As for putting all one's trust in the Lord [tawakkul], the basic guidance on the subject is contained in His words (Almighty and Glorious is He) :
And when someone puts all his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him. (65:3)
--and in His words (Exalted is He) :
And put all your trust [in Allah], if you are indeed believers. (5:23)
According to a traditional report, transmitted on the authority of 'Abdu'llah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be well pleased with him), Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
I saw the religious communities [umam] at the gathering place [mawsim], and I noticed that my Community [Ummati] filled both the plain and the mountainside, so I was astonished at their number and their condition. I was asked: "Are you well pleased?" "Yes," said I. Then I was told: "Together with these, seventy thousand will enter the Garden of Paradise without undergoing any reckoning. They do not play with fire. They do not look for bad omens. They do not practice subterfuge. They put all their trust in their Lord."
On hearing this, 'Ukasha ibn Mihsan al-Asadi stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, appeal to Allah that He may include me among them!" So Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "O Allah, let him be included among them!" Then someone else jumped up and said: "Appeal to Allah that He may include me among them!" To this he responded (Allah bless him and give him peace) by saying: "'Ukasha has arrived there ahead of you!"
The real meaning [haqiqa] of absolute trust [tawakkul] is delegating all one's affairs to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), making a clean escape from the murky darkness and gloom of personal choice and self-management, and advancing to the arenas where the [divine] decrees [ahkam] and foreordainment [taqdir] are experienced directly.
The servant [of the Lord] must be convinced that there is no possibility of changing the allotment of destiny [qisma], which means that whatever has been allotted to him cannot pass him by, and that he can never obtain what has not been allotted to him. His heart will then become reconciled to this, and he will feel confident in relying on the promise [wa'd] of his Master [Mawla]. He will therefore receive from his Master [Mawla].
Putting one's trust in the Lord [tawakkul] is actually the first of three stages, namely: (1) the basic sense of trust [tawakkul], then (2) the act of surrender or resignation [taslim], and then (3) the act of delegation [tafwid]. The person who is at the stage of basic trust [al-mutawakkil] is one who feels confident in relying on the promise [wa'd] of his Lord. The person who is at the stage of surrender or resignation [sahib at-taslim] is one who is content to rely on His knowledge ['ilm]. The person who is at the stage of delegation [sahib at-tafwid] is one who is happy to accept His judgment [hukm].
There are many wise sayings on this subject, for instance:
"Trust is an initial stage [at-tawakkul bidaya], surrender or resignation is a middle stage [at-taslim wasat], and delegation is a final stage [at-tafwid nihaya]."
"Trust is the attribute of the believers [at-tawakkul sifat al-mu'minin], surrender or resignation is the attribute of the saints [at-taslim sifat al-awliya'], and delegation is the attribute of those who realize and affirm the Divine Oneness [at-tafwid sifat al-muwahhidin]."
"Trust is the attribute of the common folk [at-tawakkul sifat al-'awamm], surrender or resignation is the attribute of the elite [at-taslim sifat al-khawass], and delegation is the attribute of the elite of the elite [at-tafwid sifat khawass al-khawass]."
"Trust is the attribute of the Prophets [at-tawakkul sifat al-Anbiya'], surrender or resignation is the attribute of Abraham [at-taslim sifat Ibrahim], and delegation is the attribute of our own Prophet [Muhammad] [at-tafwid sifat Nabiyyi-na] (may the blessings of Allah be upon them all)."
The point of this last saying is that trust in the Lord [tawakkul], as a complete and perfect reality [haqiqa], was experienced by Abraham, the Bosom Friend of Allah [Ibrahim al-Khalil] (peace be upon him), at the moment when he said to Gabriel [Jabril] (peace be upon him) : "As for recognizing your existence, oh no!" This was because his personal identity [nafs] had vanished without leaving a trace behind, so that he saw nothing together with Allah (Exalted is He), other than Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He).
It was Sahl ibn 'Abdi'llah (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"The first stage in absolute trust [tawakkul] is where the position of the servant between the hands of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is just like that of the corpse between the hands of the ritual washer of the dead [ghasil], who turns the body this way and that, as he wishes, while it has no independent movement or control of its actions. Someone who puts all his trust [al-mutawakkil] in Allah (Glory be to Him and Exalted is He) is therefore in a state where he does not ask for anything, does not wish for anything, does not reject anything, and does not hold on to anything."
