At-Taghabun - Verse 13
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him. So in Allah let the believers put their trust.
Al-Mujadila - Verse 10
إِنَّمَا ٱلنَّجْوَىٰ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ لِيَحْزُنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَلَيْسَ بِضَآرِّهِمْ شَيْـًٔا إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Secret talks are only inspired by Satan to grieve the believers. Yet he cannot harm them whatsoever except by Allah’s Will. So in Allah let the believers put their trust.
Ibrahim - Verse 12
وَمَا لَنَآ أَلَّا نَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ وَقَدْ هَدَىٰنَا سُبُلَنَا ۚ وَلَنَصْبِرَنَّ عَلَىٰ مَآ ءَاذَيْتُمُونَا ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ
Why should we not put our trust in Allah, when He has truly guided us to ˹the very best of˺ ways? Indeed, we will patiently endure whatever harm you may cause us. And in Allah let the faithful put their trust.”
Al-Ma'idah - Verse 11
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ هَمَّ قَوْمٌ أَن يَبْسُطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْكُمْ أَيْدِيَهُمْ فَكَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
O believers! Remember Allah’s favour upon you: when a people sought to harm you, but He held their hands back from you. Be mindful of Allah. And in Allah let the believers put their trust.
And, there are many more verses with similar teachings. In these verses, there's a recurring theme: the idea that tawakkul is tied to Iman, that the amount of tawakkul that a person has is directly tied to their Iman.
Iman goes up and down. Those things that facilitate increase in Iman are known. Those things that unfortunately play a role in decrease in Iman are known. Shaykh AbdulRazzaq al-Badr has a book on this. Please look for it and read it.
One of my esteemed seniors gave me a task to work on a piece that he penned about fear, so I won't want to write in detail about fear now, aiming to expound on the emotion of fear at a later date, In shaa Allah.
The dunya can be a distraction.
Fatir 35:5
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقٌّۖ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَاۖ وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْغَرُورُ
O mankind, indeed the promise of Allāh is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allāh by the Deceiver [i.e., Satan].
The dunya has the potential capacity to distract us from Allah. The same applies to shaytan. However, Allah promise is true. It is true.
Aal-e-Imran 3:14
زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱلْقَنَٰطِيرِ ٱلْمُقَنطَرَةِ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَبِ وَٱلْفِضَّةِ وَٱلْخَيْلِ ٱلْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ وَٱلْحَرْثِۗ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَاۖ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلْمَـَٔابِ
Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allāh has with Him the best return [i.e., Paradise].
Aal-e-Imran 3:15
قُلْ أَؤُنَبِّئُكُم بِخَيْرٍ مِّن ذَٰلِكُمْۚ لِلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا وَأَزْوَٰجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ وَرِضْوَٰنٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرٌۢ بِٱلْعِبَادِ
Say, "Shall I inform you of [something] better than that? For those who fear Allāh will be gardens in the presence of their Lord beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and purified spouses and approval from Allāh. And Allāh is Seeing [i.e., aware] of [His] servants
Aal-e-Imran 3:16
ٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
Those who say, 'Our Lord, indeed we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,' "
Aal-e-Imran 3:17
ٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ وَٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ وَٱلْقَٰنِتِينَ وَٱلْمُنفِقِينَ وَٱلْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِٱلْأَسْحَارِ
The patient, the true, the obedient, those who spend [in the way of Allāh], and those who seek forgiveness before dawn.
From these verses and the ones that were quoted before, we see that tawakkul is tied to being patient, living truthfully, acting obediently, spending for Allah, and seeking forgiveness.
As such, those things that reduce tawakkul would be the opposites: impatience (that opposes the three categories of patience), rejecting truth (in deeds, speech, or beliefs), defiantly disobeying Allah, hoarding/hiding wealth, and not realizing the gravity of one's sins in a manner that leads to repenting from them.
The cure for fear is Tawakkul, a solemn, whispered/spoken resolve to put all of the future in Allah's hands and deal with the present with Allah's help. Tawakkul is the shelter in the eye of the storm, the anchor of a ship in turbulent waters, and the provision for the traveler in unknown lands. Its mother is Tawheed, its sister is seeking the means, and its daughter is qalbun saleem.
The goal is to seek an increase in Iman and Taqwa. A fruit of such a system is Tawakkul. And the maintenance is through istigfar.
Words don't always express what hearts withhold properly. Emotions are more transcendent, real than words. The author errs in communication. The Divine forgives, and His forgiveness is sought. The devil deceives, and protection is sought against him. The world entices, and from Allah one seeks guidance and rizq. In Allah's sight, I am a faqeer and so are you. He is Al-Ghaniyy.
May He provide us with all we need to worship Him and sail to the intended destination, aameen. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatuLlah wa barakatuh.
— Umar Hfe
March 3rd, 2024
Ameen, Jazakallahu khairan.