What is Tawakkul

Summary of the majlis

26 August 2021

، عَنِ ابْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ لَمَّا انْتَهَيْنَا إِلَى بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ قَالَ جِبْرِيلُبِإِصْبَعِهِ فَخَرَقَ بِهِ الْحَجَرَ وَشَدَّ بِهِ الْبُرَاقَ ‏"‏

Rasullullah ‎ﷺ said: When we reached Bait Al-Maqdis, Jibra'il pointed with his finger causing a crack in the rock, and he tied Al-Buraq to it." [at-Tirmidhi]

The Muhaditheen have mentioned that the world is a place of using means. If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re thirsty, drink. If you need to go somewhere, use transport. Everything happens with the will of Allah ‎ﷻ. But whilst we are in the world we need to follow the processes.

Allah ‎ﷻ created the means for us to use.

Allah ‎ﷻ can do whatever He wishes, whenever He wishes

إِنَّمَا قَوْلنَا لِشَيْءٍ إِذَا أَرَدْنَاهُ أَنْ نَقُول لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُون

Whenever We intend to do something, We do no more than say to it, “Be,” and it comes to be. [16:40]

But this world is a place of using the means Allah ‎ﷻ has given us.

کر توکل پھر تیری تدبیر ہی تقدیر ہے

This is the reason why even though the animal al-Buraq was under their control, Hadhrat Jibreel as still tied it up.

For example if you open a shop, then have tawakkul (reliance) in Allah ‎ﷻ that you will earn money from the shop InshaAllah.

So even after using the means of this world we shouldn’t rely on what we used for what we need (for example the shop to earn money). We should always rely on Allah ‎ﷻ.

For example there can be two people with the same illness where one is cured with a medication but the other has had no improvement despite taking the same treatment.

We are weak. May Allah ‎ﷻ forgive us.

We should take care to remember the fact that everything is in Allah ‎ﷻ’s hands.

If it rains it is from Allah ‎ﷻ

It is mentioned in the hadith Qudsi (word of a hadith as revealed to Rasullullah ‎ﷺ by Allah ‎ﷻ)

“This morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever.

As for him who said: We have been given rain by virtue of Allah and His mercy, that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars; and as for him who said: We have been given rain by such-and-such a star, that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars.”

So we should be careful never to say the weather was because of something or any result was due to a certain reason. It is due to the order of Allah ‎ﷻ.

This is what Tauheed (oneness of Allah ‎ﷻ ) is

Understanding this will be of benefit to us when we die and whilst we are dying and we go through the trials of sakaraat (agony before death). May Allah help us at this time.

To help us to understand and remember this we should prepare for the day. In the morning daily and after each salah we should recite:

فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ

“O Creator of the heavens and the Earth, You are my guardian in this world and the Hereafter. Make me die a Muslim and make me join the righteous.”

May Allah ‎ﷻ give us tawfiq to act upon what has been said