ICICE AL-NOOR MASJID KHUTBAH FOR FRIDAY 4/12/2020

RELIANCE AND DEPENDENCE UPON ALLAH

All praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek help from Him and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Him from the evil of ourselves and from the evil of our deeds. He who Allah guides cannot be set astray by anyone and he who Allah sets astray cannot be guided by anyone other than Him the exalted. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone who has no partner and I bear witness that our master and messenger Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His servant and messenger.

Today, we discuss a character among the greatest characters enjoined in Islam, we speak today about a character that is highly beneficial and highly placed in status, it is a character that every servant needs to showcase in condition of happiness or sorrow. It is a character that symbolizes faith and which is enumerated among the most dignified actions of the heart. A lot of verses in the Quran speak about its virtues, so also numerous Hadith of the messenger (Peace be upon him). Our discussion today is about Tawakkul (reliance upon Allah and true dependence upon him the exalted).

Tawakkul (Reliance upon Allah) means true dependence upon Allah (sincerely from the bottom of the heart) in terms of causation of positive things and pushing away of negative things from among worldly aspects or the hereafter. Tawakkul is about a servant’s reliance upon Allah alone in every aspect, reliance in what he/she desires or what they fear, reliance in what they do of piety to achieve closeness to Allah and in what they abstain from of sinful acts.

The person who relies upon Allah is the one who solemnly believes that Allah takes care of his/he sustenance and provision, they believe that Allah plans their affairs so they fall back to him alone and don’t rely on other than him. A servant that relies on Allah entirely is the one who is submissive to Allah in whatever he decrees, such person acknowledges that there isn’t absolute might and power except with Allah.

Imam Ibn AL-Qayyim mentioned that Tawakkul is an attribute that is made up of several aspects, Tawakkul is not achieved except with them, these are:

One: True knowledge of Allah and his attributes; and to believe in his power, his dominion as well as his causation of all affairs, all affairs happen by his will. This knowledge is the first among the things that make a servant among people that attain the status of Tawakkul.

Two: Holding on to causes; because Allah has made for everything a cause.

Three: Attainment of Tauheed (belief in the oneness of Allah or monotheism), Tawakkul is achieved based on how genuine is one’s belief in Tauheed. Tauheed leads a servant to believing sincerely that Allah alone is the one capable of actualizing his desires and requests. Another aspect needed in Tawakkul is the true belief that everything that happens to a servant happens by Allah’s planning and will.

Four: Dependence of the heart entirely upon Allah and leaning towards Him. A servant’s heart should therefore not rely on the means (they hold) of actualizing their desires, rather, the it should rely on the planner of affairs, the one who causes the means to be effective.

Five: Being optimistic that Allah will grant what is requested from him. A servant’s Tawakkul is as powerful as his optimism about Allah’s response to his/her request. This means that a servant should believe that Allah’s plan is better than his plan for himself. Allah says: “And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him” [65:03]

Six: Total submission to the will of Allah.

Seven: Returning the entirety of one’s affairs to Allah such that every aspect of a servant’s life is willingly not forcefully returned to Allah the exalted. Allah says in his Book narrating the story of Prophet Shu’aib when he said: “And my success is not but through Allah. Upon Him I have relied, and to Him I return” [11:88].

Eight: Acceptance; and that’s the yield of Tawakkul. When someone relies upon Allah truly, it implies that such person agrees with the choice of whom he relied upon.

O servants of Allah! Tawakkul is one of the best deeds of the heart after belief (Iman) and certitude (Yaqeen), life doesn’t stabilize except with it and a servant doesn’t achieve success and steadfastness except with it. Tawakkul is an act of obedience and worship; it is the action of the pious ones, Allah had ordained that his prophets and messengers practice it. In numerous verses of the Quran, Allah the most high enjoins his believing servants to practice it. Allah says: “And upon Allah rely, if you should be believers.” [05:23]

Allah the most high also ordained that we rely upon him when it comes to worship and obedience, he taught us to say in every prayer: “It is You we worship and You we ask for help.” [01:05] The messenger (peace be upon him) also taught us to say after each prayer: “O Allah, help me to remember You, to give You thanks, and to perform Your worship in the best manner.”

