Finding Relief Through Taqwa

The Verse That Was Enough for All of Humanity

Abu Dharr, if all people, if all of humanity were to choose one ayah in the Qur'an, this ayah would be sufficient for them.

And Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to love this verse so much, and the meaning of this verse so much, that he kept reciting it over and over again, to the point where Abu Dharr himself says: I used to fall asleep to the Prophet ﷺ reciting, وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا.

What does this verse mean? What is so beautiful about this statement that the Prophet ﷺ could not stop repeating it?

What Is Taqwa?

Allah Ta'ala, first and foremost, He addresses مَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ — the people who are described as مُتَّقِين. What does that mean in our religion? The word Taqwa is thrown around a lot in our community — "have Taqwa." But what does it truly mean? What does it mean to embody this principle of Taqwa?

The word Taqwa comes from a word called Wiqaya, which means to guard or to shield oneself. And so naturally when you hear "to guard or to shield," you have two questions to ask.

Number one: what am I guarding myself from? And number two: what am I guarding myself with? Those are the two questions that must be answered. If we're guarding ourselves from something, I want everyone to picture themselves as almost like a warrior. You're guarding yourself from something. What are you guarding yourself from? And what are you guarding yourself with?

The scholars say the first answer — what are you guarding yourself with — comes from وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ: you guard yourself with God. That is the essence of being a Muslim — to guard yourself and find protection in Allah. That every single thing you do is to have Allah in your mind with it.

Imam Suhaib actually said one time very beautifully. He said that Ibadah gets confused for a lot of things — that Ibadah is just prayer, Ibadah is just fasting, Ibadah is just Sadaqah and Zakah and Hajj. Rather, Ibadah is anything you do with God in mind. You say Bismillah before you eat, it becomes an act of Ibadah. You go to a day of work or school and you have a beautiful intention to take care of your family — that is Ibadah. You talk to your parents in a beautiful manner with Allah in mind — that becomes Ibadah.

To the point where the scholars actually say that sin is not just committing mistakes — we misdefine this a lot, by the way. The scholars actually say that sin is committing any deed without Allah in your heart. Sinning is committing any action without Allah in your mind. When you pick up a morsel of food and you forget to say Bismillah. When you enter the house of Allah and you forget to say the du'a. When you see a Muslim and you forget to say Assalamu Alaikum. The absence of God in the heart and in the mind is the true essence of sin, the scholars say.

And so when Allah says وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ — that is what Taqwa means: to have God in your heart and God in your mind. To be aware — and this is why we translate Taqwa as God-consciousness. The awareness of God. To think about God.

This world tries to teach you the opposite. Don't think, just do. To the point where there are slogans with companies: "Just do it." Don't think about it, just do it. You look at so many of the industries that exist within the world today. Look at the things that our young people are struggling with — addictions to substances and desires. They teach you not to address and think, but just to take something. Just take something, don't think about it.

But Allah Ta'ala teaches the opposite. وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ — think for once. You are people of aql. You are people of intellect. You are people that have been given honor.

You are people of dignity and thought and wisdom. Have that awareness in your life.

The Promise: A Way Out

This is what we call in Arabic a jumlah shartiyyah — a conditional statement. God says that if you have God in mind, وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا — God will make for you an easy exit. God will make for you an evident exit, an exit out of all of your issues, an exit out of all of your troubles.

The scholars say that a believer, when they see a dead end, it's not really a dead end to them. A believer sees routes they can take, alternative roads they can take to solve an issue. When the normal person sees a wall, a believer in fact sees a door, a believer sees a window. A believer doesn't see a solid wall — they see opportunities, they see perspective: Allah can help me here. It's not just a dead end for me. This is the meaning of وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا.

Provision from the Unexpected

One of the most beautiful parts of this surah comes in the following ayah, where Allah says:

He says: and He will provide for him or her from places they did not think were possible. Imagine — I want everyone to pause for a second. Think back in your life to a moment where you thought that your road was done. I failed an exam. I didn't get a job that I applied for. I wanted a certain thing in my life and it didn't happen the way I wanted it to. Now I want you to take this ayah — وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ — and think of a way in which Allah provided for you in a way that you did not think was possible at that moment of your failure. Because I guarantee for you it was possible.

Because then Allah says:

And for those who trust in God — وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ — they put their hope and their trust in God — فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ — that's all they need. All they need to know is that Allah is on their side. That's it. I don't care how many rejections I get from this dunya. As long as Allah is on my side, opportunities will continue to come at me. Chances will continue to come at me.

The Hijrah: A Living Example of Tawakkul

One of the most beautiful ways that we can explain this concept is through the life of the Messenger ﷺ himself. There was a moment in the life of the Messenger ﷺ where he was about to embark on his own hijrah to Medina — after he had sent the majority of his ummah from Mecca to Medina to seek asylum in this new city called Yathrib at that time.

By the way, this was a characteristic of the Messenger ﷺ. He didn't just say, "Okay, well the road looks open to me, so good luck everybody else, I'll see you all there." He made sure to send people before him. He was such a profound leader that he wanted to make sure that other people were safe. He wanted to make sure that other people were taken care of before he was taken care of. This was our Messenger ﷺ.

