Trusting in Allah سبحانه و تعالى - Yousaf Jahangir

Trusting in Allah — Al-Tawakkul

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الْكَلَامِ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ، وَخَيْرَ الْهُدَى هُدَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا، وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ، وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ، وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ. ثُمَّ أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

I'd like to start off today's khutbah with a piece of advice — a profound piece of advice that Allah gives us in the Quran. SubhanAllah, we find that this piece of advice is so important because it has the potential and the ability to change and better our lives. And that is where Allah says:

Allah says: Put your trust in Allah, the One who never dies. SubhanAllah, if you were to just ponder over this verse for a few moments — Allah is telling us, in any goal that we aspire to achieve in our lives, any good that we want to come to us, or any harm that we want to remove from our lives and the harm that we want to avoid, Allah is telling us to trust Him. Why is that? Because He is al-Hayyi alladhī lā yamūt — He is the One who is eternal, the One who never dies, the One who is complete, the One who is perfect, the One who never leaves our side.

This concept of al-tawakkul is today's topic, inshallah.

What is Al-Tawakkul?

What is al-tawakkul? My brothers and sisters, for us to truly act upon it, we have to comprehend and understand a number of issues.

The first one is to understand and comprehend that to Allah belongs everything that is in the heavens and everything that is on this earth — therefore Allah alone is in charge of our affairs. He does as He pleases.

Al-tawakkul consists of understanding that Allah's plan is better than our plan. Al-tawakkul consists of understanding and comprehending that Allah's love and mercy is greater than the love and mercy that we have for ourselves. Al-tawakkul consists of us understanding that the knowledge and wisdom that we think we may possess is nothing — there is no comparison to the knowledge and wisdom that belongs to Allah.

Therefore, there are going to be times in life where we are going to hope that something we think is good for us happens — but Allah knows, in His infinite wisdom and His infinite mercy, that there is no good in this for us, so He saves us from that thing. And this is from His mercy. And other times in life, there are going to be times where we think something is bad for us, but Allah, from His infinite wisdom and His infinite mercy, knows that this is in reality good for us — and He allows that to happen as a mercy upon us.

Al-tawakkul is trusting and relying in Allah — the best case scenarios, the worst case scenarios, and the scenarios that we cannot even begin to imagine exist — they belong to Allah, and we have to trust upon Him, and we have to trust in His plans, and we have to rely upon Him and Him alone. This is why you find the concept of al-tawakkul is mentioned in 42 different places in the Quran.

Practical Examples of Al-Tawakkul in Everyday Life

We look at some practical examples of how al-tawakkul affects our everyday life.

Applying for a Job

We look at applying for a job, for an example. We start off — as we do any task — by asking Allah for His aid and His assistance. And then when we apply for the job, we give our best effort and try our hardest at every stage of the recruitment process. And then once it is out of our hands, we put our trust in Allah. We know: if this job is good for me in this life and, more importantly, in the next life, Allah is going to provide me with this job. And we know: if this job is not good for me in this life and it is not good for me in the next life, then Allah is going to protect me from this job. That is Allah's mercy upon us.

Sitting an Exam

We look at another example — something that affects many of us on a daily basis — and that is education, sitting an exam. We start off, like we do all tasks, asking Allah for His aid and His assistance. And we give our best effort throughout the entire course — from our attendance, to our courseworks and assignments, to the mock exams, to preparing properly for the finals. And then once we have sat the final exam and we have given it our best effort, our 100%, and we leave that exam — we do not become depressed and fall into anxiety. We know: I have done the best that I can. I started off by seeking Allah's aid and assistance, and everything is in His hands.

Two Important Points

Before we continue, it is important for us to note a couple of points.

The first one is — my brothers and sisters — notice how it is from the core message of Islam to work hard. Working hard, giving our 100%, having high aspirations — this is from the core message of Islam. As the Prophet ﷺ taught us, Allah has written and ordered and prescribed that you have perfection — you give your best effort, you try your hardest in everything that you do. So it is not from Islam to say: "If Allah wants me to achieve this thing, it is magically going to appear." To Allah belongs the heavens and the earth and everything that is within them. He does whatever He pleases, and He has ordered and He has decreed that if we want to achieve something, we have to work hard for that.

