Adila Yacoob, Medical Student, Trinidad & Tobago
The Arabic word tawakkul is a known verbal noun that is a derivative of the Arabic root وكل (w-k-l). Tawakkul is within the Arabic language but with an Islamic concept of having trust in Allah; to have complete reliance on Allah and Allah alone.
The first thing to learn is that in all walks of life, we ought to always believe that Allah is the Best of Planners and sufficient for us. Ahmadi Muslims around the world are personified by the phrase “Allaisallahu bi kafin abdahu”, which simply asks, “Is Allah not sufficient for us?”
Trusting in Allah was such an astounding quality of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa that he was even defined by it; a title given to him by Allah was “al-Mutawakkil” (Sahih al-Bukhari)which translates to “The one who depends on Allah”, and coincidentally one out of the 99 names of Allah is also Al-Wakeel, which means “The One Who can be trusted”.
One of the many incidents which enable us to learn how to observe tawakkul at its finest is the time when Hazrat Abrahamas arrived in Mecca with his wife Hazrat Hajirahas (Hagar) and their son, who was a baby, Hazrat Ishmaelas, and he was instructed by Allah to leave both of them alone in the desert.
Initially, Hazrat Hajirahas was quite hesitant to stay alone in the desert (especially without any worldly provisions or protection), but when she realised that it was Allah’s command, she placed her complete trust in Allah and confidently settled to stay alone.
Before his departure, Hazrat Abrahamas left a little food, including dates, but very soon these small provisions were depleted. Subsequently, Ishmaelas started feeling thirsty. Seeing this, his mother desperately started seeking water in the area. In this desperation to find water in the middle of the Arabian desert, she first climbed the closest hill Safa to have a look at the surrounding region. When she did not see anything, she ran towards Marwa to look around to find someone or some source of water. She ran back and forth between both the hills for a total of seven times in the blazing heat before returning to her son.
When she couldn’t find anything, panic-stricken and worried, Hazrat Hajirahas pleaded to Allah to save her son’s life. Among the toughest of sounds to the ears of a mother is the cry of her child. Thus, she kept running between the two mountains over and over again until Allah Himself intervened.
This is when Allah answered her prayers and water began to flow from beneath where Hazrat Ishmaelas lay. She drank the holy water and gave it to her son, thereby saving his life. She also dug a well around the water source, which today is known as the Well of Zamzam.
This incident surrounding Safa and Marwa is a clear depiction of Hazrat Hajirah’s commitment to her son in such harsh circumstances and her unswerving devotion and faith in Allah. Pilgrims going to Hajj or Umrah remember this story and run forth and back between Safa and Marwa to commemorate Hajirah’s belief in Allah.
From this event, we see steadfastness and trust in the plan and the decree of Allah. It is so profound that Allah preserved the name and story of Hazrat Hajirahas, Hazrat Abrahamas and Hazrat Ishmaelas in the Holy Quran.
To all readers of Al Hakam, we continue to pray and ask Allah that He makes us from among those who have tawakkul – complete trust – in Him.