The Balance Between Planning and Reliance on Allah SWT

The Balance Between Planning and Reliance on Allah

Opening Praise and Testimony

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the One Who perfected the system of the world without any helper or assistant. Glory be to Allah, whose wisdom is vast and His knowledge is abundant, and His blessings are continuous to every small and great one.

We bear witness that there is no god but Allah, there is no partner for Him in creation or destruction. We bear witness that our Master and Protector is Muhammad, His servant and Messenger, who guided us with an enlightening Book and invited us to Allah with warning and glad tidings. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, as long as the planets move.

Introduction: The Value of Being Beloved to Allah

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. There is nothing more intimidating for me than to see a clock ticking away in front of me. You know, that's the thing that scares me the most, because before you get off the ground, you know, time is lost.

Okay, so let me compliment Miftaah by this brilliant, amazing, profound initiative. And also, I really compliment them on the selection of the topics. (إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ - Indeed, Allah loves), wow. That's so amazing, that's so amazing. Speak about who is beloved in the eyes of Allah. Those who aspire to become the beloveds of Allah, for them, one mention of their name by Allah is the greatest of joys, is the greatest of feats.

The Story of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: When Allah Mentions Your Name

So the Messenger ﷺ tells Ubayy ibn Ka'b رضي الله عنه recite the Quran to me. So Ubayy رضي الله عنه says (كَيْفَ أَقْرَأُ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَيْكَ أُنْزِلَ - How can I read it to you, O Prophet of Allah? It was revealed to you). So the Messenger ﷺ said, No, Allah has told me to listen to the Quran from you.

So Ubayy رضي الله عنه says Has Allah casually said listen to it from anyone? Or has Allah specifically mentioned my name? (أَسَمَّانِي اللَّهُ - Has Allah named me)? How do you transmit the affection contained in that expression? Has Allah mentioned my name and said listen to the Quran from Ubayy? And the Prophet ﷺ said, Yes, Allah has mentioned you. Wow!

The Conquest of Khaybar: Allah and His Messenger Love Him

It's the occasion of Khaybar, the conquest of Khaybar. The banner is in the hand of Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه Day one, there is no victory. Day two, the banner is given to Umar ibn Khattab رضي الله عنه. There is no infiltration.

The Prophet ﷺ says, Return the banner to me. (لَأُعْطِيَنَّ الرَّايَةَ غَدًا رَجُلًا يُحِبُّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ - Tomorrow, I will give the banner to a man who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him) - Sahih Bukhari 2942, Sahih Muslim 2405. His first accolade is that he loves Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. But over and above that, Allah and His Messenger love him dearly.

Umar ibn Khattab رضي الله عنه said (مَا تَمَنَّيْتُ الْإِمَارَةَ قَطُّ إِلَّا ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ رَجَاءَ أَنْ أَكُونَ مَنْ يُحِبُّهُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ - In my life, I never aspired for leadership, for prominence, for a position, but that day, and that aspiration was so that I could qualify for the accolade that the Messenger ﷺ had conferred upon the person who would be the recipient of the banner).

(بَاتَ الْقَوْمُ - We went to sleep( (كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ يُدَاعِبُ خَيَالُهُ هُذَا الشَّرَفِ - Each man is running his thoughts, his dream, his imagination, his fantasy). They rise early in the morning. It's a nail-biting moment. Anxiety is piercing through the roof. (احْتَشَدَ النَّاسُ - They gather in their numbers( (اكْتَمَلَتْ صُفُوفُهُمْ - Their rows are formed( (وَاسْتَوَتْ - They stand straight(. (اشْرَأَبَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ - They raise their heads(.

(فِي صَمْتٍ رَهِيبٍ - In this fear, or this silence, this passion, this uncertainty(. وَشَقَّ السُّكُونَ صَوْتُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ (And suddenly in this silent ambience comes the blessed voice of the Prophet ﷺ through the waves(. (أَيْنَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ - Where is Ali ibn Abi Talib)? Wow, and this was the beauty of Sahaba.

So, a minute ago, we were almost like rivals for this position. And no sooner it was conferred upon him, they're all happy for him and they say, you deserve it. Wow.

