DoubleTake Podcast
16 / 50
S2E3 - What does it mean to trust God? | DoubleTake
God has promised us that with every hardship comes ease, and we know that He does not send any tests or difficulties without the means to seek His aid and relief. Why, then, do we sometimes struggle to trust His plan? What is missing from our understanding of God that can help us feel comfortable with the unknown? What does it look like to do our part and take action?
In this episode, host Mohamad Zaoud talks to Sr. Roohi Tahir, author of the Yaqeen Institute paper “In Hardship and in Ease: How to Rely on God".
Related
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. We believe that with every hardship comes ease. Allah has promised us that. And we know that He, subhanahu wa ta'ala, does not send any tests or difficulties without the means to seek His aid and relief. Why then do we sometimes struggle to trust His plan? What is missing from our understanding of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that can help us feel comfortable with the unknown? Welcome to another episode of Double Take, a podcast by Yaqeen Institute about the questions and ideas around Islam and Muslims that give us pause. Remember to subscribe to the show on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sister Ruhi Tahir about building trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Sister Ruhi is the founder and instructor of Nourish Your Soul, a platform for Islamic education, and is the author of the Yaqeen Institute paper, In Hardship and in Ease, How to Rely on God. Back for the second time on Double Take. Before we get to the episode, please do share your feedback on the show, what you like, what you dislike. There's a link in the description for you to actually feedback straight to the producers. And please do subscribe and rate the show on Apple and Spotify. Enjoy the episode. Sister Ruhi Tahir, salam alaikum and welcome back to Double Take. Walaikum salam, rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Pleasure to be back. And a special welcome back because you were just in Amra and you were just saying that it was such a beautiful experience, a very quiet experience during COVID. It was, yeah. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to go and alhamdulillah, just very, very special to be there, particularly having, you know, just seeing the world go through this whole experience with COVID. It was apparent, you know, it was apparent in the people that were there,
just very gentle, very kind. You could see everyone was that much more grateful. So it was very spiritual and wonderful experience, alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah and taqabbal Allah ta'atakum. Ameen, ameen. On the topic of COVID, it's been a very, very tough year and a half, two years. Some people have lost their jobs. Some people have lost loved ones. Some people have struggled with their health. And the question for me, just right off the bat on this topic is, what does tawakkol mean? And what does it mean in this kind of current context of a COVID world? Yeah, so when this publication was originally written, it was written in the context of COVID and the onset of COVID-19. At that time, of course, no one knew how long this pandemic was gonna be around. And remarkably, I mean, tawakkol is a concept in our deen that alhamdulillah, it's one of those evergreen, it's always there, no matter what the circumstances of the ummah in the world. And in the context of COVID, it's still very, very relevant. Essentially, when you look at the word tawakkol itself, it means to give that trust and reliance to, in this particular case, of course, to Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala, the Almighty, who is in control and is our creator, our master, the one who nurtures us, takes care of us, provides for us, and so forth. And so it's complete reliance on Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala. And even more so than I think the thing that has to be emphasized are two things. One, that reliance goes way beyond the reliance that we understand typically. And that's partly why the motivation to write this paper was really to understand how and what that tawakkol really means in the context of our lives, but to go beyond what it might mean to trust another person, let's say, for example, or trust in your own abilities. It's to put your trust in the one and only
who can actually affect change in your life in both this world and in the hereafter. So that's the short answer for it. And inshallah, I think we'll get into more details about it. Yeah, absolutely. I was gonna say, when I think of trust, I think, frankly, of a red line. In any relationship, whether it's like an employee and their boss, you could be kind of reprimanded for a whole bunch of stuff. But if trust is broken, it's a red line. Or a spouse and their partner, if trust is broken in that relationship, then it's a red line. And so it's such a heavy concept, this concept of trust and reliance on someone else. And so what does trust look like when we say trust in Allah? What does that actually look like and mean? Yeah, this is hitting the nail right on the head, actually. And this is, I think, the problem that a lot of us face when we, maybe inadvertently at many, many, many times, because even as practicing Muslims and as people of faith, we lose sight of the fact that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la in His perfection cannot be compared to anyone or anything else that we experience in our worldly terms. So even the people who love you the most that you can think of, you know, close your eyes and imagine your loved ones can and will, at times, let you down. And as you said, that red line, when it comes to trust being broken, that red line is often when you feel let down because of someone else's imperfection or your own imperfection and expectations and expectations that were set. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is far and above and beyond that. That's why He's Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, right? And so that's the thing that keeping that concept in the forefront is really where tawakkul starts.
