Tawakkul: the meaning of trust in Allah

Tawakkul in the Quran

• “And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him.” (At-Talaq 65:3)
• “And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely upon Him.” (Al ‘Imran 3:159)
• “Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs (Hasbunallahu wa ni‘mal-wakil).” (Al ‘Imran 3:173)
• “And upon Allah let the believers rely.” (At-Tawbah 9:51)

Tawakkul in the Sunnah

“If you relied on Allah as He should be relied upon, He would provide for you as He provides for the birds: they go out hungry in the morning and return full in the evening” (Jami‘ at-Tirmidhi 2344, graded hasan sahih). The birds still leave the nest: tawakkul is trust together with effort.

Leaving home, the Prophet ﷺ taught: “Bismillah, tawakkaltu ‘alallah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” (In the name of Allah, I rely on Allah, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah), from Sunan Abi Dawud 5095. See daily duas.

Tawakkul is not giving up

Tawakkul	Not tawakkul
Revising for an exam, then trusting Allah with the result	Not revising and saying “it is in Allah’s hands”
Seeing a doctor and making du‘a for healing	Refusing treatment, or relying only on the treatment
Accepting an outcome you did not want, after doing your best	Despair or anger at Allah’s decree

Building tawakkul

Know Allah through His names, especially Al-Wakil and Ar-Razzaq (see the 99 names of Allah); believe in divine decree, one of the six articles of faith; and turn to Allah in worry with the du‘as in dua for anxiety. For decisions, pray istikhara, then act and trust.

Tawakkul in illness means treatment and du‘a together; see dua for headache and pain.