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wa-tawakkal ʿalā l-ḥayyi lladhī lā yamūtu wa-sabbiḥ bi-ḥamdihī wa-kafā bihī bi-dhunūbi ʿibādihī khabīran-i
Put your trust in the Living One who does not die, and celebrate His praise. He suffices as one all-aware of the sins of His servants.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Furqan - Verse 58
58. “And rely on the (Ever) living One Who dies not, and celebrate with His praise, and sufficient is He as being aware of the faults of His servants,”
The Arabic word /tawakkul/ as well as its derivatives are mentioned 70 times in the Qur’an. It means to rely on Allah and to use Him as lawyer in all affairs. In the previous verse the holy Prophet (S) was commanded to tell people he would not demand reward from them. And now this verse implies that religious leaders do not expect anything from people for their own life and they must trust Allah. Therefore, in this verse, the main reliance of the Prophet (S) is made clear; it says:
By having such a Trust, Sanctuary, and Guardian Who is always alive and will be alive, the Prophet (S) does not need their reward and does not fear harm, hurt, and their conspiracy. Now that this is so, ‘hymn His praise’, do glorify Him and praise Him for all His perfect Attributes. The verse says:
In fact, this sentence can be counted as the etiology of the former sentence, for when He has no fault and weakness and has got all good things and is perfect, such a One is deserved to be trusted. Then it is added: implying that he (S) should not be worried of the enemies’ conspiracies for He suffices as the Knower of His bondmen’s sins, and He reckons them when its time comes. The verse continues saying:
Whom Must We Trust?
In the above verse, when the Prophet (S) is ordered to forget all creatures and to rely on the pure nature of Allah, He mentions some attributes for this pure nature, which are, in fact, the main qualifications of One Who can be the real and sure trust of people. First, he must be alive, for a dead and unbeneficial creature, such as idols, cannot be someone’s trust. Second, he must be immortal, so that, those who trust him do not get worried and irresolute about his death.
Third, he must be omniscient. He must know both all the needs of those who trust in him and the plots and plans of foes. Forth, he must be omnipotent. He must have no weakness and disability that weakens this reliance. Fifth, he must manage and control all affairs. And we know that these attributes are only found in the pure nature of Allah, thus, He is the only One Whom can be trusted and does not have instability in all events and disasters.
Some Traditions On Trust
1. The Prophet (S) said:
“One who wants to be the most pious person of people has to trust Allah.” 11
2. Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“Fearing only Allah and not fearing other than Allah is reliance.” 12
3. The Prophet (S) said:
“The best servants with Allah are those who trust Allah more and obey His commandments.” 13
4. Imam Ali (as) said:
“This is sufficient for your trust that you know no one as your sustainer but Allah, the Glorious.” 14
5. Imam Ali (as) said:
“Oh people! Trust and have confidence in Allah, for He will be sufficient for the affairs of those who trust (in Him).” 15
6. The Prophet (S) said:
“If one trusts Allah, He provides his provisions and livelihood from some ways that he has not thought. And Allah makes the world the trust of one who pins all his hopes on the world.” 16
Footnotes