A Reminder!
The concept of reliance upon Allah has disappeared from the lives of many people. They forgot Allah, Glorified and Exalted, and so He
forgot them, and they abandoned reliance upon their Lord, and so He left them to their own selves.
A person fallsill and he pins his hopes upon physicians and medicines, which are mere means, and he forgets the Lord of the heavens and the earth in Whose Hand cure lies.
Another person gets in trouble and suffers hardships and tribulations and becomes sad and distressed.
So, he turns to his friends and loved ones for help, and forgets the Almighty Lord!
The enemies plot against him and his foes besiege him, and so he remains in severe anguish and distress, being heedless of the One Who is closer to him than his jugular vein -Glorified and Exalted be He.
Ibn Al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said,“A pious person should know that Allah Almighty is sufficient for him, and so he should not attach his heart to the means. Allah Almighty says:
{And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him.}
[Surat at - Talāq: 3]
”Others understand reliance upon Allah to mean passive reliance with no effort or pursuit of the proper means. For example, a group of the people from Yemen set out for Hajj without taking the required provisions for the journey, saying, “We rely upon our Lord!” Then, they began to beg food from people. Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed:
{And take provisions, indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah.}
[Surat al - Baqarah: 197]
In other words: take such provisions that save your faces and protect you from the humiliation of begging.
“A pious person should know that Allah Almighty is sufficient for him, and so he should not attach his heart to the means. Allah Almighty says:
{And whoever relies upon Allah, then He is sufficient for him.}
[Surat at - Talāq: 3]”
Others understand reliance upon Allah to mean passive reliance with no effort or pursuit of the proper means. For example, a group of the people from Yemen set out for Hajj without taking the required provisions for the journey, saying, “We rely upon our Lord!” Then, they began to beg food from people. Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed:
{And t ake provisions, indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah.}
[Surat al - Baqarah: 197]
In other words: take such provisions that save your faces and protect you from the humiliation of begging.Some people say, “My sustenance had already been predestined; so, why should I make effort?!”A man asked the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him),
“O Messenger of Allah, should I tie it and rely upon Allah or release it and rely upon Him?" He (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Tie it and rely upon Allah.”
[Narrated by At-Tirmidhi] [Hasan (Sound)]
Allah Almighty says:
{It is He who made the earth subservient to you - so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection.}
[Surat al - Mulk: 15]
So, taking the proper means does not contradict reliance upon Allah. In fact, reliance upon Him is not valid without pursuing the proper means; otherwise, this would be nothing but idleness and false reliance!
{Our Lord, upon You we have relied, and to You we have returned, and to You is the destination.}[Surat Al-Mumtahanah: 4]
[Narrated by At - Tirmidhi] [Hasan (Sound)]
Allah Almighty says:
{It is He who made the earth subservient to you - so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection.}
[Surat al - Mulk: 15]
So, taking the proper means does not contradict reliance upon Allah. In fact, reliance upon Him is not valid without pursuing the proper means; otherwise, this would be nothing but idleness and false reliance!
{Our Lord, upon You we have r elied, and to You we have returned, and to You is the destination.}
[Surat Al - Mumtahanah: 4]
