This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 9

Transcript

Tawakkul is such a beautiful thing. We know it. We’ve heard about it. We know what the translation of it is to depend on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, to rely on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And I’m sure we’ve listened to many lectures about it. We’ve asked the questions how can I build my tawakkul on Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and we should. Here, I want to add an element of tawakkul that I think a lot of people miss, but it’s an important part of tawakkul. Tawakkul isn’t simply putting your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala for the sake of getting an outcome; as you pursue an outcome. 

 Tawakkul also includes trusting Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala when things are uncertain; when you enter the unknown; you get out of your comfort zone; you enter in a situation where you are vulnerable; you’re fragile. But, you have to enter that situation. A huge part of tawakkul is trusting that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will bring about the good, despite the uncertainty and the vulnerability and all the possible negative outcomes. And a beautiful example of that is in Surah Al-An’am when Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) says وَإِن جَنَحُوا لِلسَّلْمِ فَأَجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكّل عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ وَإِن يُرِيدُوا أَن يَخْدَعُكَ إِنَّهَا حَسْبَكَ اللّهُ.

Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, ‘If they lean towards peace, then lean towards peace, accept that, and put your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. And if they seek to betray you, meaning this whole peace treaty is a ruse to get you in a vulnerable position so that they can take advantage of you, backstab you, whatever it may be. 

 If they’re planning to do that then حَسْبُكَ اللّهُ. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is enough for you. He has assisted you before. He will assist you again. What is Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala teaching us and teaching the Prophet ﷺ in this regard? What He is teaching us is the following, dear brothers and sisters: a believer makes decisions based on what Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and His Messenger ﷺ guide them to do. Now sometimes the decision is clear. Sometimes it’s very unclear. But the point here is a believer is somebody who’s driven by the hidayah, the guidance from the Quran and the Sunnah. And they are not people who hold themselves back, who hold themselves behind because of the potential uncertainties, the potential negatives that can come about as a result of making that decision. 

 The believers at this point are probably at the upper hand if Quraysh is the one coming out and asking for peace. It’s probably because Quraysh is realizing, “we’re being outplayed here; we’re being outmatched their economy is surpassing ours; their military capacity is surpassing ours; we should probably enter in the peace treaty to recollect ourselves.” So the fact that they’re the ones who are initiating this probably shows that they are they have the underhand so the Prophet ﷺ could have said “No, we’re going to continue and you’re probably just setting us up. You’re using this as cover, whatever it may be. And that’s a very valid concern that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, as the verse mentions  validates وَإِن يُرِيدُوا أَن يَخْدَعُونَكَ. 

 If they are looking to betray you, it’s very possible. But when peace is offered and that peace is reasonable. So don’t make this a general ruling here. But in general, when peace is offered, and that peace is reasonable, and in the interest of the believers, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala teaches the Prophet ﷺ go ahead and accept that and don’t let your uncertainties, the suspicions, cause you to make another decision. Don’t let the unknown dictate your decisions. Rather, let the known dictate it. And then when it comes to the unknown, you put your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. In other words, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala created a where there will always be uncertainties always. You responsibility isn’t to make the uncertain certain; it’s not to make decisions only when and until everything is clear and green. 

 There will always be an amount of ambiguity, amount of uncertainty. And that’s by design because tawakkul is a huge part of iman; it’s a huge part of our experience with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and developing our relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, and so it needs to be there. And so when we step out of our comfort zone, when we make a decision. Or we have to make a decision where there’s a lot of unknowns. Now what we do is we make the decision and then we put in our trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is going to take care of me, as He has taken care of me before.

This is what He tells the Prophet, right وَإِن يُرِيدُ أَن يَخْدَعُكَ فَإِنَّ حَسْبَكَ اللَّهُ  or in another verse وَإِن يُرِيدُ أَن يَخْدَعُكَ فَقَدْ خَانُ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ مِنْ قَبْلٍ .

Basically in another verse Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is saying that they’ve done this before and Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala protected you before. He gave you victory before. He’s going to take care of you in the future. How does this apply to our daily lives? Marriage is one that comes to mind. When you get married, there’s only so much you can do to know whether or not this marriage is going to work. There really is only so much you can do to know if this person is a suitable spouse for you; a lot of it is unknown. 

 Even if the person seems to be like an upright individual, what are the dynamics between you two? There’s always going to be an amount of uncertainty going into a marriage. You’ll never have a situation where 100% I know for sure this is going to work; this is fantastic. Someone who’s speaking that way is either inexperienced or being a little bit too excited. But that’s okay because as this verse is teaching us: you get married and then you put your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, that He is going to help you make this Work. You want to start a business. There’s a lot of uncertainties there. You do your homework, your due diligence. Then when you do that, there’s still going to be uncertainties – what if this doesn’t work, what if my customers don’t come in, what if a natural disaster happens, all of these what if’s. 

 Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is telling you, don’t think that way, make a decision if this seems to work on paper, make that decision, put your trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that He’s going to help you make this work, and the list goes on. So, my dear brothers and sisters, in this beautiful month of Ramadan, it is a month of building your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, a believer. The one who has tawakkul in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is a believer who’s definitely ahead in their Iman. But tawakkul in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala isn’t when things are clear and certain. Rather, it is when things are unclear and uncertain. Believers are meant to make decisions based on their principles, not by laying out all of the variables and making sure everything is in order. Yes, we do due diligence, but a huge amount of our life is simply putting our trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala -that as He has helped me before, He will help me as I go in the future. I won’t be driven by my emotions and my uncertainties. Rather, I’ll be driven by the principles of Quran and Sunnah. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to make us among those who have their full trust in Him and dependence in Him and depend on Him.  

 Allahumma ameen wa sallallahu ala nabiyina Muhammad wa ala alihi wa sahabi ajma’in.