It starts, you know, in your heart with that belief, but it's so connected and intertwined with the concept of tawheed and the concept of, of really all the, you've covered some of these topics, I think, in season one, but really sort of, where is Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la's mercy? Why does evil exist? All of these things that we've, the qadr of Allah, all of these things that we struggle with sometimes and we find increasingly that people are experiencing all kinds of doubts, it's because we lose sight of really, you know, who is Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la in my life? And I have to separate, you know, that level of perfection from anything that I understand or that the limits and perceptions that I may have as a fallible human being. So when we can do that, then we are able to truly feel and experience that tawakul, just as we are truly able to experience iman, yeah. So it will go up and down, yeah. Absolutely. When I kind of try to explain the concept of tawakul to my, whether it's my nieces or nephews, or even my daughter now growing up, I usually use kind of sahaba or some references in the Quran. And the one that I guess is easy to acknowledge and explain because it's so rich in its meaning is the story of Maryam Alayhi Salam. And I just, I love the fact that it's so relatable. It's so relatable nowadays, someone who, you know, struggled so much, but had a deep connection with Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and even at the most difficult times was able to fully trust when really around her, there was no reason to kind of believe that something's gonna happen, but she had that ultimate trust in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la Do you mind kind of running us through the story of Maryam? Because for me, this kind of is the pinnacle
of believing in the ultimate trustee, al-wakeel. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is a beautiful example from the Quran and of course the Quran and the Sira itself, which is also thread through the Quran thematically in so many incidents and the basis for so many of the surahs and the verses that we have are lessons in tawakul. And so in the story of Maryam, which we see in the surah that's named after her, as well as in Al-Imran primarily, these are the two surahs where she's mentioned. You know, this is an example of, we can actually go back and start from the du'a that her mother made when she's expecting Maryam. And she does not know she's going to have a girl or give birth to a child that would be a girl. She wants to dedicate her child to service, to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, to the worship of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la. And she's making this du'a. And she's not only making this du'a for her child, but she's making this du'a for the future children or child that will come from Maryam. And of course that du'a is answered with the blessed birth of Isa Alayhi Salam. So we see here a trust that she's placing in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la that's exemplified all the way from, you know, before Maryam is even born, that is carried forward into, you know, Maryam's childhood. We see her in her little, you know, sort of worshiping in her mihrab. And the trust she has, she's so dedicated to Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and this food is being provided to her. And of course I'm not going into every verse or detail, but we know the story generally, so much so that it inspires who? Her uncle, Zakariya Alayhi Salam. And these are the stories of amazing prophets. He himself is concerned with what? He's old, he's aged, he doesn't have a child to inherit the legacy of prophethood. Who's going to teach the people? Who's going to be there to guide his people? And in this day and age, we can say, yes, okay, Alhamdulillah, that was the era of the prophets. But in this day and age, who doesn't have these same concerns and worries? And that's where contextualizing it
to our life and our times. We see here, Maryam is going to, as a young girl, be put in this situation by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, who is all wise and knowing, and is going to bless her with this amazing legacy of Isa Alayhi Salam. And to be honored as probably the most recognized woman on the planet. And of course we know her as to be the most righteous. She doesn't know what she's headed for, but like every other human being, as righteous as she is, she's scared, she's afraid. And yet she's worshiping Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, she goes into hiding, she doesn't know what to do. Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is guiding her and saying, look, you do your part. You shake the palm tree, you shake the trunk, and the dates will come to you, and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will provide ease for you. She's in the throes of labor, obviously scared, alone. We're talking about a single mother. Again, concepts that we can relate to in some ways today with so many people facing these kinds of challenges, ousted by her community, because when she comes back, what's the, from the reputation perspective, obviously she's falsely sort of, people looking at her like, wait, where did this child come from? There's no father in the picture, what happened? And so naturally for her, this is a very, very distressful time. Yet Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gives her the tools and says, I'm going to take care of you. You do your part, you just simply follow along. When I tell you to be silent, she's told to be silent, what happens? The baby talks from the cradle. Isa Alayhi Salaam is given the ability, miraculously, to speak and really silences the community at that point. And so out of all of these unexpected turn of events comes this just beautiful and phenomenal blessing. And that's the lesson to take away, I think, for all of us, is that sometimes the truth that we're living, what appears as the truth in front of us,
is something that is, it may seem harmful, it may seem stressful, it may seem very, very challenging, and it may seem very, very painful. But behind it, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has a greater purpose for us, and there's wisdom and khikmah in what's happening. And so putting our trust in Allah will help ease the way to us eventually getting to and benefiting from those blessings that are to come down the road. And no, we don't know what those are, and there are unknowns and uncertainty, but the one thing that's uncertain in our lives when it goes up and down, no matter what your challenges are, is that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is certain. That's the one factor that you can always count on, and that's what the waqf was based on, and that's where it's built, is to know that, hold onto the one thing. She had to hold onto the trunk of the tree. That was a tangible thing Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la gave her. We're being asked to hold onto the one thing that you know to be certain, which is your faith in who Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is, and which is why it's