Meaning of Tawakkul
Tawakkul means to trust, to have faith and to rely on someone. When you entrust your affairs to someone and surrender your rights, you trust in him.
Trust in Almighty Allah
One must trust in an entity which is perfect in all respects, which is free from all weaknesses and defects and which is all powerful. Obviously, such an entity could be Almighty Allah alone. Therefore, one must trust in Allah alone.
The holy Quran says:
"And in Allah let the believers put their trust."
[Ibrahim:11]
"And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He (alone) is sufficient for them."
[At-Talaq:3]
True spirit of tawakkul
It is generally believed that everything is in the hands of Allah and therefore entrust your matters to Allah and then your job is over. We need not do anything. Neither do we have to plan things nor do we have to make any efforts. Everything will happen automatically according to our wish. However, this is not the correct meaning of Tawakkul. It is self-deception.
The true meaning of Tawakkul is to use all the resources at one's disposal and exhaust all remedies and then leave the outcome to Almighty Allah with the hope that whatever outcome there may be shall be in our favour. If the outcome is not as desired, consider it to be Allah's design and desist from disappointment. In case the outcome is favourable, then one should not treat it as the fruit of one's own efforts but consider it to be the grace and mercy of Allah.
Tawakkul with understanding
To sit idle doing nothing is against Tawakkul. A Companion asked, "O Prophet (ﷺ) Should I tie the she-camel and trust in Allah or leave it and trust Him?" Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "Tie and then entrust it to Almighty Allah." [Tirmizi]
When Yāqoob AS was sending his sons to Egypt to bring food grain during a famine, he was worried anticipating for them a situation like that of Yusuf AS. Therefore, he advised them to adopt precautionary measures and then expressed his faith in Allah. It means he did his part of the job and then put his trust in Allah. Therefore, he said, "O my children (sons)! Do not enter all of you from one single gate but enter from various gates. However, I cannot save you from the will of Allah. The power to decree a thing belongs only to Allah. In Him do I put my trust and in Him let all the trusting (people) lay their trust." [Yusuf:67]
Umar R narrates that he heard Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "If you trust in Allah as it should be, He will provide you with sustenance just as He provides to birds; they go out of their nests in the morning with their stomachs empty and return in the evening contented." [Tirmizi]
What has been explained here is that just as a bird makes efforts leaving the results to Allah, we must also make efforts leaving the outcome to Allah, that we should not sit idle; there cannot be progress without movement.
Benefits of tawakkul
- Tawakkul saves a person from the state of vacillation and discontentment. On the occasion of Hijrah (migration to Madinah), when Abu Bakr R noticed the feet of infidels outside the cave of Sawr, he said, "O Prophet (ﷺ)! Even if one of them looks at his feet, he would find us." To this Prophet (ﷺ) replied: Do not worry Allah is with us." [Bukhāri, Muslim]
- Tawakkul saves us from mischiefs of Shaitan. Says Prophet (ﷺ) "Whenever a person, while leaving his home says :بِسْمِ اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ لاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ (In the name of Allah, I trust in Allah; there is no might and no power but in Allah), he is replied: You are guided, you are provided and you are protected. And Shaitān runs away from him. One Shaitān tells another: How can I have control over a person who has been guided, who has been taken care of and who has been saved". [Abu Dawood]
- Tawakkul leads to courage and determination. It makes one brave. Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "One who wants to be the most powerful among the people, he must trust in Allah and who wants to be the wealthiest, he must rely on what is in Allah's possession rather than what is held by him and one who wants to be the most honourable person, he must fear Allah." [Ahmad]
- Those trusting in Allah will got entry into paradise without being questioned. Prophet (ﷺ) has said, "Allah has promised that seventy thousand persons of my Ummah shall enter the Paradise without being questioned or without any chastisement. These are the people who do not take recourse to charm and amulets, who do not believe in bad omens or do not get cauterized. They have faith in the Lord and they trust in Him." [Bukhāri, Muslim]
Two noble examples of tawakkul
When Ibrāhim AS was thrown in the flames of fire, he said "حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل (My Allah is sufficient for me and He is the best doer)"
When Prophet (ﷺ) and his companions were informed that huge preparations were being made against them and that they must beware of it, it led to increase in their faith and they said حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
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Allah and his messenger knows best