Explaining the meaning of tawakkul (reliance upon Allah) the Exalted and its reality.

The Shaykh : And tawakkul means relying upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic). However, we must know that tawakkul in Allah is a quality of the heart and has no connection to the actions of the limbs. That is, tawakkul in Allah and relying upon Him does not contradict taking the means that lead to the results. This is contrary to what some people imagine, especially the extreme Sufis, who think that the perfection of tawakkul in Allah is to abandon taking the means. This is not correct; rather, this is contrary to what Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) commanded in His Book and what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified in his Sunnah. For example, we read in the Book of Allah, His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): He did not say, "Do not walk on the earth, and I guarantee you your provision." Rather, He said: Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) bestows His favor upon His servants by making it easy for them to move across the earth, making it submissive, i.e., prepared and humbled, so that a person can move with ease and strive to earn the provision stored for him with his Lord. So He said (Mighty and Majestic): In this verse, there is an encouragement to strive and walk on the earth in the path of seeking the provision stored with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Seeking provision, or striving for the provision stored with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in the heavens, is like striving to enter Paradise, which is recorded with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in the Preserved Tablet. Just as Paradise cannot be entered except by taking its means, the greatest of which is faith in Allah and His Messenger, followed by righteous deeds, and just as Paradise is certainly written for some people and not for others, so whoever wants to be among the people of Paradise must engage in its means and knock on its doors by taking the means, which are righteous deeds. Likewise, the provision written with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) requires engaging in the means. What some people imagine, that there are some hadiths that they think establish the opposite of what this verse indicates, i.e., that a person should rely on the provision written in the unseen without engaging in the means, is a mere illusion. For example, some cite the famous, authentic hadith, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): They understand from this hadith that if a person relies on Allah with true tawakkul, Allah will provide for him without him engaging in the means and without him striving in the path of seeking provision. Meanwhile, the hadith contains the exact opposite; because when the hadith used the bird as an example, it did not say that it stays in its nest and its provision comes to it from its Lord. Rather, it said it goes out in the morning, i.e., it goes out in the early morning, hungry, meaning its belly is empty on its perch, then it returns in the evening with its belly full. From what? Its Lord's provision. So the hadith indicates that the perfection of tawakkul in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is taking the means. Even the bird, which Allah (Mighty and Majestic) inspired, knows that the path to seeking its provision is not to sit in a corner of its nest and say, as the ignorant Muslims today say, not understanding what they are saying: This is true, but will this provision in the heavens come to you without you knocking on its door? The answer is: No. It is necessary to knock on the door of provision with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that is by striking the earth, exactly as in this hadith: with their bellies full.
So, tawakkul in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not contradict taking the means. And so was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). At the time when his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) named him the One who relies on Allah, he did not abandon taking the means. Therefore, he said (peace and blessings be upon him) at the end of this speech, he said (peace be upon him): This is one of the noblest of means, namely that the Prophet (peace be upon him) fought the disbelievers in the path of Allah, and Allah made for him a share of the khums (fifth of war spoils). So that was a means for the Messenger (peace be upon him) to seek provision. So he said (peace and blessings be upon him): And this amount is sufficient. And in the next lesson, if Allah wills, we will complete the commentary on the rest of the hadith.