The ruling on saying: “I have placed my reliance on Allah, then on you”

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, is it permissible for a person to say, “I depend on Allah, then on you,” and likewise, “I have placed my reliance on Allah, then on you”? And what is the difference between that and saying, “Were it not for Allah, then so-and-so”?

Answer:
It is not permissible to say, “I have placed my reliance on Allah, and then on you,” because tawakkul (reliance upon Allah) is an act of worship, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has restricted tawakkul to Himself alone, saying: Tawakkul is an act of worship, and it is not permissible to attribute it to anyone other than Allah. As for placing one’s trust in someone or delegating a matter to them, there is no harm in that. You may say, “I placed my trust in Allah, and then in you,” or “I placed my trust in you,” as there is no prohibition in that. However, the specific term tawakkul is restricted to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone. This is a restriction, meaning it is not to be attributed to anyone else if you are believers. This is stronger than saying, “Were it not for Allah and you,” which is even stronger. Yes.