The Three Qualities of Ali ibn Abi Talib

That's why Umar ibn Khattab said that Allah blessed Ali with three qualities. If I were to be given one of that, (خَيْرٌ لِي مِنْ حُمُرِ النَّعَمِ - Then it is greater for me than owning red camels). Number one, (تَزَوَّجَ فَاطِمَةَ - Allah had blessed him with the honor of wedding Fatima رضي الله عنها(the queen of the women of Jannah, the beloved daughter of the Messenger ﷺ.

Number two, (سُكْنَاهُ الْمَسْجِدِ يَحِلُّ لَهُ مَا يَحِلُّ لَهُ - His residence in the Masjid, what was permissible for him was permissible for him). Right? (سُدَّ الْأَبْوَابَ كُلَّهَا إِلَّا بَابَ عَلِيّ - All) the other doors to the Masjid were closed down, but the private entrance of Ali رضي الله عنه remained (open) - Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3729.

And (خَيْبَرَ - the day of Khaybar), he was privileged and given the banner on the day of Khaybar and that was a clear testimony on the prophetic tongue of the Messenger ﷺ that he was beloved to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

The Topic: Those Who Have Tawakkul Are Beloved to Allah

So there we go today, in this short address of mine, we're going to speak about how Allah loves those that have (تَوَكُ - tawakkul), those that have trust and reliance on Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى

Counseling the Bereaved: The Reality of Life and Death

I often, I'm called in and asked to give some counsel, encouragement, and assist a bereaved family who either have lost a near and dear one or going through some turbulence in their life and to the best of my ability, I oblige to the request because it's one of the duties of a believer. (وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ - And advise one another to truth and advise one another to patience) - Quran 103:3. That we mutually encourage each other so if my brother or my sister is in pain they need to show up and give moral support. It's not a favor, it's a duty.

(وَلَوْ عَاشَ الْمُعَزِّي إِلَى حِينِي وَمَا الدَّهْرُ إِلَّا هَا كَذَا رَزِيَّةُ مَالٍ أَوْ فِرَاقُ حَبِيبِهِ فَمَا الْمُعَزَّى بِبَاقٍ بَعْدَ مَيِّتِهِ وَلَا الْمُعَزِّي وَلَكِنْ سُنَّةُ الدِّينِ عَلَىٰ ثِقَةٍ مِنَ الْخُلُودِ لَأَنِّي إِنِّي مُعَزِّيكَ - If the one consoling lives until my time, life is nothing but calamities, loss of wealth or

separation from loved ones. Neither the bereaved nor the consoler will remain after death. But it is the way of religion, with certainty of eternity, that I console you). Here for eternity (فَإِمَّا تُوَفَّيَنِّي فَأْنَا الْخَالِدُونَ - Then am I among those who will abide forever( (وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ ۖ أَفَإِن مِّتَّ فَهُمُ الْخَالِدُونَ - We have not granted immortality to any human before you. If you die, will they live forever?) - Quran 21:34. (وَلَكِنْ سُنَّةُ الدِّينِ عَلَى ثِقَةٍ مِنَ الْخُلُودِ لَا - It's the rich teachings of our faith).

Pain and difficulty. (فَمَا الْمُعَزَّى بِبَاقٍ بَعْدَ مَيِّتِهِ وَلَا الْمُعَزِّي - Neither the family of the deceased nor the one consoling will see eternity(. (وَمَا الدَّهْرُ إِلَّا هَا كَذَا - That's the rhythm of life(.

The Verse of Tawakkul During Times of Trial

Now when you're through a painful moment sometimes it's really going havoc there's turbulence in your life there's a family member that's been diagnosed your child is rebellious your company is retrenching your marriage is on rocks things are really turbulent in your life and you're trying to make sense of this whole thing.

This is an ideal moment for the devil to infiltrate, exploit, create confusion, plant the seeds of atheism and make you have a sense of becoming an agnostic because like where's your lord? where's your divine being? what's happening in your life?

