What is tawakkul (trust in Allah)?
Tawakkul is not passivity. The classical definition — the Prophet's ﷺ own — is "tie your camel, then trust." The balance between taking means and trusting Allah is what the scholars spent pages getting right.
10 passages from 5 books in the library
Tawakkul, in al-Ghazali's Book of Divine Unity and Trust in God, is the heart's dependence on Allah as the ultimate "cause of causes," not the abandonment of effort. He cites Abu Ali al-Daqqaq's three degrees — reliance, submission, and delegation — and stresses that its "essence is not about completely" giving up means; he even discusses relying on Allah while using medicine to repel harm. True reliance, he writes, is "perfected with trust in Allah and the heart's tranquility," and is inseparable from renunciation of the world. The prophet Hud is offered as a model of "complete trust in Allah, confident in his protection."
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Abu Ali al-Dhaqaq described reliance as having three degrees, reliance, submission, and delegation."
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"of reliance in repelling harm, and the clarification of reliance in removing harm through medicine"
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"of the state and knowledge of reliance, which is dependence on the cause of causes, with reliance"
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"The state of reliance is perfected with trust in Allah and the heart's tranquility with"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"In the Book of Reliance, it is explained that the essence of reliance is not about completely"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Since renunciation cannot be complete without reliance, let us proceed to explain reliance."
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"A man asked him, when can I enter the shop of reliance, wear the cloak of renunciation, and sit with the renunciates?"
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"discourse, the earth his bed, piety his provision, silence his gain, patience his support, reliance"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"fear, hope, poverty, asceticism, love, contentment, longing, reliance, contemplation, and self-accountability."
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"a straight path. Hud expressed his complete trust in Allah, confident in his protection and support."
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