so important to know who He is in order to really nurture that relationship with Him, because you're going to trust those you know, those you love, those you see time and time again as providing for you, and who does that better for us than Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la? So those are some of the lessons, and of course I mentioned earlier, but her story inspired Zakaria to do what? Zakaria Salam made dua that, I see this child, I see the provision, Allah, you're the one to do anything. You can make that possible. Indeed, another miraculous birth comes with the birth of Yahya Alayhi Salam. So there's so much to gather from that story. It's a beautiful story. You know, you mentioned her shaking the tree and kind of doing her part before she kind of trusts the ultimate trustee, al-Waqeel. And it reminds me of the very, very famous hadith that you know, has special appearances on our minbaz most Fridays, and that is, tie your camel, where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was asked whether or not the Sahabi should tie his camel outside, and then trust in Allah or just trust in Allah
and leave the camel untied. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam of course said, tie your camel and then trust Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Yeah. And you know, for me, I think about kind of the people I trust in my life. And in different contexts, I trust different people. Like I don't trust my, you know, for example, my personal trainer with, for argument's sake, business advice, or my doctor with specific family advice. Like there's different people you trust in different contexts. Not everyone is trusted with everything. Whereas what we're asked to do in Islam is, we put our faith in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And of course, you know, the example of Allah is way above anything in this world. But what I need to come to terms with, as a Muslim is that I need to trust Allah in everything. Like I do my part in whatever context, whether it's my family or work or study or wealth, I do my part and then I effectively hand over to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, but I've done my part. Can you help me come to terms with trusting Allah with everything, with stuff that, you know, are the most inner kind of secrets or the most difficult of choices I need to make, or the most difficult context that I'm in. Trusting Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala in all contexts. How do I come to terms with that? Yeah, so that's, I mean, there's a lot to unpack in that question, but it is very, very relevant. And I think it goes back to knowing Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Knowing Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala means understanding who he is as he tells us about himself,
because one of the biggest things about faith is that we have faith in the unseen and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is not someone we see before us, but he tells us everything we need to know so that we are equipped to be able to not only experience that faith, but to be able to nurture that faith with a level of confidence, with a level of yaqeen. So how do we do that? Knowing Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala by his names and attributes. This is something that he tells us about himself, because no one has seen him face to face that we can say, okay, the only source we have is Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala himself telling us about himself. And that's the most authentic and most, obviously we go to the Quran and the Sunnah for the most authentic of information. That is the truth and the fundamental truth. So when you look at that, and you look at the names and attributes of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, and you have his mercy, you have, you know, that he is Ar-Rahman, he is Ar-Rahim, that he is Ar-Razzaq, the one who's providing. In every category, he is Al-Alim, you know, the one who is As-Sami'a Al-Dua, he's the one who can listen and hears your dua, that one that's inside you, you just said the innermost thoughts, who knows that? Only Allah knows that. So when you're giving your trust to someone in a category of your life, as you mentioned before, who has expertise in a particular area, how did you come to that decision? You came to that decision because they have that expertise, you've seen it, and you've experienced it. And that increases your trust in them and your faith in them. So when you take this to the level of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala there is no one that's going to be able to match the capability of the one who created you and created the universe. We're just a small part of the creation. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, of course, gives us things that are tangible for us because we don't see him. He gives us things that are tangible. The Quran and the Sunnah are full of examples for us
to look at around us, to see how the world and how creation evolves around us. And that's what shows us the miraculous nature of what he can do that no one else can do. And that above everyone else's capability is this capability that is in control, not just that he's able, but that he is the most powerful and the one in control and the one by whose will everything happens. So when you recognize who Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is and then you connect to him and build that relationship with him, and there are obviously some things we can do to nurture that as we'll hopefully talk about before this ends, that's what will really enable us to then give over that trust willingly. And not only that, but you'll want to do it, not just you have to do it, but you'll want to do it and realize that in this is actually a beautiful act of worship. That's the have to part, is that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala actually told us, it's a command, trust in Allah, place your trust in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And then there's a part of us that starts to realize the benefits of that. First and foremost, you feel it inside you that nothing else is gonna provide you that kind of contentment. Nothing else is gonna provide you that kind of confidence to stay the path. Because if you think of it in a worldly sense, when you're told to take X, Y, Z steps, you take the means, you're looking for a job. Okay, so you put together your background history, your data, you give it to a company, you're waiting, you're applying to places for a job. You've done your part, that's your part. Your job is to study hard, to do well in school, to be able to get qualified. You did your part. But in a worldly sense, those things bring results that are tangible results to a point, but then there's a point after which no one's in control ultimately. And that's where the tawakkul really plays a part because Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, those who trust in me, I will never let them down. I'm here to guide that process. And for a lot of people who don't have that level of faith or understanding of faith, you lose your motivation when you don't see the results.
With Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, we don't ever lose. He's always with us. As long as we're calling on Him, He's there to take care of whatever, and He knows what you need before you need it, and when you need it, and how you need it. So that trust is ultimately going to bring you relief because if you knew someone's got your back, you feel relief. And that's what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says. And that's the immediate tangible result of tawakkul, by the way. I'm a simple person, so I have simple examples, but I'm going through my taxes at the moment. And so my tax agent is basically burying through the papers that I've given him. It took about maybe a month for me to give him everything. But now that I've given it to a professional, I'm relaxed. He's going to look after it. And so when we think of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala being the ultimate trustee, it's like I've done my part, and now if it's meant to happen, it'll happen. And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is the ultimate trustee. I want to move to the concept of taking means, the concept of tying the camel and actually taking the means. There's a story that's been shoved down my throat by my dad since I was young. So you're going to have to bear with me. But every time he wants to give me advice on just relax, you got to do your part. And then basically hand over, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will look after you. It's a famous story of someone who's drowning in a flood. And then a jet ski comes by or a small speedboat and says, come on, I'll help you. And the guy goes, no, no, no, I've got Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and he'll look after me. So you
just go on and save the other people. And then the flood obviously increases and the water rises. And then a few moments later, there's a helicopter that comes and says, come on, jump on. This is your last chance. And he's like, no, no, I've got Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, don't worry. Just keep going, go and save someone else. And then a few moments later someone comes out by the boat again and the same thing. He says, no, no, I've got Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And then in the hereafter, he sees Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and he says, why didn't you save me? I had full faith that you're going to save me and you didn't save me. And then he's told, well, I sent you the speedboat and you did and I sent you the helicopter and I sent you a boat again and you didn't jump. So what does it mean? I know it's a simple example, but that's what I've been told since I was young. What does it mean and how do I know I'm actually taking the means before I hand over and how do I know that I've actually done everything that I'm supposed to be doing? And is it just physical actually? Is it just the physical means that matters? Yeah, sure. I think that story's circulated the globe. So it's a familiar one that we all probably been told by our elders, wise elders. But yeah, it's a great example actually of taking the means. So Tawakkol has these two components. There is the part where you turned everything over to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Simply put, you can put it in terms that you've already mentioned of the famous Hadith of tying your camel. There is a part that we have to do and then there is a portion that of course we leave completely to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala once we've done our part. And so in terms of taking the means, that means whatever is permissible, halal to do within the realms of our knowledge, our ability
or seeking help from others around us. It doesn't mean we don't ask for help. And this is a classic example would be somebody who obviously is unwell should absolutely seek treatment and consult a doctor. But recognize that that is a means that's being provided by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. The mistake of the person that you cited in the story is that they're not recognizing that those were means that were sent to them. And they're so focused on, I just have to leave it up to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, but had their own idea or notion of, I don't know what, being plucked out of the water all of a sudden miraculously without anything that would be considered to be a normal source like a boat or a helicopter or whatever. So for whatever reasons that person failed in their understanding of that. And that's actually not so uncommon because scholars have written about this, about the fact that one can make that mistake of just completely saying, I'm going to just sit on my prayer mat and just keep praying that Allah fixes this for me. Whatever that thing is. Cures me, saves me, provides for me, whatever it may be. But we're not supposed to live that kind of ascetic monk kind of lifestyle that we just seclude ourselves from the world. No, get out there, do what you can do and take the material means as well as the spiritual means. And that's a key point here for Tawakkol is that it's two components coming together. And ironically, we talk nowadays a lot about holistically looking at our lives and from a well-being point of view, physically, spiritually, emotionally. Well, when we bring together the spiritual component of Tawakkol, which always has to be present, and then we add to it whatever material means we have, be it our putting your money towards something, putting your effort towards something, asking for help or seeking the knowledge or whatever it needs, asking someone else who's an expert. Those are the material means. All of that
together with the spiritual on top of the spiritual, I should say, because the spiritual has to be the start. It's got to start in your heart. So when you say spiritual, like, is there some sort of checklist? Like, are there certain things that I'm supposed to be doing? Absolutely. First and foremost, you know, it starts with the belief in your heart, obviously, that you're placing your trust, knowing consciously that those means that are coming to you, the material means, by the way, are provided by Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. I need to recognize that. He's the one to facilitate. So he's going to send me whatever that, whether the helicopter, the boat, the whatever, it's coming from him. But in terms of my day to day, if I am connected to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, and the best ways for that, obviously, first thing, dua. Dua is an act of worship. Tawakkol itself, as we said before, is an act of worship. When you take that into consideration, just like with dua, and dua is a good way to kind of make a nice analogy with tawakkol, that with dua, you don't give up, you don't stop praying to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. If your dua is answered a particular way, and not exactly the way that you had envisioned, that doesn't mean Allah didn't answer your dua, right? In line with the famous hadith of the Prophet, that one of three things will happen, but Allah has heard you, Allah is answering you. You may not recognize in the moment that you're being answered, but you are. Similarly, with tawakkol, you never stop putting that effort in. So dua is the first way that we even recognize and nurture tawakkol in our lives, because you're going to constantly be asking of Allah for relief, or for help, or for guidance. And by the way, tawakkol is not just in times of hardship, but it is actually for every day. You and I are not able to breathe and function and do the normal things we take for granted without actually having that trust that you trust you're going to wake up in the morning. But isn't that in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala's hands, really? I mean, we're placing our lives, nothing is really ours, ultimately. So in that regard, everything, your provision day to day, everything is coming from Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. So