In the words of another wise saying:
"Trust in the Lord [tawakkul] is letting oneself go [istirsal]."
It was Hamdun [al-Qassar] (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"It is holding fast [i'tisam] to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)."
Ibrahim al-Khawwas (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) had this to say on the subject:
"The real meaning [haqiqa] of absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul] is the detachment of fear and hope from everything apart from Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)."
In the words of another wise saying:
"Absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul] is living one day at a time, and dispensing with concern about tomorrow."
It was Abu 'Ali ar-Rudhbari (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"There are three stages in the development of absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul], namely: (1) when he is granted a gift, the recipient is grateful, and when he is deprived, he is patient; (2) as far the servant [of the Lord] is concerned, to be deprived and to be granted a gift are one and the same; (3) deprivation combined with gratitude is what he likes best of all, because he is aware that this is Allah's preference (Exalted is He) on his behalf.
Ja'far al-Khuldi is reported as having said: "Ibrahim al-Khawwas (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) once said:
"'As I was traveling along the road to Mecca, I caught sight of a wild-looking figure, so I said to it: "Are you a jinn' or a human being?" It replied: "I am a jinn', of course," so I asked: "Where are you going?" The following conversation then took place between us:
"'"I am on my way to Mecca," said the jinni.
"'"What," said I, "with no provision for the journey, and without a camel to ride on?"
"'"Yes," said the jinni, "among our kind as well, there are those who travel on the basis of absolute trust in the Lord ['ala 't-tawakkul]."
"'"And what," I asked, "is absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul] ?"
"'"It is receiving from Allah," the jinni told me.'"
Sahl [ibn 'Abdi'llah ibn Yunus at-Tustari] (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) once said:
"It is the conscious acknowledgment [ma'rifa] of the Provider of the sustenance of all creatures [Mu'ti arzaqi 'l-makhluqin]. No one is genuinely capable of absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul], until the sky in his sight is like brass, and the earth is like iron, so that rain does not fall from the sky, and plants do not sprout from the earth, yet between these two, he is well aware that Allah will never forget to provide him with the sustenance He has guaranteed to him."
In the words of another wise saying:
"It means that you do not disobey Allah (Exalted is He) on account of your sustenance."
As a certain wise man put it:
"In order to have absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul], it is sufficient that you seek for yourself no helper other than Allah (Exalted is He), for your sustenance no keeper other than Him, and for your conduct no witness other than Him."
It was al-Junaid (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"Absolute trust [tawakkul] means that you devote yourself totally to your Lord, and that you turn your attention away from all those who are beneath him."
In the words of an-Nuri (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) :
"It means that you let your self-management become absorbed into His management [tadbir], and that you are perfectly satisfied with Allah as a Trustee [Wakil], as a Manager [Mudabbir] and as a Helper [Nasir]."
Allah Himself (Exalted is He) has told us:
And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee. (4:81)
In the words of another wise saying:
"Absolute trust [tawakkul] is the state in which the humble servant [al-'abd adh-dhalil] is utterly content with the All-Majestic Lord [ar-Rabb al-Jalil], just as the Bosom Friend [al-Khalil] was utterly content with the All-Majestic [al-Jalil], so much so that he took no notice of the attentive presence of Gabriel [Jabril] (peace be upon him)."
To quote yet another wise saying:
"It means abstaining from self-motivated activity, in complete reliance on the Creator [Khaliq] of the earth and the heavens."
Bahlul the Crazy One [al-Majnun] (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) was once asked: "When does the servant [of the Lord] become someone who is absolutely trustful [mutawakkil]?" To this he replied: "When he, as a person [bi'n-nafs], is a stranger among his fellow creatures, and when, in his inner feeling [bi'l-qalb], he is close to the Truth [al-Haqq]."
Someone asked Hatim al-Asamm ["the Deaf"] (may Allah the Exalted bestow His mercy upon him) : "On what basis have you developed this special condition of yours, this absolute trust in the Lord [tawakkul]?" To this he replied: "On four particular elements, namely: (1) I came to realize that my sustenance will not be consumed by anyone other than myself, so I should not be concerned about it; (2) I came to realize that my work will not be done by anyone other than myself, so I must be busy about it; (3) I came to realize that death may come suddenly and unexpectedly, so I must waste no time in order to forestall it; (4) I came to realize that I am in the sight of Allah (Exalted is He) in every condition and circumstance, so I must behave with due modesty under His gaze."
