Time to Talk About Tawakkul –”tie Your Camel First, Then Put Your Trust in Allah.”

[Longrobante]

Placing your trust in allah (swt) is tawakkul, and it’s about the complete faith you have in him. Regardless of the situations that unfold, you still believe that allah (swt) will show the rope.
Tawakkul is the core of every muslim. Our spiritual connection with allah (swt) is tied to tawakkul. If you have it in your heart, life becomes less stressful and happier. I wouldn’t say that you’d lead a happy life; rather, problems or burdens will not overwhelm you. The trust in allah (swt) will provide the strength to keep moving.

It’s human nature to worry about the unseen and stress over things they have no control of. But above all these, it’s tawakkul that leads our path and strengthens our minds. Beyond the problems we face daily, we still believe that there’ll be good, and allah doesn’t burden a soul more than it can handle.

When you understand the power of placing your trust in allah, you realize that the things that that didn’t work as you planned happened for a reason. You feel contentment and comfort when you realize that allah (swt) provides what’s good for you and takes away what’s not good for you.

It’s vital to think about your relationship with allah (swt) and to evaluate the level of trust that you have placed in him.

Increase your understanding about allah (swt)
To have tawakkul, you must understand and develop your connection with allah (swt). When you are reciting the quran or saying allah’s (swt) names, you must take some time and think about them.

When you understand allah’s names, you become more aware of them, and the definitions strengthen your tawakkul in allah.

He is in control of his creations, and as muslims, we should understand this to realize what tawakkul is. When our love for allah grows, we automatically develop the connection with him that gives us the security needed.

It’s not as if your life will be a bed of roses if you trust allah. Instead, your problems and issues will not make you feel low or underproductive to engage in daily activities. When you have tawakkul, it gives you the strength to go forward in life regardless of the hurdles on your way.

Anyway, how to put your trust in allah? Here are some tips to rely upon your creator even if things aren’t going as you planned.

Make it happen
Relying upon allah does not mean you can sit back and let everything happen on its own. Of course, allah will handle all your affairs, but he wants you to do what it takes. Having faith also means acting upon it.

Similarly, tawakkul doesn’t entirely depend on leaving all affairs to allah. Rather it requires your effort. You should give your best to the task or goal you are trying to achieve and trust allah. You must have a proactive attitude because that’s a part of tawakkul.

The prophet muhammad (pbuh) said, “tie your camel first, then put your trust in allah.”

Stay humble and kind
If you are succeeding, it’s because of allah. He has given you the ability or skills to get things done so you can do it. Even the knowledge, thoughts, and intelligence that you have is given by allah.

While you utilize these blessings, you should be thankful to allah for providing them. It shouldn’t make you feel proud or become arrogant that you have the skills and abilities. Instead, you should be kind and stay humble. If possible, try to spread your skills and knowledge to others, which will benefit you now and in the hereafter.

Learn to accept
We are humans, and denial is human instinct. When something happens in a way that we didn’t plan, our initial response is denial. But worry not, it is human nature.

It is also vital to understand that we must overcome the phase of denial because nothing happens without reason. You must rely upon allah as he is fully aware of the things that you don’t know.

When you accept allah’s decree, you become stronger and calmer. It gives the ability to move from the phase of denial to acceptance. Al-qadr is part of your faith. Even if certain circumstances like losing a loved one could be tormenting, you will get through it. Allah will help you get through it if you rely upon him.

There could be times that crumble you into pieces, but you reshape stronger. If you believe in allah, the healing process gets more comfortable because you know that you have allah (swt).

Take necessary measures
This is one of the things that I often see in our community. People don’t take necessary measures, but they say they rely upon allah.

Prophet muhammad (pbuh) has said to tie your camel and then put trust in allah. You must understand that it’s important to take measures while putting your trust in allah.

Similarly, you shouldn’t forget about allah (swt) just because you have taken the necessary measures.

One of the prime examples is the muslims’ behaviors during the pandemic. Some people don’t follow the health measures because they say they have tawakkul, while others follow the health measures but don’t trust allah or make dua.

These aren’t the approaches that islam suggests. Instead, it’s about having tawakkul while following the health measures.

So think about it. Aren’t we blessed to have allah by our side? No matter what happens, how bad we fall, or what comes our way, we can turn to the almighty for help.

“allah—there is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except him. So in allah let the believers put their trust.” (at-taghabun –64:11)