dua is the first. Then it's of course, once you decide on something, as Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala tells the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam in the Quran, once you've made a decision, then you put your trust in Allah. So it's firm resolve. And this is where I think we can see one of the biggest benefits of tawakkol in our life from a practical point of view. Many times, if we aren't sure and we can't see the future, what happens? You don't know which direction to go in. You're at a crossroads, you don't know which way to go. But once you make a decision to stay with it, to stay the course, that's a powerful tool. And I think people in this day and age spend time and money in this industry for this now, where how do I stay motivated? How do I stay at the peak of my performance? Well, tawakkol is one of the greatest tools for that, because Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is providing you that motivation that I've got your back. You just stay. You gave the example of a jet ski. I think I use that in my paper as well, that when you're on a jet ski, as long as you're moving forward with intention, purpose, speed, you're going to stay the course and the water actually, and I've experienced this myself, it feels like a road. It feels hard. It stops waving because you're just, it's just the jet ski just moves across it smoothly. But the minute you stop, you'll notice every wave and you'll think you're going to fall off because life is coming at you with those waves. But if you, you know, stop for a minute, start questioning, doubting. So the tawakkol gives you that. So firm resolve. And then of course, you know, the daily prayers. I mean, nothing better than being able to connect to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and remind yourself every prayer is a reminder. That's a statement of, you know, it's only you, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, that we turn to and we worship you and we seek your help alone. Who else can provide? So that's placing your trust fully in Allah, right? Even when we say Allahu Akbar, just at every stage of
the prayer, it's a reminder that there is no other greater source. So these are the things that will build the tawakkol in our daily lives. Patience, gratitude, a list of whole, there's a list of them in the article there, but essentially the idea that all of these concepts will help us. The daily athkar is a reminder because you're often seeking the words of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam that he's taught us himself in the, you know, the sunnah, athkar of the day, are many times seeking protection, putting trust in Allah. There's all of these things to that effect. One of the ones that I think I listed that may have maybe surprised some people or may not have been the obvious thing is to trust that Allah is going to forgive you when you seek forgiveness. I think that shapes the direction people's lives take. Many times, you know, you see people who've started to doubt themselves or doubt their faith or doubt that Allah loves them. That's a big area of discussion, but it stems from where's your trust in Allah, that Allah says, I am as you see me. So come back to me and yes, you're going to make mistakes. Come back to me. Come back to me sincerely. I will forgive you. I want what's best for you. I mean, the best people on this planet that ever walked this planet, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, the other prophets of Allah, they all were tested heavily. That doesn't mean Allah doesn't love us when challenges come. It's just a way for Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala to draw us closer. It's a test. And how we fare in that test is an act of tawakkol actually. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think, you know, we all experience these kind of times in our lives. Particularly, I'm sure that a lot of people can relate to this given the last year
and a half and the way it's played out for many people who've been challenged with not only the, you know, either direct impact of COVID-19 on their own family and loved ones, or just even the, you know, things that are tangible to that, that can go back and relate to that in terms of how much, you know, they've had to endure and the losses that we've all witnessed on our screens every day and that we see on our social media. For me personally, I think, you know, there's nothing greater than loss of a loved one to really test your tawakkol in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, particularly that of a parent. And in my case, I think a landmark moment in my life is the loss of my mother many years ago. And I think that, I mean, and I think that that is a, you know, who do we grow up trusting the most? You know, when you start to think of it from a child's perspective, your parents are the first people in your life and the first source of provision, trust that a child understands until they're old enough to kind of grasp that, okay, this is all coming from Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and there's more beyond that. But you know, that relationship doesn't change, right? So it's a very difficult time when you see or you experience this kind of a loss. And I think at that moment was when I really, when Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala takes something away from you that's that special or that close or that much of a reliance that you don't even realize you have in your life sometimes to that the extent of it. That's a lesson in tawakkol because all you're left with then is to trust in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. And so for me personally, I know that that concept and that the idea of tawakkol was something that I really had to nurture in that time and rely on fully just the idea that I know Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala there are things happening here that are beyond my control, beyond anything I can understand or comprehend. What seems like more harm than good. I mean, all the things that we go through in our minds when when things don't go our way. And all you
