Speaking about the reality of reliance upon Allah and taking the prescribed means.

The Shaykh : This, of course, does not mean that a person should not take the means, but it means something that people today have neglected due to the dominance of invasive European materialism among Muslims in their own lands. That is, they pay more attention to the means than to their reliance upon the Lord of Lords, Glorified and Exalted is He. So the person today, except for those whom Allah wills—and they are few—pays attention to the means as if he is the whole of everything. It does not cross his mind that these means may not benefit him in any way, and even less does it cross his mind that when he takes the means, he takes them because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded them, not merely because they are means. We must distinguish between the two matters. There is a clear difference between one who takes a means that usually leads to the result because it is a cause, and one who takes a means as a cause because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded him to do so, commanding him to take that means. It is a very great difference.
The first matter is usually the way of materialist disbelievers or their like among the misguided and deviant Muslims. The second matter is the nature of the Muslim: he takes the means if Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded it, or at least permitted it, not merely because it is a means. What is the outcome of this distinction? That is because the means, in their capacity as causes for results, are divided by the Shari'ah into two categories: prescribed means and non-prescribed means. So when a Muslim finds a means to some provision, but he knows that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden it, he does not take it as a means, even if it is in reality a natural cause, because it is not a Shari'ah cause. This distinction, although it is a clear matter from the perspective of Shari'ah scholarship, is unfortunately almost abandoned in the Islamic world, let alone in the world of disbelief. This is indicated by the Muslims' immersion in acquiring, accumulating, and hoarding money by any path, whether these paths are Shari'ah-compliant or not. Therefore, when a person remembers on such an occasion, and hears the saying of the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, that a Muslim should cut off hopelessness from what is in the hands of people, does this mean that he should not search for work, or not ask about the means of provision? The answer is no. But do not place your trust in people; rather, place your trust in the Creator of people first. Then, when you search for the means, first do not make it your sole reliance, and second, consider whether Allah has prescribed this means for you or not. If you know that it is not prescribed, avoid it. Otherwise, if you engage in it, do not place your trust in Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and do not cut off hopelessness from what is in the hands of people. And, unfortunately, all people except a few do not act upon this hadith at all.
We often meet with pious, righteous people, but we quickly discover that they commit Shari'ah violations in their sales and purchases. For example, one engages in riba, and I do not mean the open riba of the Jews, but it is sufficient that he deals with banks and puts his money in the bank. Some of them take the riba that they call by another name, "interest." And some of them claim to be scrupulous and leave the interest or riba, more correctly, saying, "I do not eat riba." They imagine that they are a pious man. When we are confronted with this painful reality and remind them that this, my brother, is forbidden, and if you do not eat the riba, you are feeding it to others, and your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said in the authentic hadith: So it is not sufficient for you to be scrupulous about eating riba; rather, it is obligatory for you to be scrupulous about feeding riba to others. We are surprised by what contradicts this noble Prophetic guidance. He says to you, "My brother, what should we do? It is like this: if we want to deal only with the capital we have, things will not work. If we want... our money in the house, it is possible that the criminals will dominate us, it is possible they will kill us at night. You will find that he is issuing from his imagination one of the most horrific imaginations that actually control the minds of disbelievers.
As for the Muslim, he is reassured by this hadith, and before that, he has a verse that addresses these psychological problems that have settled in the hearts of many Muslims today in their core. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says.
The imaginations that actually control the minds of disbelievers.
As for the Muslim, he is reassured by this hadith, and before that, he has a verse that addresses these psychological problems that have settled in the hearts of many Muslims today in their core. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: It is as if the Muslims have disbelieved in this verse when you advise them not to deal in riba, not to eat what is forbidden, not to sell alcohol, not to sell tobacco, there is nothing... not to sell alcohol, not to sell tobacco at all. They cling to the means, they do not cut off hopelessness from what is in the hands of people, and they rely upon the Lord of Lords. They cling to the means, which are not prescribed. Where are you and this noble verse? to the end of the verse.
So you are one of two things: either you do not believe in this verse at all, and this is disbelief itself, or you believe in it with your heart, but you do not believe in it practically. So you have not made it a methodology for your life and in your approach to dealing with people. And therefore, from this practical aspect, you are like the disbelievers. They cling to the means, so they organized their lives based on this clinging, and this organization is one of the most precise organizations that history on the face of the earth has perhaps known. But all of that is not worth the wing of a mosquito in the sight of Allah. Why? Because it is based on the contradiction of the Shari'ah of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And therefore, Allah the Exalted said, when He commanded the disbelievers who are the enemies of Islam and fight Islam in every time and place, even if they claim to belong to some form of religiosity, because they are from the People of the Book, He described them with characteristics that we have almost forgotten. Why? For two reasons: the first is our distance from studying the Book and the Sunnah, and the second, which is very dangerous, is our mixing with these people and those who connect with them and are characterized by their traits, even if he belongs to our Islam and our religion.
Allah said about those: Yes? Who are they? The point in the saying of Allah the Exalted: This is the characteristic of disbelievers, not the characteristic of Muslims. But when the Muslim does not ask, "Is it forbidden or lawful?" he says to you, "My brother, we need to live... for the day 'for the day of Allah's relief' and similar expressions that indicate the utmost indifference and concern for what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has forbidden. And yet, we complain about the hardship of living, the rise in prices, and injustice from all sides, and then we do not look at ourselves. 'Who is the friend of the people and what is in him' So we must take a lesson from this first part of this eloquent advice from our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family: not to cling to the means absolutely, but to cling to their Creator. However, we take the means that are prescribed from them, in obedience to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, only because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has informed His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in His saying: Be moderate, take the beautiful, prescribed path in seeking provision. For indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has not prescribed for His Muslim servants to obtain His provision through what is forbidden, especially since He is the One who said: In reality, if it were not for the Shari'ah, I would be a Sufi, meaning a passive person who does not take the means, because these means are appearances, and the matter is in the hand of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. But when Allah commanded us to take the means, our obedience to the command of our Lord to take these means is part of the servitude to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So when I take the prescribed means, I worship Allah, and when I turn away from the non-prescribed means, I worship Allah. As for taking the means without any distinction between their lawful and forbidden, and their permissible and impermissible, this is a departure from realizing pure servitude to Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
I ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to make us among His righteous, sincere servants who hold fast to His Book and follow the guidance of His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family.
'Aid 'Abassi: We read a question and the answer to it remained. He says.