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Al-Istianah and Tawwakul

Appealing for Aid and Assistance and Putting one's

Reliance upon Allaah

Taken from: http://ilmpoint.wordpress.com

Ibn Abbaas said: "One day I was riding behind theProphet and he said to me:

"O young boy, be mindful of Allaah and He will protect you. Be mindful of Allaah and you will

find Him in front of you, and if you ask, ask from Allaah, and if you seek help, seek help from

Allaah. And know that if all the people gathered and intended to harm you then they cannot do

so except what Allaah has destined for you. The Pens have been lifted and the pages have dried"

[At-Tirmidhi, 2/84, who classed it as 'hasan saheeh' (see also 'Saheeh Sunan Tirmidhi', 2516)]

Also found with slight variation in Musnad Ahmad, 1/293, 303, 307; Musnad Abi Ya'ala, 2/665; Al-Haakim, 3/541; Mu'jam al-

Kabeer, 11/11416; Ibn as-Sunni, 'Amal al-Yawm wal-Laylah', 1/136 no.419; Abu Nu'aym, 'Hilyat al-Awliyah', 1/314 and others]

.1. Shaykh al-Allaamah Abd-al Muhsin al-Abbaad commented:

"He is the One in whose Hand is everything, and He is the One in whose Hand is giving and

preventing; there is none to prevent what He gives and none to give what He prevents. So let a

person ask Allaah , the One in whose Hand is everything, and He is the One who gives thekhayr (goodness) and He gives generously by way of a means and without any means. And (with

regard to) the means that brings the khayr to a person, Allaah is the One who facilitates it, and

He is the One who subjects the one who is a means with respect to that to do good to him.

So Allaahs , favouring and doing good for His slave can happen by what He generouslygrants and bestows without there being any means, such as rain and (other) blessings from

Allaah ; and likewise, the khayr may reach a person by way of a means, which is thatAllaah subjects another person to feel compassion for him and to do good to him and that

whatever has good and benefit for him happens to him from (this person). And all of that is from

Allaah , because if Allaah did not make the heart of this person who Allaah made ameans to soften for you and feel compassion for you, then what happened to you from him

would not have taken place. Thus, all of it is from Allaah , whether by way of a means orwithout any means.

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Seek the help of Allaah with regard to your affairs and whatever wish you need and whatever

difficulty you fear. Seek the help of Allaah , to bring all the khayr and to be saved and safefrom all evil. Seek the help of Allaah, because if there are means but Allaah does not Will nor give

success for the realisation of what a person wants, then indeed it will fail to come and it will not

happen. Hence, all of the affair is in the Hand of Allaah

[Sunan at-Tirmidhi, 'Kitab as-Sifat il-Qiyamah', tape no. 272/16]

2. Tawwakul is about taking the necessary action and then putting your complete trust in Allaah

. To cut off hope of any good from any created object and to hope the best and relycompletely on Allaah. The root word of Tawakul is 'wakali' - This is to entrust someone else. Putting

your Tawwakul in other than Allaah is shirk, and depending on the circumstance, it can be major or

minor.

3. The Sahabah used to have from amongst the highest level of Tawwakul in Allaah andused to ask of Him even for their shoelaces. The Mother of the Believers, A'ishah said:"Ask Allaah for everything, even if it is only a shoe-lace, because if Allaah does not make it easy,

then it will not be possible."[At-Tirmidhi, 4/292]

4. The Prophet said: If you put your tawakkul in Allaah the way He deserves, Hewould provide for you the way he provides for the birds. They leave in the morning with an

empty stomach and return at night with a full one. [At-Tirmidhi (see 'Silsilah al-Saheehah', 310]

5. There is no contradiction in asking only from Allaah and having trust only in Him, while seeking

the means from the creation in what they are able to help you with. The result of this help is in and

of itself from Allaah alone; it will either be granted or rejected according to His Divine Will. And the

means itself must be from the things that are permissible from Shari'ah.

6. Allaah Says in the Qur'an:

"...Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allaah, certainly, Allaah loves those

who put their trust (in Him)." [Aal 'Imran: 159]

This is also exemplified from the blessed speech of the Prophet when he asked theBedouin who had left his camel untied: "Why don't you tie down your camel?" The Bedouin

answered, "I placed my trust in Allaah." - The Prophet replied: "Tie your camel and place your trust

in Allaah."[At-Tirmidhi; see also Saheeh al-Jaami 1068]

Ibn Hajar commented on this hadeeth and said: "Tawakul is the act of the heart while "tying the

camel" is the act of limbs."- The meaning of which is that "tying the camel" means that one should

take the necessary (halal) means that are available to perform what one intends to do, after which

his heart has full yaqeen and tawwakul upon Allaah.

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7. From the numerous Ayaat about Al-Istianah in the Qur'an, we read:

"You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)."[Al-Faatihah: 5]

"If Allaah helps you, none can overcome you; if He forsakes you,who is there, after that, that can

help you? In Allaah let Believers put their trust."[Aal 'Imran: 160]

"Is not He (better than your deities) Who responds to the distressed one..."[An-Naml: 62]

"And they have taken besides Allaah alihah (deities), hoping that they might be helped

(by them)."[Ya Seen: 74]

And many many more...

8. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah has a beautiful commentary on the original hadeeth above, thus:

http://www.kl28.com/fat2r.php?search=32

9. Ibn Uthaymeen's beautiful sharh from 'Riyadh as-Saliheen':

http://www.sonnaonline.com/Montaka/Hadith.aspx?HadithID=71

10. Sh. Yasir Burhami's khutbah on "Seeking assistance from Allaah" here:http://www.islamway.com/?iw_a=view&i...esson_id=86001

May Allaah enable us to perfect our Tawheed

so that we can protect ourselves from committing the greatest of crimes against Him