have left at the end of that is there's a wisdom behind this I don't see I have to trust that wisdom. And inshallah, it's a I have to trust fully in everything that we've been taught to believe that this is a temporary separation that we there is Jannah, there is eternity, there is eternal bliss and reuniting with loved ones. And so those are things that you live with every day now that as okay, this is something that I'm placing my trust in that and Allah will help me move forward. And, you know, I can't help but relate that back to look at the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam in his life and how Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala took away so many of his loved ones, one by one by one, as he's increasing in his responsibility and his role as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, you know, as the final prophet to this Ummah. And what is he learning in that lesson is amongst other things is really this reliance on Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. You know, the beautiful ayahs of Surah Dhuha, for example, that, you know, Allah reminding him, I haven't forsaken you, I haven't forgotten you, you know, didn't I take care of you when you were a child when you were an orphan? These are reminders we all draw from today. And it really provides for our mental well being too. We use them often in that context that you're not alone, Allah hasn't given up on you. I think these are all stemming from tawakkul. And Alhamdulillah, you know that, that spiritual connection, along with again, take the means you get up every day, you move on, you move forward, you have optimism in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala to provide, just as the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did, we follow in those footsteps, inshallah to the best of our ability. And you will feel that contentment and that well being that we're all seeking actively, right? So yeah. Dr. Ruhi, regarding the Quran, and the role of the Quran in nurturing that kind of concept of tawakkul in my life, of course, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, there are plenty of verses where Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala orders us to actually have faith and trust in him. But is there
a kind of broader relationship that I need to have with the Quran when it comes to building that relationship with Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala as the ultimate trustee? Yeah, that's a great question. And I think it nicely ties into everything we've been talking about. Probably there are several points to this, but I'll list probably what comes to my mind immediately. A few ways that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala in the Quran really brings this concept of tawakkul to us to develop our understanding. And as you said, it is a command. First and foremost, it's important to know Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala commands it in the Quran, tells us to place his trust in him along with worshipping him. It is an act of worship of the heart. The very beginning, Surah Baqarah, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala talks about the people who are the muttaqeen, hudal lil muttaqeen, that the Quran is guidance for those who are people of taqwa, those people who are mindful in fear of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, conscientious of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. And for those people, who are they? And Allah describes them very briefly in the very beginning of the Quran as those who believe in the unseen. And really, where does tawakkul, I guess, exist in terms of, you know, it's easy to take the tangible things in our life. But Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is telling us very early on that there are things that you aren't going to have all the answers for that. And the rest of the Quran is kind of unpacking all of this for us in that what does it mean to have this guidance that Allah has given us, and then tasked us with, you know, placing us on this earth to live this test, which is going to include things that we may perceive as both good, and as blessings and as evil or harmful, although all of it is in some
fashion going to be good for us, as long as we believe in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala as the ultimate caretaker, the ultimate disposer of our affairs. Al-Waqeel is translated so many ways, you know, along those lines, that he is the one to whom we hand over all of our affairs. And he reminds us of that throughout the examples given. So right at the onset, that one point just to kind of clarify is that, you know, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala tells us it's going to be things that you don't know, that you don't see. Another way that Allah brings this concept to us is he gives us examples of the things that are tangible, as we talked about earlier, the universe, what's happening in the universe, all the things he tells us about that are part of his creation. And for us to do what? To ponder, to think about, to reflect on who are the ulil ulbaab, right? The people who have that kind of reasoning and capability to see and recognize what Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and his ultimate power, his wisdom, his will, the fact that he is the creator, the fact that there is no other source of greater power and guidance. And that helps build this concept. So then Allah, after he tells us about these things many times in the Quran, he'll say, so then, you know, put your trust in me as the one who will dispose of your affairs in the best way. And then, of course, we have all the stories. And the stories are pretty much if you look at them, we talked about one, but all of them, if you look at what Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala did through these, and we refer to them as stories of the prophets, but really, we should remind ourselves, these are historic events. These things happened and it's reality and it's history. And these were individuals who were real human beings, the best human beings and given to us and sent to us as an example to follow. They were in many times in these amazing situations that to us seem so far fetched. Yet, again,
we can take each one of those stories and contextualize it to people who are living as refugees, people who are oppressed, people to whom they might be surrounded by those who are the naysayers, who don't want to believe. I'm just giving broad generalizations here, but you get the picture that who didn't face these challenges? Musa Alayhi Salaam, the mother of Musa Alayhi Salaam placing her child in a basket and it goes down the river to who? He's brought up in the house of the very tyrant that she's seeking protection from, but Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala protects him in the middle of that, just like Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam is protected in the fire. So these are examples for us to take. And I think the Quran is just replete with them. There's so many. These are just a few. So yeah. So many ways that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is teaching us. And then, of course, His names and attributes that, as we said before, are the ultimate way to know Allah and then to connect to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, to build that relationship, to know someone is to love them, to know someone is to trust them. That's we can say that as much as we can say to love them is also to trust them. Then that's a natural occurrence. Once you have that love and admiration and, you know, desire to be close to anyone, you start to trust them. And so Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is nurturing that tawakkul in the believers by saying, I'm with you. So, yeah, I hope that kind of covers it. Yeah, it absolutely does. I guess as a bare minimum, you know, the closer you are to the Quran, the closer you are to understanding Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. He's the one who's introducing Subhana wa Ta'ala himself to us. So I guess the closer you are to someone, the more you realize what they can do for you and who they are. Absolutely. And I think an important part to remember with the Quran is that it's addressed to you and me. We sometimes take it as a sort of impersonal, you know, like, I got to learn how to read the Quran. I've got to recite it because it's a rewarded act. I need to know it because I have to pray.