So it's a very very volatile situation in your life and the human at that time is desperate to say something to read something to express something to articulate something. So I often say to people the thing you need to read and the thing you need to say and the thing you need to verbalize at that time is the verse I recited: (قُلْ لَن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ - Say Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allah let the believers rely) - Quran 9:51.

(لَن يُصِيبَنَا - Never will we be struck). Wow, look at the emphasis. Nothing afflicts us (إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا - except what Allah has decreed for us). And here again the scholars say something very amazing, right? So Allah didn't say (كَتَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا - decreed upon us). If you know Arabic you'll appreciate. عَلَى can have multiple meanings. It can mean against you, like you say (دَعَوْتُ لَهُ دَعَوْتُ عَلَيَّ - I prayed for him, I prayed against him). Allah said (كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا which releases a subtle hint that whatever Allah has decreed in the greater happening of things is in our interest.

So what do you say at that time? (لَن يُصِيبَنَا - Nothing afflicts us) but what Allah has decreed upon us. (هُوَ مَوْلَانَا - He is our guardian), He is our nourisher, He is our sustainer and it is upon Him do we trust and place our reliance.

So this is a very effective way. (فِيهِ أَمْرٌ صَرِيحًا بِالتَّوَكُّلِ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ - In the latter portion of this ayah there is an explicit motivation that your trust and reliance ought to be on Allah).

The Story of Prophet Nuh: The Balance Between Planning and Tawakkul

We take it to another tale and a narrative in the Quran, the tale of the Prophet Nuh, peace be upon him. So Allah instructs Nuh عليه السلام to build the ark, right? And Allah referred to the nation of Nuh in the Quran as more notorious and more rebellious. They were more evil, they were more wicked. Why? Because the stay of the Prophet amongst them was for a longer period.

So if you're telling someone to do something for 5 days and they don't oblige versus telling someone for 50 days and they rebel, surely the latter is more rebellious than the former because the former disciple was told 5 times while the latter was told 50 times. While the Prophet Nuh stayed and repeated himself for 9 centuries. Hello, 9

centuries, 9 centuries. (فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا - And he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years) - Quran 29:14. Stayed amongst them for a thousand years with the exception of 50 which makes it 950 years. So (هُمْ أَظْلَمُ وَأَطْغَى - They were more evil, more rebellious(.

Finally Allah has decreed now the time has come and the destruction of the nation is going to happen and Allah tells the Prophet Nuh and I want to speak a little on the balance between (تَدْبِيرٌ - planning) and (تَوَكَّلٌ - reliance). And that's the holistic approach of our deen. Our deen is practical, pragmatic and user friendly. So when we say rely we don't say shy away from plan and when we say plan and strategize we say don't rely on the strategy. It's important to have but we need to marry the two and find balance. I hope they're going to give me some extension here but we rely on Allah that he'll do it for us okay.

The Rebellious Son of Nuh

So Nuh tells his son (يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَبٍ مَّعَنَا وَلَا تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ - O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers) - Quran 11:42.

Talk that the prophets are tested. We generally limit the trials of a prophet to be poverty, to be illness, to be opposition of the nation. We seldom interpret the trial of a prophet that he had to contend with rebellious children in his own house, right? We say a prophet was tested. We say Sayyiduna Ayyub was ill. We say he went through hardships. His nation opposed him. But really do we extend the understanding of the trial of a prophet to say he's dealing with rebellious children? Yaqub عليه السلام was dealing with rebellious children but he did not excommunicate his children and say I'm not your father and you're not my son.

It's a topic of its own but in a passing comment I think and I say this with the cap of being the father of three adolescent kids myself and I keep on saying this, we need to pray for each other's children because the times in which we live are fairly fairly turbulent. What they say in English just when you realize your dad was correct you have a son in your house who thinks you're incorrect. Like you go through this whole phase of life and then you come at the end and you say oh my dad was wise he was calculated all his words are ringing back oh man and your son is like dad you don't make sense listen I've just I've just crossed that hurdle I'm just done with that you know what your granddad told me I've just got over this here and you're telling me this anyway.

