The Difference Between Reliance on Allah and Agency

We received a letter from Riyadh from the listener (N. N. S). He says in his letter: Is it permissible to give agency to another person to manage his affairs during his absence, given that we know that reliance (tawakkul) is only permissible upon Allah alone?
Answer: Agency is not the same as reliance, O questioner. Agency is when one appoints a person to act in his place in managing his work, in building his house, in repairing his car, or in other matters. There is nothing wrong with this; it is an agency of authorization from him, where he grants him permission to do such and such. As for reliance (tawakkul), it is depending on another person that he will handle affairs by his own power. It is Allah who is depended upon and relied upon, Blessed and Exalted is He. So reliance is upon Allah, and the greatest form of reliance is depending on Him that He is capable of everything, because He is the Creator of the causes. So one depends on Allah and relies on Him, Blessed and Exalted is He, and at the same time, the person takes the means. He depends on Allah, knowing that He is the Disposer of affairs and the Creator of the causes, and that what Allah wills comes to be, and what He does not will does not come to be. He does not depend on the created being or on himself, but rather he depends on Allah alone and relies on Him. And with this, he takes the means and engages in the means: he plants the land, he plants trees, he builds what he needs, and he appoints those he needs to act on his behalf in planting, in agriculture, and in building. There is nothing wrong with this. So agency is one thing, and reliance is another. As for relying on a human being, meaning believing in him that he manages the universe, that he arranges affairs, and that he has the power to act without the will of Allah, or something similar to that, this is not permissible with the created being at all. Reliance is upon Allah alone, Blessed and Exalted is He.