You know, I have to recite these ayat of Quran in my five daily prayers. But we don't always have that ability to, you know, or we don't remember always that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is talking to me. So even if you're reading a half a page in the course of a day or a page, maybe just try to and reflection is something you don't need a lot of. It's not a scholarly qualification. Reflection is just simply read the translation that you have in front of you if you don't understand the words directly and think about your own life and think that, you know, this is Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, my creator and my master. He's talking to me. What do I get out of this? What can I relate? And invariably you will find something on the page that you will connect to. If nothing, they're very ultimate. You know, ultimately you see most times Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala will end. There are verses that end with his attributes, his names to remind us that it's this particular name or attribute that's at play or in action that is having us remember either his greatness or his forgiveness or his something in the context of what's being stated on that page. So these are just little simple techniques, but we can all use them. JazakAllah khair. Just one final question on the concept of tawakkul before we get into our rapid fire. And you're fresh from Medina and Mecca, so I'm sure you're going to fly through these questions, but the last one on tawakkul. Imagine my nine year old niece comes to you and says, and mind you, she has the memory of a fish, so she's only got 30 seconds to hear your answer. Why should I trust Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? Yeah, I know it's a tough concept to present to a child, but I was actually thinking about this, that, you know, how did the Prophet ﷺ do this? There's that famous hadith of being mindful of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala that he's teaching to the very young boy at that time, Abdullah ibn Abbas radhi ta'ala anhuma. And I thought of that hadith and I said, you know, that's a lesson in tawakkul
that he is teaching and we can do this with our children. You first and foremost want to connect them to Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. So being mindful of Allah is know Allah. Know Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is behind every blessing that you have. Choose the tangible things. So I'm going to tell her, look at all the things that you have in your life that you, you know, what do you feel grateful for? And of course, you know, most children will answer. It's their immediate loved ones, their parents, their family, whoever takes care of them, the things that are around them, their home, you know, their day to day life, their belongings. Those are the things that you want to connect that to. Just realizing that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is the one who's gifted you all of that, including your parents. He's the one who's, who's blessing you with this every day, even when you don't ask for it. And those are the things that you know about. There's a lot of things you don't even know about that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala is taking care of for you. So when you want anything in life and when you need anything in life and when you're stuck, because sometimes things are a little bit difficult and you don't know how to get what you need or you don't know where to go. And of course, this doesn't mean you don't go and ask your parents or your teachers or whatever, but at the same time, recognize that it's all coming from Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala and learn to connect. So when you ask of Allah, you know, when you seek, seek from Allah. When you ask, ask of Allah. Again, going back to that hadith, it's a beautiful example. I think someone should probably put that, contextualize that in a children's book, but it would be a lovely hadith to teach a child that concept that no one around you can harm you if Allah doesn't want that harm for you. No one can give you anything if Allah doesn't want it. That's really, you know, understanding both qadr but also tawakul. And so I think that's an easy way. Hopefully I don't wait over 30 seconds. But the idea is know that everything you want and need comes from Allah. And just like you trust your parents, right? Recognize that they're also in turn trusting Allah to give you that. And so ask of Allah every time. InshaAllah He will provide. JazakAllah khair. Yeah. BarakAllah fikih sister Ruhi.