We look at the life of the Prophet ﷺ — he was the best of Allah's creation, the most beloved to Allah. Never did he say: "I am the best of creation, I don't need to work hard, I don't need to struggle, I don't need to strive." Rather, if we look at just the daily actions of the Prophet ﷺ, we become amazed at the struggle and the sacrifice and the commitment he made to spreading Islam. If there was anybody that was not going to make any effort, it would have been him ﷺ. But that, my brothers and sisters, is not from Islam. We learn from his life: giving our best effort in everything that we do — not just issues of the deen, but also issues when it comes to our rizq and our dunya. Having perfection and trying our best is from the core messages of our religion.

Just like right now none of us have left our cars open and parked inappropriately — we have taken the means that Allah has placed there, we have taken the precautions that Allah has placed there for us. The man came to the Prophet ﷺ and he said: "Do I leave my camel free, untied, and put my trust in Allah?" The Prophet ﷺ said:

He said: "Tie it, then put your trust in Allah." (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2517)

The second point I wanted to make before we continue is that we do not go to the other extreme either — where we start to think that we are the source of our blessings and our success. No, that is not true. Rather, the blessings and success that we have are Allah's favour upon us. The intelligence, the focus, the hard work, the energy, the outcome — all of that is Allah's favour upon us.

Tawakkul: A Blessed Act of Worship

Why, my brothers and sisters, is tawakkul such an important and special act of worship? Allah has favoured us and honoured us with this ibadah of trusting in Him and relying in Him — because if we did not live in accordance to this act of worship, then surely only Allah knows how sad and miserable our lives truly would be.

In fact, tawakkul is one of the most important acts of worship that Allah has honoured us with when it comes to defeating the shaytan in one of his greatest tricks. Now, we know that the shaytan has no physical ability over us, but he has plots and tricks that he uses to send us astray — and he does this so that we can join him in the pits of the Fire of Hell. May Allah protect us all.

Allah says in the Quran: the shaytan has no authority, no power, no might, no ability over those people who believe in Allah and put their trust in Him.

The Shaytan's Trick of Exaggeration

When we look at the tricks and the plots of the shaytan, we find one of the greatest ones that he has is that he has the ability to come and exaggerate — he has the ability to come and take the issues that we're facing and that which we're going through and make them seem a million times worse than what they are. He puts them under a microscope and exaggerates them. That's what the shaytan does.

An example of this is when somebody falls into a sin — somebody falls into a sin and the shaytan comes and starts to make that person despair from Allah's mercy. He makes the sin seem greater than what it is, and this continues in reality up until that person starts to think: "I can never turn back to Allah. Allah will never have mercy upon me." And this despairing from Allah's mercy, my brothers and sisters, is in fact greater than the original sin that we had fallen into — because the shaytan is not satisfied with us falling into sins or entering into the Fire of Hell; he is only satisfied when we join him in the lowest parts of the Fire of Hell. So we can never, ever despair from Allah's mercy.

Another example of how the shaytan uses this trick of exaggeration is when he comes and takes a test that Allah has favoured and honoured us with — yes, Allah has favoured us and honoured us with these tests that we are going through. He takes this test and goes to some people and starts to play with them and take advantage of them, up until they start to think: "Why is Allah doing this to me? Why is my life so difficult? Why is Allah picking on me?" Such thoughts, my brothers and sisters, are direct inspirations from the shaytan. They cause us to become blinded to the millions and millions of people that are suffering a million times worse than what we are going through.

Such thoughts, my brothers and sisters, cause us to forget that this test is from Allah's mercy and blessings upon us — because if we are patient and we persevere through this test, Allah is going to reward us. Reward us with what? Reward us with eternal bliss: gardens from beneath which rivers flow, in the company of our loved ones, in the company of the prophets and the messengers, the greatest of rewards — seeing the face of Allah, being in His company and speaking to Him — as well as rewards that our hearts desire, anything that our hearts desire, as well as that which our minds cannot yet even comprehend.

