Reliance on Allah

Complete reliance in Allah

We cannot judge whatever happens to us and to others on the basis of reason and logic. We cannot fully comprehend the workings of Allah . He gives examples of man's lack of understanding when it comes to His workings. For example He makes mention of the meeting between Hazrat Musa (as) and Khidr in Surah Kahf. At that particular juncture in Musa’s life he assumed that he was the most knowledgeable person on the face of the earth. When Allah brought to Musa’s attention that there was someone (Khidr) who had more knowledge than him, Musa set out to meet and learn from Khidr. During their journey Khidr did certain actions that appeared to be harmful and ‘senseless’. For example he scuttled a boat that was owned by Masaakin (poor people). Musa (as) using reason and logic was of the opinion that Khidr intended to cause the owners of the boat to drown. However as Khidr would later reveal it was to safe guard their boat from the unjust ruler. The full story of Musa (as) and Khidr is recorded in Surah Kahf, ayats 65 to 82.

So Allah has means and ways that He takes care of His servants. Some of these may be apparent to us and others may not. Remember there is wisdom in whatever Allah allows to take place, even though we may not fathom it. As Allah mentions in His Holy Words;

                     
“but it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. but Allah knoweth, and ye know not.” (Chapter 2, verse 216)

When Prophet Muhammad was informed by Angel Jibriel that his grandson, Imam Hussain (ra), would have been martyred he didn’t pray to Allah to prevent it even though he was saddened. Prophet knew that he could not alter the plan of Allah .

Allah takes care of us whether we are aware of it or not. Our success is to put our faith in Him and submit humbly and whole heartedly. We need to try to develop this reliance on our Lord. No one will do it for us; as Allah says in Surah Ar Ra'd;
            
“Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)”. (Chapter 13, verse 11)

Even the ability to ‘try’ comes from Allah . Whenever something happens that we may not understand just resign yourself to your Lord. This is what faith is. He is the one who protects us, sustains us and guides us. He has made Islam complete and perfect. Once Prophet Muhammad , while walking with his companions saw a mother being most loving to her baby. Upon seeing this he told his companions “Allah loves his servants more than this mother loves her baby.”

If Prophet says that Allah loves you and he is one that never told a lie, do you think Allah will cause you to be destroyed? What we have to do is to try to keep our covenant with Him and insha Allah He will take care of everything else. Remember if you go to Allah walking He will come to you running. So willing He is to help us that He says in Surah Ahzab that He and His angles send salaat on all of us so that we can move out of ‘darkness’ and into ‘light’;

              
“He it is who Sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of darkness into Light: and He is full of Mercy to the believers” (Chapter 33, verse 43)

If He is doing all of this for us then all we need to do is to put our faith and trust in Him. Yes we will experience challenges and difficulties but if we have faith in our Lord then He will never let us down.

Total reliance on Allah is something easier said than done, especially when the trials and tribulations come our way, and the ones who we would have expected to help us and ‘be there’ for us reveal their true personalities.

A beautiful example of faith in Allah was when Prophet Abraham (as) was ordered to leave his wife, Hajar and his son, Ishmael in a barren valley. Imagine Abraham (as), after so many years of begging Allah for a son finally got Ishmael, and soon afterwards he was commanded by His Lord to led them and leave them to an uncultivated valley having no fruit, no trees, no food, no water and no sign of life. Imagine how he would have felt. And what did he beg Allah for when he was leaving them? He didn’t ask Allah to provide food or water for them. Instead he made this beautiful plea;

                  ••     •     •                  
“O Our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Thy sacred House; in order, O Our Lord, that they may establish regular prayer: so fill the hearts of some among men with love towards them, and feed them with fruits: so that They may give thanks. O Our Lord! truly Thou dost know what we conceal and what we reveal: for nothing whatever is hidden from Allah, whether on earth or In heaven.” (Chapter 14, verse 37 – 38)

We are all dependant on Allah and He bestows His abundance of Mercy on whomever He wishes. When you understand this your outlook on life will change and you will demonstrate more humility, tolerance and patience. We have to strive and work hard in order to make our ruh shine and, insha Allah, Allah will elevate us in this life and the next.

We all aspire to improve our personalities and one way of achieving this is to have complete reliance on Allah . We are completely dependent on Him. This is why the 5th stage in spirituality is called ‘realization’. When you realize that you are nothing and that Allah is everything, you will understand that your importance is solely because of His Mercies on you, and that your success is because He has been gracious to you.

We beg Allah to increase us in tawakkul and may He, out of His Grace and Mercy, look after our affairs and provide for us a ‘way out’ in times of need.