Have tawakul in Allah [3: 159]

Loving and Living the Quran

Continuing with this verse from Sura Ale Imran: So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in [some of] the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him]. (Quran 3:159) The final part of the verse advises the Holy Prophet [saw] that once you have decided on a matter, have tawwakul or trust in Allah and ends by saying that Allah loves those who rely upon Him. Scholars explain that “when you are resolved” or “when you have decided” means that once the step of consultation or decision on his own has been taken, then he should then make his attitude one of trust in God, not in human deliberations In the Quran, tawakkul is used for a state when man exclusively places his hope and trust upon Allah (swt). Scholars explain that a person who has tawakkul takes action and makes an effort to achieve his goals but does not see the result as being from himself. In other words, while someone with tawakkul focuses on the process, on his actions which are within his circle of control, he knows that the outcome and final result of any action is not in his hands but rather in God’s hands. He also believes that since “in His hand is only and all good”, the final result of his effort will be good, even if he cannot see it at the time or even if it does not appear so in the moment. Imam Sadiq (as) said this about tawakkul There are various degrees of trust in God: – That you put your trust of God in all your affairs. – That you are well-pleased with whatever God does to you. – Knowing for certain that He does not cease in His goodness and grace towards you. – And that the command rests entirely with Him. (Al-Kāfī, v. 2, p. 391, H 3). In other words, reliance on Him means to do the very best of our ability, to trust the process, to focus on what is in our control. And then to leave the outcome to Him, recognizing that once you have done your best, it is no longer in your hands. And to have faith that whatever that outcome is, it is best as “He does not cease in His goodness and grace towards you”. Tawakkul, then, is what comes after you have done what you can to help yourself, with the resources that He have given you. It is NOT a passive waiting for Divine Help. For example, the Holy Prophet (saw) was once asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Should I tie my camel and then place trust in Allah, or should I set it free and then put trust in Allah?” The Messenger of Allah replied: Tie it and then place your trust in Allah. (Mīzān al-Hikmah, 10:684). Tawakkul also means to keep doing the right thing, even when things appear to be going wrong. To keep doing the hard thing, even when alternate paths seem easier if they will lead us away from His pleasure.

To have tawakkul is to have faith that if we have acted with truth, sincerity, wisdom and according to what is pleasing to Him, the outcome will always be good for us, even if it does not immediately appear to be so.

The opposite of tawakkul is to succumb to wrongful action when doing the right thing seems too hard in the moment or when we begin to doubt that doing the right thing will lead us to a good outcome. Or when we do not believe that our actions will amount to anything. Let us remind ourselves at such moments that part of tawakkul in Him is to use what we have at our disposal to make our lives and situations better. And once we have done that, to release our attachment to the outcome [very challenging, this, for some of us!] The verse ends with a reminder that He LOVES those that trust him. Given that Allah (swt) the Most Merciful has the ultimate good for human beings in mind, it makes sense that once we have done our job, He would love those that trust Him to do His job!