These tests and these difficulties that we go through are Allah's favours upon us. Because that day — that test — is your ticket to paradise. It is your individual test. But inshallah, if you are patient and you persevere and you do that which Allah wants from you, Allah is going to reward you with paradise. And when we are successful, inshallah, and we look back at these tests — away from the exaggeration of the shaytan, away from the whisperings of the shaytan — we are going to thank Allah for them. Because this here was your fast track. It was your golden ticket to paradise. So the struggle and the patience and the perseverance was all worth it, my brothers and sisters.

But tawakkul helps us defeat this trick of the shaytan by understanding: as Muslims, we put our complete trust and our complete reliance in Allah and Allah alone. Allah's plan is greater than our plan. Allah's mercy and love that He has for us is greater than the love and the mercy that we have for ourselves. Allah's knowledge and His wisdom is greater than the knowledge and wisdom that we think we may possess.

All that Allah wants us to do is to try our best. Once we've tried our best and we put our trust in Him and it is out of our hands, then we remember — it was not in our hands, but it was always in the hands of Allah — the Most Merciful, the Most Kind, the Wisest, the Most Knowledgeable. So if we are tested with losing a job, or failing an exam, or losing a loved one — any aspect of this dunya — we stay patient and we put our trust in Allah, we persevere through that. We do not let the shaytan come and use these blessings — these tickets to paradise — to send us astray. Nor do we let him come and compromise our mental health and our mental stability. Nor do we let him come and take advantage of the most important relationship that we are ever going to have — the relationship that we have with Allah.

إِنَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ — Indeed He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

The Great Rewards and Virtues of Al-Tawakkul in the Quran

Once we have understood these important principles pertaining to al-tawakkul, we can start to understand and comprehend why Allah speaks so highly of the people of al-tawakkul in the Quran. We can start to understand why the people of al-tawakkul have such great rewards. And we can start to understand why Allah emphasizes this act of worship. Time only permits for us to go through a few.

1. Al-Tawakkul is Among the Most Honourable Characteristics of the Believers

The first one that I bring to your attention is that al-tawakkul is the most honourable and one of the greatest characteristics that the believers have. In the Quran, Allah says the believers are those when Allah is remembered their hearts begin to tremble — may Allah make us from them — and when His verses are recited to them it increases them in iman. He ends these verses by telling us the great rewards and the most honourable characteristics that the believers have by saying:

And they are those who put their trust in Allah. You find this concept of al-tawakkul — Allah praises it and informs us that this is something all of the prophets and messengers shared. This is among the characteristics that all of the prophets and messengers shared, where He quotes the prophets in the Quran as saying:

And how is it possible — the prophets and messengers would say — how is it possible that we are not going to put our trust in Allah after He has guided us?

The Story of Musa (alayhi salam)

Look at the story of Musa (alayhi salam), for an example. Allah speaks about how he and his people were escaping Fir'awn and the other oppressors, and they followed them and chased them. At the time of sunrise they were within sight distance of one another. The people of Musa started to have a bit of doubt and a bit of fear and they said: "We are going to get captured now." Musa (alayhi salam) said: "Impossible. That is never going to happen. Because with me I have my Lord — He is going to guide me."

The Prophet ﷺ in the Cave During Hijrah

Looking at the level of the tawakkul that the prophets and messengers would have — you look at the Prophet ﷺ himself. When he took the means and precautions that Allah had placed there for him — in protecting himself, he made hijrah from Mecca to Medina. And even on the journey he took the means: from the means that he took, he was hiding in the cave. When they nearly caught him, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, got a little bit scared. Allah calls this incident in the Quran where He says — when the Prophet ﷺ said to his companion:

Do not fear, do not be sad — because Allah is with us. And then Allah blessed them by sending His tranquility upon them.

