day of Badr about going after the caravan, and they said: O Messenger of Allah, if you were to ask us to cross the sea, we would cross it with you; if you were to take us to Bark al-Ghumaad, we would go there with you. We will not say to you as the people of Moosaa said to him: “So go, you and your Lord, and fight. Indeed, we are remaining right here”. Rather we say: Go, for we are with you, in front of you, on your right and on your left, fighting alongside you. He also consulted them as to where they should halt, and al-Mundhir ibn ‘Amr suggested moving forward. And he consulted them at Uhud as to whether he should stay in Madinah or go out to confront the enemy, and the majority of them suggested that he should go out to confront them, so he did that.

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On the day of al-Khandaq he consulted them about making a peace deal with the Ahzaab (confederates) in return for one-third of the harvest of Madinah in that year, but the two Sa‘ds – Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh and Sa‘d ibn ‘Ubaadah – rejected the idea, so he did not do that. On the day of al-Hudaybiyah, he consulted them about attacking the mushrikeen (polytheists), and Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq said to him: We have not come to fight anyone; rather we have come to do ‘umrah, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted his view. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said during the incident of the slander (al-ifk): “Advise me, O Muslims, about people who speak ill of about my family and make accusations about them, for by Allah I know nothing bad about my family, and they speak ill of a man of whom, by Allah, I know nothing but good.” And ‘Ali and Usaamah suggested that he should divorce ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to consult them with regard to war and other matters.