Al-Wakeel (The Disposer of Affairs)

Narrated Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu): The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) said, “A Man from the people before ( from bani Israel) asked another Man to lend him one thousand Dinars. The second man required witnesses. The former replied, ‘Allaah is sufficient as a witness.’ The second said, ‘I want a surety.’ The former replied, ‘Allaah is sufficient as a surety.’ The second said, ‘You are right,’ and lent him the money for a certain period. The debtor went across the sea. When he finished his job, he searched for a conveyance so that he might reach in time for the repayment of the debt, but he could not find any. So, he took a piece of wood and made a hole in it, inserted in it one thousand Dinars and a letter to the lender and then closed (i.e. sealed) the hole tightly. He took the piece of wood to the sea and said. ‘O Allaah! You know well that I took a loan of one thousand Dinars from so-and-so. He demanded a surety from me but I told him that Allaah’s Guarantee was sufficient and he accepted Your guarantee. He then asked for a witness and I told him that Allaah was sufficient as a Witness, and he accepted You as a Witness. No doubt, I tried hard to find a conveyance so that I could pay his money but could not find, so I hand over this money to You.’ Saying that, he threw the piece of wood into the sea till it went out far into it, and then he went away. Meanwhile he started searching for a conveyance in order to reach the creditor’s country.

One day the lender came out of his house to see whether a ship had arrived bringing his money, and all of a sudden he saw the piece of wood in which his money had been deposited. He took it home to use for fire. When he sawed it, he found his money and the letter inside it. Shortly after that, the debtor came bringing one thousand Dinars to him and said, ‘By Allah, I had been trying hard to get a boat so that I could bring you your money, but failed to get one before the one I have come by.’ The lender asked, ‘Have you sent something to me?’ The debtor replied, ‘I have told you I could not get a boat other than the one I have come by.’ The lender said, ‘Allaah has delivered on your behalf the money you sent in the piece of wood. So, you may keep your one thousand Dinars and depart guided on the right path.’ ” [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume No. 3, Hadeeth No. 488B]

Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, manages graciously all the affairs of the believers; only to Him could everything be entrusted, as He is sufficient to His creatures; He perfectly protects everyone who commits his soul to Him, and suffices and satisfies with His lavish endowments everyone who dispenses with everything save Him.
The trustee could either be entrusted with some affairs, and in this case he is imperfect, or could be entrusted with all affairs, and this trustee could only be Allah; He is the One to Whom every minute thing is committed and entrusted; He is the DISPOSER of Affairs.
Moreover, a trustee may be unworthy to be entrusted except when authorized; but He Who deserves, by His Exalted Self, that everythingand every single affair be committed and entrusted to Him is Allah, the DISPOSER of Affairs; all hearts are entrusted to Him. Furthermore,a trustee may fulfil some of the affairs committed to him, but Allaah will suffice all the needs of His creatures without the slightest defect.

Allaah says  about Himself (which means): “He is the Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of your affairs.” (Qur’an, 73:9)

Have you ever had that feeling of anxiety in your heart? What if it doesn’t work out? What if you never get over it? The truth is, we have all felt this way at some point in our lives. Sometimes, the uncertainty is just too much to bear, or the hardship of a moment prevents us from seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. At times we desperately want some kind of medicine, a pill perhaps, to miraculously take these worries away.

But we do have that. This pill is called tawakkul. Like any pill, it’s sometimes hard to swallow. There are moments when we wonder whether this medicine even works, or if it is just some tool to make us simply believe we can be better. But Allah, the One – the only One – in control of this universe says (which means): “…And whoever relies upon Allaah – then He is sufficient for him.” (Qur’an, 65:3)

So what does it mean to rely on Allah; to have tawakkul in Him?

It means to be firm in your heart. Ibn Ataa’illaah stated: “Relieve yourself of worry after you have planned; do not concern yourself with what Allaah has undertaken on your behalf.”

With tawakkul, our external burden or outward struggle is to plan, to use our means, and to work hard, but in our heart there is no longer the worry of this burden. If you are sick, you seek out the best option: a professional doctor. If you are applying to university, you take your time in preparing your application to meet the criteria. But also know that after you have done your daily work and faced struggles, you should feel a resounding rest in your heart.

Why?

Allah is Al-Wakeel; this means that it is He who controls His worshipers’ affairs and takes care of them. He never abandons them nor leaves them to another source. He has given Himself this Name and made it known to us, so that we know this is an essential attribute of His; thus, we will never be let down insha’Allah.