Al-Wakeel is one of the names of Allah, and it means a deity who is relied upon in every affair. Allah is Al-Wakeel, that’s why he ordained that his servants rely upon him in every affair so that he brings them good and protect them from evil. Allah says: “And rely upon Allah; and sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.” [33:03] meaning Allah is sufficient as a helper for whoever returns and relies upon him. He also says: “[He is] the Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of [your] affairs.” [73:09]

Allah the exalted warned us against relying on any deity other than him, he says: “And We gave Moses the Scripture and made it a guidance for the Children of Israel that you not take other than Me as Disposer of affairs” [17:02] Tawakkul is an attribute of the messengers of Allah. Allah says: “Their messengers said to them, “We are only men like you, but Allah confers favor upon whom He wills of His servants. It has never been for us to bring you evidence except by permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely. And why should we not rely upon Allah while He has guided us to our [good] ways. And we will surely be patient against whatever harm you should cause us. And upon Allah let those who would rely [indeed] rely.” [4:11-12]

Our noble prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is the leader of those who perform Tawakkul, he stood firm calling on to Allah and was never wavered by the transgression of the enemies of Allah and their enmity, he rather held tight his mission and relied upon his Lord, he was optimistic about Allah’s support so eventually the support was apparent.

Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said:

When (Prophet) Ibrahim (Abraham) was thrown into the fire, he said: “Allah (Alone) is sufficient for us, and, He is the Best Disposer of affairs.” So did Messenger of Allah Muhammad (Peace be upon him) when he was told: “A great army of the pagans had gathered against him, so fear them”. But this (warning) only increased him and the Muslims in Faith and they said: “Allah (Alone) is sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs (for us)”.

The source of one’s Tawakkul is from the knowledge he/she has that all affairs are in the hands of Allah, all servants are under his dominion, all creatures, humans or Jinns, strong or weak, wealthy or poor, are in need of Allah and Allah alone is Al-Ganiy (The Wealthy). The creator is Allah, the enricher is Allah and the disposer of all affairs is Allah. Allah is the exalted in might, so no one can over power him, he is strong so no one can defeat him, whoever seeks his protection cannot be humiliated, whoever returns to him cannot be lost, he is the wise who places everything accordingly, he is merciful to his servants, mercy that surpasses that of a mother towards her child.

If you’re weak (which everyone is in the sight of Allah) then rely upon Allah because He is the owner of absolute strength, if you’re poor (and of course everyone is before Allah) then rely upon Allah who has absolute wealth. Whatever your condition might be, rely upon Allah because he is an excellent protector and helper.

Servant of Allah! Associate yourself with Allah to get guided, return to Him to get protected, ask him to be given, be humble before him so that you are answered, seek His help so that you get helped, raise your requests to Him, He is sufficient for you.

Abu Dharr reported Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) as saying that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said:

“O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you, O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and will not attain benefitting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man of you, that would not increase My dominion in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man of you, that would not decrease My dominion in anything. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you to rise up in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I record for you and then recompense you for. So let him who finds good, praise Allah, and let him who finds other than that blame no one but himself.”

Some people might think that Tawakkul means not holding on to means (of livelihood, wealth, success, and so on), this is an absolute fallacy. Indeed holding on to the means of actualizing desires coupled with resting the case of the outcome of one’s struggle to Allah, then putting trust in him (because he will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds).

For someone to sit without holding on to the means to achieving what they desire in their worldly life or the aspects of hereafter is not Tawakkul. This is laziness and weakness, the messenger of Allah warned us against that.

Narrated Ibn `Abbas:

The people of Yemen used to come for Hajj and used not to bring enough provisions with them and used to say that they depend on Allah. On their arrival in Medina they used to beg the people, and so Allah revealed, “And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is the fear of Allah.” [2:197]. Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said: “One of you should not sit in the mosque and say: Allah will provide for me, you know very well that the sky does not rain gold or silver.”

