Page 76 - The Basic Concepts in the Qur’an

Trust in Allah and Submission

Two important indicators of faith are trust in Allah and submission to Him. Between a
believer and a non-believer, these draw the ultimate distinguishing line.
An unbeliever perceives the whole world as being in a state of chaos. He assumes that he
owes his existence to pure “coincidence.” According to him, the happenings around him also
take place by pure coincidence. Such a point of view is, however, detrimental to the mental
well-being of a person; he feels insecure and never trusts anyone. Nothing eases his fears for
the future. He spends long hours planning ahead. Hundreds, even thousands of independent
factors work to turn his life into one of sheer disappointment. He feels feeble; he may at any
time develop an incurable disease. Something unexpected may happen one day and he may
lose his job or someone he loves. Believing these incidents to occur at random, he feels
consternation at every such event. This means worshipping hundreds of independent factors as
gods. In Qur’anic terms, the fearing or trusting of anything implies taking it as a god besides
Allah. A believer, on the contrary, conceives the essence of this world; that Allah holds control
over every living thing and nothing occurs without His permission and knowledge. This fact,
enunciated in such verses as “...There is not a moving creature, but He has a grasp of its fore-
lock...”(Hud, 56) and “To Him belongs every being that is in the heavens and on earth: all are
devoutly obedient to Him.”(Ar-Rum, 26)is only conceivable by “those who by tokens
understand.”
(Al-Hijr, 75)

A believer is fundamentally assured of the fact that “Allah regulates all affairs.” (Ar- Rad,
2). He is well aware that all the incidents which puncutuate his life are predestined. That is why
he never reckons an incident to be an “unfortunate” one. Though it may seem to be
“unfortunate” it essentially implies goodness. First of all, nothing is futile in Allah’s creation.
Whatever the events affecting the life of a believer,they are definitely designed to bring
goodness to him. Even if an event seems outwardly to be an unfortunate one, a believer should
persevere and put his trust in Allah. Ultimately, Allah will turn it to the good.
In his arduous struggle, a believer finds relief and peace in this cast of mind. When we
consult the Qur’an, we see that all messengers and their followers met with extremely adverse
and seemingly “unfortunate” incidents. Almost all unbelievers were oppressed, threatened,
assaulted, tortured, insulted, and some even were killed. Yet, nothing daunted them; not even
the strongest tempest of adversity and the mightiest of armies. They stood firm and strong, never
giving up in their resolution. The essence of such an attitude lies solely in the consciousness a
believer builds; that everything is created by Allah and, accordingly, is destined to bring
goodness. Believers are well aware of the fact that Allah always provides guidance to believers
and surely places no burden on any soul that it cannot bear. In the Qur’an hundreds of verses
call for trust and submission in Allah:

Say: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our
Protector. In Allah let the believers put their trust.”
(Al-Tawba, 51)

The word in Arabic used for “trust in Allah” is “tewekkul”, which means “taking as
guardian and helper”. However, unlike its common usage, the word has a totally different
connotation in the Qur’an. Ordinarily, its meaning is perceived as “doing one’s best about a