We're going to jump into the rapid fire questions. Sure. I hope you're ready. Question number one, the last book that you were reading. Oh, well, I actually, I can't say I finished it, but you know, I ordered because I was going for Umrah. I was like, Oh, I'll take something along in case because of all the restrictions, if I can't be in the haram all the time. So I actually have it right here. Dr. Jinnan's new book, The Reflection. So I can't say I finished it, but it's where we're just have you read it? Yeah. So I'm, I'm very keen to get into this, but Alhamdulillah she was blessed to be able to use my time there, you know, mostly being able to get into the haram. So I didn't get to, you know, to plow into that book as much as I would have wanted. But yeah. She was very, she was kind enough to gift us a couple of copies. And so we've been, we've been reading it. So you, you studied computer engineering. Yeah. When was the last time you used computer engineering in your life? A long time ago. Don't ask me a thing about it because the most I can do now is download apps on my iPhone. So that's, that's a, that's long gone. Yeah. And you just got back from Umrah. Yeah. What was your favorite moment? Obviously it's a very different Umrah to a typical Umrah in non-COVID periods. Favorite would be, there are many, obviously I can't say that the stands alone in and of itself, but one of them, I would say you know, because there, there are restrictions right now, you do have to have these you have to book every, you know, up until now, and it's may change as of, I think it's changing literally this week. Some of this is changing, but you do have to book your Umrah time slot. You do have to book your time to go into the Rauda in Medina. And so sometimes given that this is done via a couple of apps that you have to have on your local phones there, there it's technology and it can mess up or it can be slow or it may not be effective or working.
So we had a situation in our, where there were very few of us that were together, about half a dozen people. And we couldn't get a time slot to go into the Rauda for the women. And this is done separately, obviously the brothers separately, the sisters separately. You know, Alhamdulillah, I went with very little expectation because, you know, one, I have been there before, I've been blessed to go there before, and I didn't want to set myself up to think, okay, I'm going to be able to do everything the way I normally, but there were a couple of girls in our group who had never been there before. This was their first time. And, you know, you always live this experience so much more intensely when you're with people who are experiencing it for the first time, because they've seen it through their eyes. And they were literally in tears because they could not get that time slot to come up in the time, because we're only in Medina for, remember, you get like your three days or whatever, very limited time. And so I remember that we had to actually, we started a series of, you know, petitions from the gate to the security people. We went through literally five stages of asking from one person to another, to another, to another. And it was a lesson. I'm thinking of this because it relates so much to our topic of du'a. Just staying calm, but just making du'a and saying, we'll take whatever means we have, which is we'll ask and we'll show them. Honestly, we don't have the time slot. We're not sure. Anyway, the end of the story and the good, the upside of this was the that we just said, we'll wait. We'll wait till we're the last people. If we have to wait, we don't mind. And they said, OK, fine, that's your call. You can do that. And we sat outside and waited by the gate right outside the dome in Medina. For those of you who've been in, you know, where the front of the masjid is. We just sat there and about maybe close to midnight or something like that. It was pretty late. One of the guards came up to me and she just tapped me on the shoulder and pulled me aside. And she said, you know, you're a little group of five or six girls there. Just come now. We'll we'll let you in. And just one by one, you can, you know, basically this was an act from Allah. There was no other way to explain it. We didn't have what you know, we were just told to to go away a few times.
But then we just kind of stayed there. And Alhamdulillah, we went in and we got a half an hour in the Rada socially distance, which never happens, by the way. And so it was a beautiful experience and one probably that would be, you know, unique. I would think given the times that, you know, things will change now, obviously, for for that to hopefully become again a full masjid as it should be. But, you know, yeah, what an experience. And one one very, very final question. Our amazing producers dug through your Twitter and they realized that you you started your you launched Twitter in July 2014. And in that month, you tweeted about Tawakkol. Yes, yes, that was my first probably my first tweet, because I start I think I remember I started Facebook at social media, Facebook and Twitter right about the same time. Oh, my goodness. OK, then your homework. So, yeah, I launched it. And if you know, my Twitter handle is it says SS to Jannah, Stepping Stones to Jannah, because I actually originally started a Facebook page when I first went on social media. It was never really about me personally with my people I know. It was about reflections, reflections. And that's why I call it Stepping Stones to Jannah, because literally little things like I just mentioned a little while ago, you know, you read a page of Quran and something pops out at you and jumps out, share the reflection. So I think I started it with a post both on Facebook and Twitter that was essentially about Tawakkol being a free fall. It's like a free fall, except there's a safety net. And that's really how I envisioned it one morning. I just was and I thought about it and I wrote about it. And that was it was a very short tweet. But, yeah, I remember that. JazakAllah khair Sister Ruhi Tahir. Barakallah Fiki. Thank you so much. And for those of us who haven't read the article of Sister Ruhi's on Yaqeen Institute.org, it's called In Hardship and in Ease, How to Rely on God.
Pleasure to be with you again. Thank you so much for having me. JazakAllah khair.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
1 items
1 items
1 items
25 items
9 items
