Chapter 33: “Put your trust in Allah if you truly believe.” Kitāb Al-Tawheed of Imām Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhāb

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Table of Contents

    All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Allah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in the highest company of Angels, bless him and give him peace and security―and his family, his Companions and all those who follow him correctly until the establishment of the Hour.

    The saying of Allah (the Most High), “And put your trust in Allah, if you truly believe.”

    Shaykh al-Islām Muhammad ibn ʿAbdul-Wahhāb (rahimahullāh) said:

    Allah, the Most High, said: 

    إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

    “The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His verses (this Qur’ān) are recited unto them, they (i.e., the verses) increase their Eemān, and they put their trust in their Lord (alone).” (Surah al-Anfāl 8:2).

    And He, the Most High, said:

    يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّهُ

    “O Prophet! Sufficient for you is Allah…” (Surah al-Anfāl 8:64).

    And the statement of Allah:

    وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ

    “And whoever trusts in Allah, then He will suffice him.” (Surah at-Talāq 65:3)

    ‘Abdullah ibn Abbās (radiAllahu ‘anhumā) mentioned the statement of Allah the Most High:

    حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

    “Allah alone is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” (Surah Āli-ʿImrān 3:173). He said that Ibraheem (‘alaihis salām) said these words when he was thrown into the fire, and Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said these words when it was said to him,

    ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا۟ لَكُمْ فَٱخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًۭا وَقَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ

    ‘Verily the pagans have gathered against you in numbers, so fear them, but it only increased them in Eemān.’ (Reported by Imām al-Bukhāri and an-Nasā’i).

    Explanation

    Putting one’s trust in Allah means entrusting the affairs to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. It involves putting one’s trust and confidence in Him―that He will suffice. It is to rely upon Him that He will give ease in all the difficult and important affairs of your life. Its meaning is not that a person should leave off taking practical, tangible measures – in fact, you must not abandon the means that will lead to obtaining what you seek, or abandon means that will deflect harm from you. Rather a person should carry out these means with the belief that they are from the Pre-Decree of Allah, and Allah is all capable of establishing whatever is sought by a person when he takes those means.

    Likewise, Allah is able to deprive an individual, so it is upon the servant to believe that Allah does not act in accordance with the desires and the whims of the servant, rather Allah does whatever He wills in accordance with what He has decreed and written in the Lawh Al-Mahfoudh (the Preserved Tablet). He is the Most Knowing of all the affairs of His servants and what is good for them.

    From another aspect, it is necessary for the servant to supplicate to Allah, to rely upon Him in attaining what he seeks, and to ward off whatever he fears, and this is another means ― the duʿā (invocation) is an independent means. Indeed, the duʿā is from the greatest means to success, and Allah has commanded His servants with Tawakkul (trusting and relying on Him), when He the (Most High) said:

    وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

    “…and put your trust in Allah if you are truly believers.” (Surah al-Mā’idah 5:23). So, this is a command from Allah to His servants to trust in Him and to relegate their affairs to Him, whilst taking the practical and tangible means.

    Likewise, the statement of Allah the Most High:

    إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

    “The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His verses are recited unto them, they (i.e., the verses) increase their Eemān, and they put their trust in their Lord (alone).” (Surah al-Anfāl 8:2).

    The statement ‘إِنَّمَا’ at the beginning of this ayah denotes restriction and limitation, so the ayah means that only those are the believers (those who possess these qualities).

    Three Qualities that Bring about the Perfection of Eemān

    1. Their hearts tremble when they hear the verses of Allah being recited, their hearts fear the meeting with Allah (due to their shortcomings) and they rejoice in whatever they have of goodness, due to the statement of Allah:

    قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُوا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ

    “Say: ‘In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy therein let them rejoice.’ That is better than the wealth they amass.” (Surah Yunus 10:58).

    2. Their Eemān increases when they hear the verses of Allah due to His saying (the Most High):

    وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا

    “And when His verses are recited unto them, they (i.e., the verses) increase their Eemān…”

    This proves that Eemān increases by listening to the speech of Allah. This is the madhhab of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamā’ah ― that Eemān increases and decreases. It increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience, and this is in opposition to Ahlul Bidʿah (the Murji’ah, Ashāʿirah, Māturidiyyah, Tableeghis, Deobandis and other than them) who say that Eemān is just Tasdeeq (affirmation of the heart) which does not increase or decrease, or (as some of them say) it is belief in the heart and speech on the tongue, but not actions on the limbs.

    Ahlus Sunnah believe that Eemān is speech and action: speech of the heart, speech of the tongue, actions of the heart and actions of the limbs. Speech of the heart is the knowledge of Allah; actions of the heart are those actions which the knowledge of the heart leads to such as love, fear, hope, reliance in Allah, etc. The speech of the tongue is to convey upon the tongue that which is in the heart of Eemān, and the greatest of the utterances upon the tongue is the statement, lā ilāha illallāh. The actions of the limbs are the outward acts such as the salah, zakah, fasting and so on.

    The more a person increases in righteous actions, the more his Eemān will increase, but when he sins, then his Eemān will decrease, to the extent that it can be as small as a mustard seed, and beyond this, there is no Eemān.

