The Ruling on Reliance upon Allah and Taking Means
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you and reward you with good. This questioner, at the beginning of this episode, asks: What is the ruling on tawakkul (reliance upon Allah)? And does not taking the means prevent tawakkul?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Tawakkul is entrusting affairs to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and relying on Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the attainment of what is desired. It is the greatest of the types of worship.[Al-Ma'idah 5:23] And upon Allah let the believers rely. So worship Him by it.
Tawakkul is a great type of worship. It does not contradict taking the means. Rather, it is obligatory to combine the two: taking the means along with tawakkul upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). It is not permissible to limit oneself to taking the means and leaving off tawakkul upon Allah, just as it is not permissible to rely on tawakkul upon Allah and leave off the means. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of those who have tawakkul.
And he used to take the means. He used to wear armor in battle, and he used to wear clothes to protect against the cold. He used to seek shade from the heat and the cold, and he used to eat food, for eating food is among the means of treating hunger, along with tawakkul upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The One who commanded tawakkul is the One who commanded us to take the means, (Glorified and Exalted is He). He commanded us to take the means. He said, (Mighty and Majestic), "And take your precaution." This is a means: taking precaution. And in the prayer of fear,[An-Nisa 4:102] to the end of the verse. This is among the means. We are commanded to say, "Allah is sufficient for us against the enemy," and we perform the regular prayer, not the prayer of fear. This is taking the means. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh
And upon you be peace, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
The questioner:
May Allah reward you and reward you with good. This questioner, at the beginning of this episode, asks: What is the ruling on tawakkul (reliance upon Allah)? And does not taking the means prevent tawakkul?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Tawakkul is entrusting affairs to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and relying on Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the attainment of what is desired. It is the greatest of the types of worship.
And upon Allah rely, if you should be believers."
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَTawakkul is a great type of worship. It does not contradict taking the means. Rather, it is obligatory to combine the two: taking the means along with tawakkul upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). It is not permissible to limit oneself to taking the means and leaving off tawakkul upon Allah, just as it is not permissible to rely on tawakkul upon Allah and leave off the means. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the master of those who have tawakkul.
And he used to take the means. He used to wear armor in battle, and he used to wear clothes to protect against the cold. He used to seek shade from the heat and the cold, and he used to eat food, for eating food is among the means of treating hunger, along with tawakkul upon Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The One who commanded tawakkul is the One who commanded us to take the means, (Glorified and Exalted is He). He commanded us to take the means. He said, (Mighty and Majestic), "And take your precaution." This is a means: taking precaution. And in the prayer of fear,
And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, let a group of them stand [in prayer] with you and let them carry their arms. And when they have prostrated, let them be [in position] behind you
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُم مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِن وَرَائِكُمْThe presenter:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/259 — archive.org (0:55)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.