I trust You, Allah

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In the name of Allah Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Assalamualaikum wrh! I'm so super sorry for the lack of posts. I can explain in details, but I'd bore you to your deathbeds so I'll just say I had family matters. A whole month for family, alhamdulillah. Allah wanted me to take better care of my parents, probably :)

Today's post is about the commonly misunderstood concept of Tawakkal. When we say Tawakkal, it'd probably be that point in time before the exams when you've given up on studying the subject, shut the books and say 'Takpalah, tawakkal je lah' cos if you're meant to get good results, you will get it anyway, no? Well at least that's what I grew up learning, from the routine surrounding me. But what is Tawakkal, really? If you read the English translation of the Al-Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, he translates tawakkaltu a'lallah as TRUST IN ALLAH.

So what does that mean?

Personally and frankly, I don't really trust people so easily (Or at least I say that to sound super sophisticated hoho) as I'm sure most people don't as well. If you had a secret that you'd take to your graves, would you simply tell a passer-by? Would you whisper it to some mate of yours who's got a reputation (and proud of it!) for being the World Famous Gossip Girl? Or shout it over to your friend in a room full of acquaintances that you've only just met?

Naw you wouldn't, at least if you're sane. You'd tell it only to your closest circle of friends, or just to that one person whom you've known all your life to have always been there for you. Just to those people you TRUST. Big life-changing matters whom only a selected few can be entrusted with. People whom you know won't betray you. People whom you know will only do what's best for you, even when it doesn't make sense sometimes.

So trust your Lord with that. 

Who on Earth would know you better than the One who created you in the first place?

"...And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him" [Quran 65:3]

But before you do that...

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One day Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah” 

Here's another story, one of Siti Hajar r.a. taken from the book 'The Ideal Muslimah' by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi

Prophet Ibrahim r.a. left her at the Ka'abah in Makkah, above the well of Zamzam, at a time when there were no people and no water in the place. Haajar had no one with her except her infant son Ismail. She asked Ibrahim, calmly and with no trace of panic: "Has Allah commanded you to do this, Oh Ibrahim?" Prophet Ibrahim r.a. said "Yes." Her response reflected her acceptance and optimisim: "Then He is not going to abandon us." Reported by Bukhari in Kitaab Al-Anbiya

Do you see? Her trust in Allah is so deep, that although being abandoned in the middle of nowhere with a very needy infant, in a barren land with no plants, no water, no people, let alone any shelter, she still remained calm. She trusted her Lord with all her heart, He alone was enough as a Protecter.

But did that mean she stayed there, without moving a muscle, waiting for a miracle from her Almighty Lord?

Naw! As it is known to every Muslim (insya-Allah), she ran between Mount Safa and Mount Marwa 7 times in search of water. I recently found out here that the reason she ran in the valley between the two hills was because she had left her baby Ismail on the ground at one place, and can only see him at the top of either of the hills. So she ran from one hill to another to make sure she can always keep an eye on him. Awwwwwh. Ehem. Moving on.

When her search for water was to no avail, she returned to her baby Ismail and found a spring had sprouted forth from the place where the crying baby was kicking at the sand with his feet! The very famous and miraculous Zamzam water that we still get today, alhamdulillah.

Her Lord had rewarded her for her patience and constancy, and most importantly for that trust in Him :)

Hence. I trust  my Lord with my future. I trust Him to give what's truly best for me, even though I may not be able to rationalise it the moment I get it. I trust Him to decide the right path for me.

But only after I've tied my camel properly, right and tight ;) 

Allahua'lam ^^