    The Prayer: The view of some of the scholars such as Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Shaikhul-Islām ibn Taymiyyah, Shaikh al-Fawzān, Shaikh Bin Bāz, Shaikh ʿUthaymeen and others, is that the one who abandons the prayer out of laziness has no Eemān, and has left Islam ― they are those from Ahlus-Sunnah who hold that a person’s Eemān is nullified if he abandons the Prayer out of laziness after knowing that it is kufr (disbelief) to abandon it, and Allah’s refuge is sought. So, they must first know that the Islamic ruling is Kufr by being shown the proofs ― without this judgement cannot be made upon them.

    Then there is the Murji’at al-Jahmiyyah who believe that Eemān is at one level and that it does not include speech nor action ― and these are the worst of the Murji’ah. This is because they believe that Eemān does not require any action of the heart or limbs, nor speech of the tongue. They believe that Eemān is just maʿrifah (knowing that Allah exists); so to them a person who acknowledges that Allah exists, then his Eemān is like the Eemān of Jibreel and Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam). According to them, even Firʿawn and Iblees are believers! It is clear then, that the Murji’at al-Jahmiyyah are upon kufr themselves.

    The majority of the Murji’ah believe that Eemān is belief in the heart (tasdeeq) and speech upon the tongue, but that actions are not a part of Eemān ― and that Eemān does not increase or decrease. The majority of the Hanafis of today are upon this deviated belief.

    3. The third quality of the qualities that define the perfection of Eemān is that they put their trust in their Lord, as is mentioned in the statement of Allah:

    وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

    “…and put their trust in their Lord (alone).” (Surah al-Anfāl 8:2).

    So, they rely upon their Lord and entrust their affairs to Him, and they seek from Him the success of their endeavours.
    In summary, these are the three affairs that whoever gathers between them has attained the perfection of Eemān:

    1. When the verses of Allah are recited, their hearts tremble with fear.
    2. When the verses of Allah are recited upon them, it increases them in Eemān.
    3. They put their trust in their Lord.

    The saying of Allah the Most High:

    يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ حَسْبُكَ اللَّه وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

    “O Prophet! Sufficient for you is Allah and for the believers who follow you.” (Surah al-Anfāl 8:64). This means that Allah will suffice you, and likewise those who follow you (O Prophet) from the believers. He will aid and support them against their enemies if they obey Him, follow His commands and keep away from His prohibitions, and if they are cautious and careful from falling into what He has forbidden.

    Trust in Allah and He Will Suffice You

    As for the statement of Allah:

    وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ

    “And whoever trusts in Allah, then He will suffice him.” (Surah at-Talāq 65:3)

    Then the meaning of this is that Allah is enough for him and will aid him and support him. As for the statement of Ibn ʿAbbās (radiyallahu ʿanhumā), then the meaning of ‘حسبنا الله’ is that He suffices us and grants us success, and He is the One who has guided us. From this ayah, we understand that trusting in Allah is an obligation from the obligations of Eemān, and it is a means for the perfection of Eemān, and whoever trusts in Allah, then Allah suffices him against whatever troubles him.

    حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

    “Allah alone is sufficient for us and He is the best to take care of our affairs.” These two mighty words pertain to having reliance upon Allah, trusting Him and depending upon Him utterly ― and that you turn away from whatever harms you and strive to attain that which benefits you.

    We also take from this that Tawakkul is from the actions of the heart, and the heart can be filled with trust in Allah the Most High such that a person entrusts all his affairs to Allah. This is indicated to in the beautiful statement of Allah the Most High:

    الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

    “Those believers unto whom the people hypocrites said: ‘Verily the people (pagans) have gathered against you (a great army) so fear them.’ But it only increased them in Eemān, and they said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” (Surah Aal-’Imrān 3:173)

    So, a Muslim entrusts his affairs to Allah, not to the machines that the surgeons connect you to in hospitals, nor to the drugs they prescribe ― these are just means that are utilized, but ultimately a person’s trust must be in Allah. The means, so long as they are practical and tangible and not foolish or superstitious, are all part of having trust in Allah.

    So, tawakkul is from the actions of the heart, and the tongue conveys the truth of that with these words:

    (حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ)

    So by saying these words, he has vocalized the tawakkul that he has in his heart. Ibraheem (‘alaihis salām) said it when his people threw him into the fire ― he trusted in Allah. When the army gathered against the Prophet Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam), he trusted in Allah and said the same words. These were affairs that were out of their control ― Ibraheem (‘alaihis salām) could not put out the fire, and Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) could not control the number and power of the army ― it was all in the hands of Allah the All Mighty, and whoever trusts in Allah, then Allah suffices him.

    When a person is troubled, then relief comes by relying upon Allah. He is the one who brings the result out of the means and allows them to work, because of what He has willed. So, we should supplicate to Him and beg and beseech Him and place our full reliance upon Him.

    We ask Allah to make us of those who have the firmness of these two noble and honourable Prophets, Ibraheem (‘alaihis salām) and Muhammad (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam).

    Taken mostly from Shaikh Ahmad Ibn Yahyā An-Najmi’s (rahimahullāh) explanation ― additions from other scholars and notes from Abu Khadeejah.

    الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم

    End.

    Some of this article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.


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