‫بسم ﷲ الرحمن الرحيم‬

‫الحمد & رب العالمين وصلى ﷲ وسلم على رسول ﷲ وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن اھتدى بھديه إلى يوم الدين أما بعد‬

‫االستعانة و تو ُكل‬
Al-Isti’anah and Tawwakul
Appealing for Aid and Assistance and Putting one's
Reliance upon Allaah
Taken from: http://ilmpoint.wordpress.com

Ibn ‘Abbaas ‫ رضي ﷲ عنه‬said: "One day I was riding behind the
Prophet ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬and he said to me:

‫يا غالم احفظ ﷲ يحفظك احفظ ﷲ تجده تجاھك وإذا سألت فلتسأل ﷲ وإذا استعنت فاستعن با واعلم أن‬
‫األمة لو اجتمعوا على أن ينفعوك لم ينفعوك إال بشيء قد كتبه ﷲ لك ولو اجتمعوا على أن يضروك لم‬
‫يضروك إال بشيء قد كتبه ﷲ عليك رفعت األقالم وجفت الصحف‬

"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 ‫ حفظه ﷲ تعالى‬commented:

"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 َّ ‫ع َّز و َجل‬,
َ the One in whose Hand is everything, and He is the One who gives the
khayr (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 Allaah’s َّ ‫ َع َّز و َجل‬, favouring and doing good for His slave can happen by what He generously
grants and bestows without there being any means, such as rain and (other) blessings from
Allaah َّ‫;ع َّز و َجل‬
َ and likewise, the khayr may reach a person by way of a means, which is that
Allaah 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 َّ‫ع َّز و َجل‬,
َ because if Allaah did not make the heart of this person – who Allaah made a
means – 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 َّ ‫ع َّز و َجل‬,
َ whether by way of a means or
without any means.
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 َّ ‫ع َّز و َجل‬,
َ to bring all the khayr and to be saved and safe
from 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 َّ ‫َع َّز و َجل‬

[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
‫سبحانه و تعالى‬. To cut off hope of any good from any created object and to hope the best and rely
completely 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 ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬and
used to ask of Him even for their shoelaces. The Mother of the Believers, A'ishah ‫ رضي ﷲ عنھما‬said:
"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 ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬said: “If you put your tawakkul in Allaah the way He deserves, He
would 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:

َ ِ‫ﷲَ يُ ِح ﱡب ا ْل ُمتَ َو ﱢكل‬

‫ين‬ ِ ‫فَإ ِ َذا َع َز ْمتَ فَتَ َو ﱠك ْل َعلَى ﱠ‬
‫ﷲ ۚ◌ إِنﱠ ﱠ‬

"...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 ‫ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم‬when he asked the
Bedouin 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.
7. From the numerous Ayaat about Al-Isti’anah in the Qur'an, we read:

ْ َ‫إِيﱠا َك نَ ْعبُ ُد َوإِيﱠا َك ن‬

ُ‫ستَ ِعين‬

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

َ ُ‫ﷲ فَ ْليَتَ َو ﱠك ِل ا ْل ُم ْؤ ِمن‬

‫ون‬ ُ ‫ﷲُ فَ َال َغالِ َب َل ُك ْم ۖ◌ َوإِن َي ْخ ُذ ْل ُك ْم فَ َمن َذا الﱠ ِذي يَن‬
ِ ‫ص ُر ُكم ﱢمن بَ ْع ِد ِه ۗ◌ َو َعلَى ﱠ‬ ‫ص ْر ُك ُم ﱠ‬
ُ ‫إِن يَن‬

"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]

ُ‫ط ﱠر إِ َذا َد َعاه‬

َ ‫ض‬ ُ ‫أَ ﱠمن يُ ِج‬
ْ ‫يب ا ْل ُم‬

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

‫ون‬
َ ‫ص ُر‬ ‫َواتﱠ َخ ُذوا ِمن ُدو ِن ﱠ‬
َ ‫ﷲِ آ ِل َھةً لﱠ َعلﱠ ُھ ْم يُن‬

"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 ‫سبحانه و تعالى‬