2. Al-Tawakkul is a Pillar of Iman

This is why you find that Allah in the Quran has made tawakkul a pillar of our iman, where He says:

And put your trust in Allah if you truly are believers. The scholars explain this — like Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim, for an example. He says: you'll find the one who does not trust his Lord and does not rely upon Him — you'll find that he has no faith.

You'll find that Allah describes the actions of the people of Jannah — the actions that they used to do whilst they were in this dunya — and the rewards that He has prepared for them in the next life. He says: as for those people who believe and do righteous deeds, Allah promises He is going to prepare for them the best of abodes for them to live therein forever. What an amazing reward this is! For those people who used to act — what was the action that they had, my brothers and sisters?

The next verse tells us: those people who had patience and had al-tawakkul — they relied upon their Lord.

3. Allah Loves the People of Al-Tawakkul

You find in the Quran that Allah tells us that He loves the people of al-tawakkul. What greater blessing could we have in this dunya than the love of Allah, my brothers and sisters?

Allah is telling us to take the means that He has placed there and seek advice from those people who deserve to be sought advice from — not just anybody, but the people that are specialists in that field. And once you have taken the means and avenues and the precautions and you have come to a conclusion and you made up your mind and you take that decision, then you put your trust in Allah. Because Allah He loves the people who have al-tawakkul in Him — those people who trust Him and those people who rely on Him. And if Allah loves us and we trust Him, then what can possibly go wrong?

4. Allah is Sufficient for the People of Al-Tawakkul

You find Allah tells us that the people of al-tawakkul are under His divine protection, where He says:

And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then Allah is going to be sufficient for him. And this is why you find Allah calls the Sahabah and the believers — when the people came to them and said: "People have gathered to cause you harm, so fear them." This increased the Sahabah in their iman and they said:

Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best that we can ever put our trust and our reliance in. Explaining this verse, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim mentions that al-tawakkul — relying in Allah and trusting in Him — strengthens our relationship with Allah so much that from His rewards is that He has rewarded His people by becoming their protector. If Allah is our protector, then who can bring us any harm?

When he was on that journey that I spoke about earlier — from Mecca to Medina, when he made the hijrah — taking the means that Allah had placed there for him, Abu Bakr said to him whilst they were hiding in that cave: "If the mushrikeen of Mecca, when they passed us by, if they looked down they would have seen us standing there." The Prophet ﷺ said: "What harm do you think can possibly come to two people when Allah is their third?"

5. Al-Tawakkul is a Great Reason for Attaining Allah's Rizq

The last point that I mention is that al-tawakkul, my brothers and sisters, is from the greatest reasons for us to attain and earn Allah's rizq. As the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2344; also reported in Musnad Ahmad and Ibn Majah)

If you trusted in your Lord the way He deserved to be trusted — SubhanAllah — if you relied upon Allah the way He deserved to be relied upon, He would provide for you the way He provides for the birds: they leave in the morning with an empty stomach and they return in the evening and they are full.

Du'a — Closing Supplication

Oh Allah, do not leave us to ourselves even for a moment. Oh Allah, give us good in this life and the next and protect us from the Fire of Hell. Oh Allah, help us to become from the people of al-tawakkul. Oh Allah, help us to become from the people of al-tawakkul. Oh Allah, guide us in trusting You and relying upon You and You alone. Oh Allah, guide us to the knowledge of that which You want from us and help us to act upon that. Oh Allah, help us to emulate and follow the Prophet's ﷺ way. Oh Allah, we are in need of You — Your mercy, Your love, Your guidance. Forgive us for our shortcomings and accept our repentance. Oh Allah, provide for our poor and needy and cure our sick. Oh Allah, guide us, guide our spouses, our children, our parents to Your straight path. Oh Allah, have mercy upon all those who have passed away.

Oh Allah, pray for Muhammad and his family as You prayed for Ibrahim and his family. Oh Allah, bless Muhammad and his family as You blessed Ibrahim and his family.