Even if things do not go according to plan, we know that Allah will give us something that is better. We could not have entrusted our affairs to anyone better than Him. This is why, whenever the idea of relying on Allah is mentioned in the Qur’an, Allah reminds us of His power as Allaah says (which means):

“[He is the Lord of the East and the West; there is no deity except Him, so take Him as Disposer of your affairs.” (Qur’an, 73:9)

And Allaah says (which means): “…Rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die…” (Qur’an, 25:58)

Allah is telling us in Surat Al-Muzzammil that He is the Lord of the East and the West, so will our needs ever go outside of the East and the West? He tells us in Surat Al-Fuqan to put our complete trust in Him, Who never dies, so how can we put our trust in people who do?

But if the condition of tawakkul is that we use our provisions and resources, what if we lack the means?

Imam Ahmad said the happiest day of his life was when he woke up one morning only to find no food in his home, because he knew that on this day he had to rely completely on Allaah. Imam Ahmad was very, very poor since he didn’t have the means as we do to just go to the market and buy what his heart desired.

Tawakkul also requires training. We are human, and every now and then, we will feel this uncertainty, a loneliness, this knot in the stomach that maybe our situation won’t work out. And it’s ok to feel like this because it is about reminding ourselves to trust Allah at that precise moment. If we truly rely on Allaah, in the way we rely on our doctor when we know we have the best one around, this trust can only give us the peace of mind and tranquility of heart knowing that Allaah is always doing the best for us. This tranquility is developed when we face situations of discomfort and uncertainty. When we truly have tawakkul, we will never seek haram means to escape our situation, because we believe it is only Allaah who determines the result.

Whenever we feel uncertain, let’s take a dose of tawakkul. Do what you can, but have trust in the guarantee that Allah will give you the result you need.
Allaah protects His creatures for He is the Best DISPOSER of Affairs; He says (which means): “Men said to them: a great army is gathering against you, and frightened them. But it only increased their Faith, they said: For us God sufficeth and He is the best Disposer of affairs. And they returned with Grace and Bounty from God, no harm ever touched them,for they followed the good pleasure of God” (AL-I-‘IMRAN, 173, 174); He disposes the affairs of those who have no trustee, He says ( which means),“And He hath power to dispose of all affairs.”(AN‘AM, 102), “No reason have we why we should not put our trust on God. Indeed He has guided us to the ways we follow” (IBRAHIM, 12),“Then when thou hast taken adecision put thy trust in God, for God loves those who put their trust inHim.” (AL-I-‘IMRAN, 159), “ say: not mine is the responsibility for arranging your affairs;” (AN‘AM, 66).
The Arabic word wakeel is derived from wakalla which means (to entrust someone to do something), hence wakeel may also mean (the one who helps and protects), “Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new People who reject them not.” (AN‘AM, 89), “..if ye do really believe in God, then in Him put your trust if ye submit your will to His” (YUNUS, 84).
The absolute reliance and submission is the complete dependence on whoever is entrusted to be in charge, and to be contented with the consequences no matter how undesirable; hence the one who is truly andrightfully the DISPOSER of all Affairs is Allaah, Praise and Glorybe to Him, He is Allaah. , “Men said to them: a great army is gathering against you, and frightened them. But it only increased their Faith, they said: For us God sufficeth and He is the best Disposer of affairs. Andthey returned with Grace and Bounty from God, no harm ever touched them,for they followed the good pleasure of God” (AL-I-‘IMRAN, 173, 174);

He disposes the affairs of those who have no trustee, Allaah says ( which means), “And He hath power to dispose of all affairs.”(AN‘AM, 102), “No reason have we why we should not put our trust on God. Indeed He has guided us to the ways we follow” (IBRAHIM, 12), “Then when thou hast taken adecision put thy trust in God, for God loves those who put their trust in Him.” (AL-I-‘IMRAN, 159),
The Arabic word wakeel is derived from wakalla which means (to entrust someone to do something), hence wakeel may also mean (the one who helps and protects), “Behold! We shall entrust their charge to a new People who reject them not.” (AN‘AM, 89), “..if ye do really believe in God, thenin Him put your trust if ye submit your will to His” (YUNUS, 84).
The absolute reliance and submission is the complete dependence on whoever is entrusted to be in charge, and to be contented with theconsequences no matter how undesirable; hence the one who is truly andrightfully the DISPOSER of all Affairs is Allah, Praise and Glorybe to Him, He is Allah.