Brothers and sisters in faith! You should hold on to the means no matter how simplistic they seem, but beware of attaching your trust exclusively on the means (and not with Allah). You should know that Allah is the one Who causes the means to be effective and successful, if He wills, He can block the means from being effective. That’s why the prophet of Allah Ibrahim wasn’t burnt in a blazing fire when he was thrown into it, because Allah didn’t permit the blazing flame to be effective. Ibrahim’s son Isma’il wasn’t affected by a sharp knife when his father tried slaughtering him by the command of Allah, because Allah didn’t permit the knife to be effective.

A lot of verses of the Quran and Hadith of the prophet enjoin believers to exercise Tawakkul. These verses and prophetic traditions enumerated different forms of Tawakkul in the worldly affairs as well as the affairs of the hereafter. These include:

1. Relying upon Allah and depending on Him to grant you the ability to worship Him and be obedient to Him. Every servant is created purposefully to be a slave of Allah, to act in ways that please Him and to abstain from what displeases him. Allah’s help is certainly needed because servants are always faced by lusts that try to deceive them, Satan that wants to mislead them and a Dunya that wants to make them carried away. Allah’s help, protection and guidance is indeed needed. Allah says: “it is you we worship and you we ask for help” [01:05]. He also says: “And to Allah belong the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth and to Him will be returned the matter, all of it, so worship Him and rely upon Him. And your Lord is not unaware of that which you do.” [11:123]
2. Relying upon Allah in whatever you want to achieve in worldly context. The messenger (peace be upon him) used to teach his companions Istikhara. In the Istikhara prayer and its supplication is special training on how to perform Tawakkul and how to be submissive to Allah in whatever he decrees. The person who performs Istikhara announces his weakness (before Allah) with regards to choosing what is beneficial to him, so that person by performing Istikhara, returns to his Lord requesting from him the exalted to choose what is beneficial and best, then he trusts Allah’s choice for him and accepts his decree.
3. Relying upon Allah when a calamity and hardship befall: Whenever a calamity befalls you, you should be reliant upon Allah.
4. Relying upon Allah when leaving home: Whenever you leave home, be reliant upon Allah.
5. Relying upon Allah when going to bed.
6. Relying upon Allah in wealth seeking. When you struggle towards getting riches/wealth, you should be reliant upon Allah, he is the absolute enricher who took upon himself to provide for each and every creature of his. He says: “And how many a creature carries not its [own] provision. Allah provides for it and for you. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” [29:60]. Beware of seeking wealth from other than him, because those from whom you seek the wealth also get their provisions from Allah, so they can’t enrich. Allah says: “Indeed, those you worship besides Allah do not possess for you [the power of] provision. So seek from Allah provision and worship Him and be grateful to Him. To Him you will be returned.” [29:17]

‘Umar bin Al-Khattab narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said:

“If you were to rely upon Allah with the required reliance, then He would provide for you just as a bird is provided for, it goes out in the morning empty, and returns full.”

There are some benefits attributed to relying upon Allah which include:

1. Victory and support: If you want Allah to make you victorious against your evil self and your enemies, you should be reliant upon Allah. Allah says: “If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there that can aid you after Him? And upon Allah let the believers rely.” [03:160]
2. Protection and care: Allah says: “And whoever relies upon Allah – then He is sufficient for him.” [65:03] this verse implies that Allah is sufficient for those reliant upon him in all their affairs, he is sufficient to bring them what benefits them and protect them from what would harm them. Whoever is reliant on Allah should therefore not be worried, because actualization of their needs are on the way.
3. Tranquility and peace of mind: In Tawakkul there is peace of mind. A believer that is reliant upon Allah in his affairs is always happy, when something good happens he thanks Allah, and when something he dislikes befalls him, he becomes confident that Allah chose that for him as a trial, he exercises patience and returns to Allah in submission.
4. Winning Allah’s love: Allah says: “Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].” [03:159]
5. Getting Jannah (paradise): Whoever wants to make Jannah should rely upon Allah in all affairs, he should seek for his help in discharging his obligations as a Muslim. Allah says: “And those who have believed and done righteous deeds – We will surely assign to them of Paradise [elevated] chambers beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. Excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers. Who have been patient and upon their Lord rely.” [29:58-59]

May Allah guides us towards true Tawakkul.