And so when he got the word from Allah to embark on his journey, he told Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, "Get your things ready, we're leaving. Get ready, we're going. It's the time." Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was already ready to go. Abu Bakr was like that friend who was ready to leave last week — all he was waiting for was your go-ahead. As soon as the Prophet ﷺ says, "Let's go, Abu Bakr," he was ready.

And the Messenger ﷺ says, "Yeah Abu Bakr, I have to do one thing before we leave. I have to go see Ali. I have to go see my cousin Ali, radiyaAllahu anhu." So he goes to Ali radiyaAllahu anhu — and this is where this principle gets taught. He goes to Ali and says, "Yeah Ali, I have three things to tell you. Three things to tell you. I need you to keep three things in mind."

He says: Number one, I need you to sleep in my place tonight. The Quraysh — the higher-ups in Mecca — have already known that I'm going to be leaving soon. They've already gathered people — imagine this — hitmen, assassins, to wipe me away as soon as they get the chance. So Ali, I need you to stay in my place tonight. I need you to sleep in my bed tonight. There is a shawl that I usually sleep with, and I need you to put it over yourself so they think that you are actually me. And I know we all have people in our lives that we trust and love, but how difficult of a thing would this be to follow through with? I love you, but this is a little bit much. You're telling me to put my life on the line.

Number two, he says: there are a lot of amanat — a lot of trusts — that people have left me with before they left for Medina. And I need you to disperse this to people in a rightful way, in a fair way. I need you to disperse all the wealth to people in a good way.

And number three, he looks at Ali radiyaAllahu anhu and says: I'll see you in Medina.

You know, later on in the life of Ali radiyaAllahu anhu, a lot of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ went up to him and said, "Ya Ali, what was that night like? What was it like when the Prophet ﷺ told you to lay in his bed, in his place? What was it like?" You know what Ali radiyaAllahu anhu said? He said: it was the best sleep of my life. The best sleep of my life. When the Prophet ﷺ trusts God, you trust the Prophet ﷺ. When he puts his faith in God and God takes care of him, you trust the Prophet ﷺ.

So the Prophet ﷺ at this point takes care of his business. And then he walks out and sees that there is a group of Quraysh surrounding the home, ready to take him down. And this is the moment where the Prophet ﷺ puts into effect وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا. The Prophet ﷺ starts to recite from Surah Ya-Sin:

The translation of this ayah is: "And We have put before them a barrier and behind them a barrier, and covered them so they cannot see." The Prophet ﷺ at this point picked up a clump of dirt from the ground, threw it in the air, and all of a sudden every single one of the Quraysh that were looking to take him down could not see anything. Their visibility was at zero. And the narration says that the Prophet ﷺ walked right by them — unscathed.

You keep God in mind, God will keep you in mind. You trust God, and God will be enough for you.

And it doesn't mean that the Prophet ﷺ didn't take care of business. What did he just do with Ali? I need you to take care of point one, point two, point three. Very, very methodical. Very organized. Believing and trusting in God is not an excuse to be lazy. Saying your du'as before you begin your drive doesn't mean you say Bismillah and drive like a crazy person. It means you trust God, and you do whatever you can in your power to take care of yourself, and you leave the rest to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when it seemed like there was a wall for the Prophet ﷺ, he took that dirt, threw it in the air, proclaimed the name of Allah, and walked right through without even a touch on his body.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to understand the true meaning of taqwa and tawakkul. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to embody the principle of trusting Allah and keeping Allah in our hearts. Ameen.

The Hadith of Ibn Abbas: Words to Live By

I would like to end this short reflection with one hadith that I want everyone to take away and take home with them today. There was a narration recorded by Imam Ahmad that Ibn Abbas radiyaAllahu anhu — Ibn Abbas was a younger companion of the Prophet ﷺ — and the narration says that Ibn Abbas was riding on the camel of the Prophet ﷺ, riding right behind him. So imagine this — how beautiful must this have been. How many of us would do anything just to be in the same room as the Prophet ﷺ, and Ibn Abbas was riding the same animal as the Prophet ﷺ, sitting right behind his blessed self.

He said: I was sitting behind the Prophet ﷺ when the Messenger turned to me and said, "O my beloved boy, my beloved son — يَا غُلَام. I will teach you words, so be mindful of them." So Ibn Abbas perked his ears up.

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 2669; also recorded in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

He ﷺ said: Be mindful of Allah and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and He will be on your side. If you ask, ask from Allah and Allah alone. If you seek help, seek help from Allah and Allah alone. Know that if the ummah were to gather their strength to bring you benefit and Allah did not will that benefit, not one person from the ummah would be able to benefit you. If the entire ummah were to gather their strength and try to bring you harm, intend to bring you harm, and Allah did not will that harm, not one of those people would be able to harm you. And then he says: the pens have been lifted and the pages are dry — رُفِعَتِ الْأَقْلَامُ وَجَفَّتِ الصُّحُفُ — that once Allah decides, there is nothing that can be done by us to change it.

So believe in Allah, trust in Allah. When it comes to the relationship of taqwa and tawakkul, it means that when you trust God, you do what you can in your power and you act with Him in mind — then you leave the rest to Allah عز و جل — and He will find you that makhraj, that place of exit:

That which you never thought was possible.

Closing Du'as

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us towards Him. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to see the exit when others see walls. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be people of taqwa. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be people of tawakkul. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be people who have a beautiful relationship with our Creator. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to follow the example of His blessed Messenger ﷺ.