We’d like to cite the following statement on “Faith and Trust in Allah” by Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America: “Allah says in the Qur’an, “Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, declare the praises and glory of Allah. He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives Life and Death and He has Power over all things. He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Hidden and He has full knowledge of all things. He created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then He established Himself on the Throne (of authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do. To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and all affairs are referred back to Allah. He merges Night into Day, and He merges Day into Night; and He has full knowledge of the secrets of (all) hearts.” (Al-Hadid: 1-6)
We must have strong and deep faith and trust in Allah. Allah knows everything and He is with us wherever we are. He has power and might. He is Wise and Merciful. We should trust in Allah in all situations, whether happy or sad, whether successful or confronted with difficulties and problems.
“If Allah touches you with affliction, none can remove it but He; if He touches you with happiness, He hath power over all things. He is the Omnipotent over His servants; and He is the Wise, Acquainted with all things.” (Al-An`am: 17-18)
Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: I was (once) behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said to me: “O son, I will teach you few words: Remember Allah, and He will protect you. Remember Allah, and you will find Him close to you. When you have to ask for something, ask of Allah. When you seek help, seek Allah’s help. Believe firmly that if all the creation desires to benefit you in anything, they can never benefit you, but that which Allah has decreed for you. If they all unite to harm you, they will not be able to harm you in anything, but that which Allah has decreed for you.” (At-Tirmidhi, hadith no. 2440)
These are important words. They are part of our faith as Muslims. We believe in One God. We are the people of tawhid (belief in the Oneness of Allah). Tawhid affects our lives, our personalities, and our behavior. Tawhid gives us:
1. Dignity and self-esteem. A believer in tawhid knows that Allah alone is the possessor of all power and none beside Him can benefit or harm a person or provide for his/her needs or give or take away life or wield authority or influence. This makes a person independent and highly dignified. Such a person would not disgrace himself/herself by bowing in homage to any creature, or begging anyone else. Such a person is not overawed by any person’s greatness. A person of tawhid has great determination, patience and perseverance. He/she is unshaken by any difficulty. He/she relies on Allah and places his/her trust in Allah. When such a person makes up his/her mind and devotes it to do Allah’s commands, he/she has full confidence in the support of the most powerful Lord.
2. Modesty and humbleness. A believer in tawhid knows that Allah is the Ultimate power and only Allah controls everything. Whatever one has is given by Allah. Allah can take away just as He can give. He/she knows that whatever happens in this world, big or small, good or evil, advantage or disadvantage, success or loss, increase or decrease, life or death, richness or poverty, health or sickness, everything happens by the will of Allah. A believer in tawhid cannot be arrogant and self-conceited because he/she believes that his/her merits or achievements are not due to his/her own worth, they are gifts from Allah. Such a person is always thankful to Allah and recognizes how much he/she depends upon Allah.
3. Morality, tolerance and open-mindedness. The believer in tawhid is always morally upright. All his/her standards come from One and the Same authority, the authority of Allah. He/she does not have double or multiple standards. There is only One Lord and the Lord treats all people equally. The rules of Allah are universal and they are applicable to all people in all places. A believer in tawhid knows that Allah has created everything in this universe and that everything and every being belongs to Allah. This makes a person very open-minded, tolerant and caring. Sometimes people say that monotheism makes people intolerant, but we say that this is the most tolerant and compassionate belief system because we do not believe that this belongs to my God and that belongs to some other god. It is polytheism and atheism that divide people and create intolerance and dissentions, not tawhid.
4. Ultimate peace and contentment. The belief in tawhid purges the mind of jealousy, envy, and greed and keeps away the temptation of resorting to base and unfair means for achieving success. The believer has faith that everything is in the hand of Allah. The honor, power, reputation, authority and everything are under His control and He gives to whomsoever He wills. The duty of the human being is to struggle, to do good and to trust in Allah.”
Focusing more on the levels of trust in Allah, Dr. Muhammad Ash-Shahat Al-Jindi, the head of the Shari`ah Department, Faculty of Law, Helwan University, states: “First of all, you should know that having trust in Allah is an integral part of the confidence that a Muslim should possess. One’s trust in Allah is really a surrender to His Infinite Will. In fact, a Muslim should depend on Allah in all times and under all circumstances.
Surely, the first level of trust, as far as trust in Allah is concerned, is to have firm belief in Allah and to have unshakable belief in pre-destination. With this, the Muslim will be rest assured that whatever happens around him is only through Allah’s Will. For example, the people who are the most righteous and God-fearing possess such level of complete trust in Allah particularly at times of distress. Referring to this, Allah Almighty says: “Say: Naught befalleth us save that which Allah hath decreed for us. He is our protecting Friend. In Allah let believers put their trust!” (At-Tawbah: 51)
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: Allah the Almighty said: “I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make
mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.”
Having said this, I would like to say that there are other levels of trust in Allah, and those levels differ according to people’s faith and sincerity. It is no wonder to see people remembering Allah at times of distress and they may forget Him at times of joy and luxury. Of course, the pious people always remember Allah and possess full trust in Him along the course of their life.
Finally, I would like to say that every committed Muslim must know that all what happens is done through Allah’s Infinite Will, and without having such belief one is not regarded a real Muslim.”