The Lesson from Nuh's Son: Logic Challenging Revelation

Listen to this, this is a profound analogy. So now Allah tells Nuh build the ark. He builds, so that is, that's a plan, that's a strategy, building an ark. He builds the ark. Nuh tells his son oh my son board the ark and do not be with the infidels. I hope the youth here are listening with every vein and fiber of their body. This is revelation. My son leave your shenanigans, leave your arrogance, come on.

The son retorts and resists and challenges revelation. (قَالَ سَاوِي إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ - He said, "I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water") - Quran 11:43. Dad I will take shelter on the zenith of the mountain. I have a hideout myself and my buddies we know where to hang out and hide out. Listen drive slow dad relax I have ABS brakes no listen it's bad no no I have you know what I have this I'll be cushioned with this and I'll be protected with this and I'm safe don't worry. I will take shelter on the zenith of the mountain. I have a hideout. It will protect me from the floods.

This is logic challenging divine revelation. The father talking to the son giving him revelation. The son resisting ,He said) قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَن رَّحِمَ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ .revelation through the lenses of logic "There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy." And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned) - Quran 11:43. Comes a wave, separates father and son and the father sees his son drowning. This is the consequences. The one who uses his logic against Quran and sunnah.

Intellect Versus Base Desires: The Human Condition

Arabic. Allah created angels and doubt them with intellect. Allah created animals and trenched within them base desires. That's the world of the wild. That's the rule of the wild. One thrives on the other, one exploits the other one, one preys on the other. Now we are living in a time you don't fear the predator, you fear the human next to you.

The one, so Allah has created the angel with intellect. He's created the animal with the dominant ingredient of desires. It's a life of desire. Just enjoy, study wildlife and you'll see it's just party. It's just merry-make. It's just indulge. You the dominant male. Yeah, this is that is your herd and then another male comes and this one gets kicked out and it's a bachelor's herd. I have an eye for wildlife and Safari and I you know it intrigues me and you just see how it unplays in its natural way. So the dominant ingredient in the animal is desires and this is how they live.

And then Allah created you and I, the Paragon of his creation and doubt them with intellect and created with them base desires. Now it's upon them to regulate from another. I don't know who I love. (شُهَوَاتِ - Desires). He for who I am in America, if your intellect reigns supreme and you allow that to govern your life then you have the potential to excel the galaxy of angels. But if you drop down and you allow your base desires to overpower you then you can stoop so low that you fall below the animal kingdom as well. You can fall below the animal kingdom as well.

(أَمْ تَحْسَبُ أَنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَسْمَعُونَ أَوْ يَعْقِلُونَ إِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلًا - Or do you think that most of them hear or reason? They are not except like livestock. Rather, they are [even] more astray in [their] way) - Quran 25:44.

(عَمَلْ صُنْدَے ہے اِس کے جَنَّتْ بے جَهَنَّمْ ہے اَکھی اَپنے فِطْرَهْ مِیں أَنُّوْرِی ہے نَا نَارِی - It is action that will shape your life). This mortal by design is not Angelic nor devilish, is not angelic nor devilish. So we move on.

The Principle: Adopting Means Does Not Contradict Tawakkul

So now comes the time of boarding the ark. Allah tells them to board the ark. So the ulema say (دَلَّ عَلَى أَنَّ مُبَاشَرَةَ الْأَسْبَابِ الْمَأْذُونِ فِيهَا لَا يُخَالِفُ التَّوَكُّلَ - This indicates that engaging in the means that are permitted does not contradict tawakkul). When the floods came Allah told Nuh hop on to the ark, hop on to the ark.

So the balance is that don't shy, don't shun, don't avoid, don't abandon planning, strategy. Allah said hop on to the ark. But the qualifying statement is (الْمَأْذُونِ فِيهَا - Those plans that Allah has given you). Allah said build the وَإِنَّمَا يُخَالِفُ التَّوَكَّلَ اخْتِيَارُ الْأَسْبَابِ غَيْرُ الْمَأْذُونِ فِيهَا كَانْضِمَامِ كَنْعَانَ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ ark and when the flood comes hop on to the ark (But that which contradicts tawakkul is the adoption of means for which Allah has not consented, like the joining of Kana'an to the mountain).