4 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR TRUST IN ALLAH
Imam Kamil Mufti
“Trust in 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.
HOW TO RELY ON ALLAH?
GRATITUDE – THE WAY TO HAPPINESS
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 (trust in Allah) 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 in Allah is to look at what is Iman. 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 Muhammad 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. (At-Tirmidhi)
2. DO NOT BECOME ARROGANT
ISLAM IS EASY – DON’T MAKE IT DIFFICULT
You should always plan and work based on what Allah has blessed you with. You should fully use those blessings by thanking Allah for them, without getting puffed up with arrogance about your personal strengths. All your strength and ability is from Allah and ultimately it’s the favor of Allah that will determine your success.
3. ACCEPT ALLAH’S DECISIONS
After your best efforts, accept whatever happens. You should believe that Allah, out of His wisdom, may decide to supersede all your plans for reasons that only He knows. Remind yourself that believing in al-Qadr (Divine Decree) is one of the pillars of your faith. Know that whatever will happen will happen and all you can do is your best.
4. TAKE ALL PRECAUTIONS
In the Quran Allah tells us the story of two prophets, Yaqub (Jacob) and his son Yusuf (Joseph). On one occasion, when sending his sons to Egypt, Yaqub instructs them to enter from different gates of the city to avoid suspicion, but Allah willed otherwise. The point is that Yaqub took all the measures he could to avoid any possible risk.
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.
BENEFITS OF TAWAKKUL
We need to apply tawakkul in our daily lives. One of the major benefits of tawakkul is that it can relieve us from unnecessary anxiety, worry, and resulting depression from the daily challenges.
By believing that all our affairs are in Allah’s hands and we can do only what is in our control, we leave the results to Allah and accept His decree whatever it may be. A sensible Muslim who understands tawakkul will not give up the effort, but will also not become overly elated with success or depressed by failure.
BE POSITIVE IN YOUR LIFE – IT’S SUNNAH!
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
Strive for what benefits you and rely on God, and do not give up. If something befalls you, do not say: ‘If I had only done such and such.’ Instead say: ‘It is as God decreed and He does what He pleases’. (Muslim)
When Prophet Muhammad said:
“Strive for what benefits you…” he was encouraging us to hasten in seizing the positive opportunities that come our way.
When he added: “… and rely on God…”, he was showing us that we should draw upon our faith in order to strengthen ourselves in our efforts.
This is why the Prophet Muhammad did not stop there. He continued by saying: “… and do not give up.”
How can anyone give up on the fuel of one’s spirit and the embers of one’s faith?
Finally, he concluded by saying:
If something befalls you, do not say: ‘If I had only done such and such.’ Instead say: ‘It is as God decreed and He does what He pleases’.
Faith is not blind, nor is it a form of resignation and a denial of our great human potential. It does not mean we should spend our time lamenting in the ruins of the past and reject change. Instead, faith is our certainty that good is wherever God places it, and that every day you bring forth a new dream, a new hope, and a new success.
Be Optimistic
A young man once asked me about a book entitled The Secret by Australian author Rhonda Byrne. His question compelled me to buy it and read it. I took it with me and read it on some of my travels. It presents the idea that we must encourage ourselves to be optimistic, positive, and believe that what we want can happen; indeed that it will be reality as soon as we utter it, believe it in our hearts, and rid ourselves of our pessimistic thoughts.
Positive people have to focus their minds and thinking on what they want and what must be, instead of on what they fear and detest.
This idea reminded me of something that Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“If a servant relies on God as He ought to be relied upon regarding moving a mountain off its base, then if that person is required to move a mountain, he will do so.”
I found that the basic idea of The Secret is one that we need to instill in ourselves, without dissipating its spirit by debating its finer details. This is because the book’s basic idea is in reality one of the prime motivators for productive work and fortitude.
She says hundreds of things in her book trying to explain the detailed implications and patterns of her ideas, but they really introduce only two or three new concepts. One of these concepts is reflected in something Prophet Muhammad quotes his Lord as saying:
I am as my servant thinks of Me, so think of Me how you wish.
In some narrations, it continues:
If he thinks well of Me, it is for his benefit, and if he thinks ill of Me, it is to his detriment.
The expectations being referred to here pertain to this world as well the Hereafter. Good thoughts lead to good actions and good expectations lead to productive work.
When we want to take hold of a new idea, we do not want to undermine it by over-thinking it, dissecting it, and qualifying it with exceptions. If we do that, it will sputter away and die. Once the idea is firmly in mind, it becomes easier to modify it and improve upon it.
Think Well of God
The second new idea she introduces is expressed in the hadith where the Prophet said:
When you beseech God, you should be certain that He will answer (At-Tirmidhi)
What this means is that when we call upon God in prayer, we should know in our hearts that He will answer us. We should not supplicate with an attitude of experimentation or with feelings of doubt and skepticism. `
Umar used to say:
“I do not worry about my prayers being answered, but about what I am going to pray for, because if I pray for something, its answer comes with it.”
These are among `Umar’s many inspired words. He is not only referring to deciding what to say in his supplications, which is in itself a good and blessed concern; he is speaking about something more profound: the need for our hearts and minds to have full trust in God and His promise.
God says:
Call upon me; I will answer you. (Qur’an 40:60) And He says: Who is it that answers the one in need when he calls out? (Qur’an 27:62)
And He says:
When my servant asks you about me, I am near. I answer the supplications of those who beseech me. (Quran 2:186)
Avoid Pessimism
Dark thoughts are enough to hurl us into dark places, as dank and stifling as we can imagine. It is as is we are hastening on death with our pessimistic thoughts. It is no surprise that pessimistic people in their psychological isolation, often appeal for death to hasten itself, and they lash out those who prevent them from attaining the only “relief” they can see in their lives.
The Prophet was once asked:
“Who are the best people?” He replied: Those who live long and do the best deeds. (At-Tirmidhi)
He also said:
None of you should ever wish for death. Never pray for it before it comes to you of its own accord. When you die, your deeds come to an end, and a believer’s life is never prolonged except for good. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Life is a blessing which God bestows upon the living. It was the Prophet’s habit that when he woke up, he would thank God and say:
Praise be to God who revived us after causing us to die and to Him is the final gathering. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The Prophet’s guidance is not just a provision for the next life, but for this one as well.
Source: islam.plus. Any use of materials is allowed only with a hyperlink.
