Tawakkul

The idea of tawakkul, which is frequently interpreted as faith and confidence in Allah, is one of the cornerstones of Islam for Muslims. However, Tawakkul is a notion that many people misinterpret. They perceive tawakkul as a verbal, passive quality that entails only pleading with Allah for what we desire.

However, there’s an incident from Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life that shows a clear perspective on Tawakkul.

One day the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) noticed a ‘bedouin’ (desert Arab) leaving his camel without tying it, and he asked the man, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The ‘bedouin’ answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah.” (Tirmidhi)

Although this hadith is brief, it contains a crucial lesson for us. Any animal you own should always be restrained to prevent elopement while you are away. The man in this hadith wasn't tying his camel down before leaving it, though. When the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) inquired as to why he had refrained, the man said that he had put his faith in Allah to prevent his animal from escaping. In response, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) advised the man to restrain his camel before putting his faith in Allah.

It is clear from Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) statement that this individual had no concept of what it meant to rely in Allah. He mistakenly believed that Tawakkul meant expecting Allah to take care of everything without any exertion on one's part. Advice from the Prophet (PBUH) shows that having faith in Allah (Tawakkul) is more than just a passive and verbal quality.

Tawakkul, on the other hand, is an active quality, meaning that we demonstrate our trust in Allah by moving forward with our goals. In other words, we must first take responsibility for our own deeds before putting our faith in Allah to provide Divine assistance.

We must take action first in order to show authentic Tawakkul. For instance, even though we acknowledge that Allah is the Giver of Life (Al-Muhyi) and The Protector / Preserver / Guardian (Al-Hafiz), we still need to practice good health habits like hand washing and exercise to avoid being sick. We also think that Allah is The Provider (Ar-Razzaq), but we still have to work hard to earn money. We don't anticipate that money will appear out of thin air.

Therefore, if neither you nor I are giving our due share of contributions—if we are not trying to achieve our goals by our actions—then we are not exemplifying true Tawakkul.

To further discuss this matter, we need only look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers never shied away from a challenge and solely looked to Allah to provide for them. Instead, they made an effort to take care of themselves before turning to Allah after exhausting all other avenues.

The Battle of the Trench (Ghazwat al-Khandaq) is a prime instance of this. The Muslims in Medina did not simply sit back and claim that Allah would protect them when they learned that an army of more than 10,000 soldiers was on its way to destroy the City of Medina. Instead, the Muslims and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) demonstrated their faith in Allah by acting. 
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) called a military council and allowed participants to offer their suggestions for self-defense. In order to equalize the playing field and hold the enemy at bay, Salman al-Farsi (RA) proposed the idea of digging a trench around the city. The war started, and for roughly 30 days the Muslims outwitted and engaged their enemies nonstop. Allah unleashed a burst of wind that destroyed the opposing camp and compelled them to flee after observing their tenacity and resolution.