Keep trust in Allah tie camel.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
A few days ago some mail was forwarded here ….tie
Are they trying to say god needs a string to exercise his will?
You see it hits at the very crux of belief
I mean where does the limit or will of man end and destiny
begins?
To put it in perspective does it then depend on what type
of string, or knot you have used ?
So now if u lose
It actually strengthens the case of those who say if God
wasn't there we would have invented him
Its said to be quoted from tirmizhi…. Not muslim/bukhari ,
if its only in the former then its authenticity is doubtful.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Keep trust in Allah
tie camel
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Your Statement: ….A few days ago some mail was forwarded
here ….tie
One day the Messenger of Allah (saws) noticed
a ‘bedouin’ (desert Arab) leaving his camel without tying it and he asked the
‘bedouin’: "Why don't you tie down your camel?" The ‘bedouin’ answered, "I put my trust
in Allah." The Prophet (saws) then said, "Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah"
Related by At-Tirmidhi.
First and foremost sister, the above hadith is indeed
related by at-Tirmidhi, and the scholars and jurists in Islam are unanimous
that the above quoted hadith meets the criteria and requirements of al-Bukhari
and Muslim and is declared as authentic.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah
Furqaan verse 58:
58 And put thy trust in
Him Who lives and dies not; and celebrate His Praise;
and enough is He to be acquainted with the faults of His servants
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verse 3:
3 And put thy trust in Allah and enough is
Allah as a Disposer of (all) affairs.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah
Zumar verse 38 (part)
…..Say:
"Sufficient is Allah for me! In
Him trust those who put their trust."
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 11 Surah
Hud verse 56:
56 "I put my trust
in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a
moving creature but He hath grasp of its forelock! Verily it is my Lord that is on a Straight
Path.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 14 Surah
Ibraheem verses 11-12:
11
……..And on Allah let all men
of faith put their trust.
12 "No reason have we why we should not
put our trust on Allah. Indeed He has guided
us to the Way we (follow). We shall
certainly bear with patience all the hurt you may cause us: for those who put their trust should put
their trust on Allah."
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 65 Surah
Talaq verse 3:
3 And He (Allah) provides for him from (sources) he never could
imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose:
verily for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion.
Time and time again, Allah Subhanah has Guided and
Commanded the believers in His Glorious Quran to put their absolute trust in
Him and Him Alone!
But respected sister, that should not in any way mean or
imply that one should do absolutely nothing in their striving to bring about
their desired result…..but when the Command and the Guidance to ‘trust’ the
Lord Most Majestic in all of one’s matters is taken in context, as was the
practice and guidance of His Messengers, it means that one should do absolutely
everything that is in one’s ability and power to bring about what one desires
to accomplish…..and after one has done absolutely everything to the best of
one’s ability, one should then put their full and unconditional ‘trust’ in the
Power and Strength of the Lord Most High to bring their striving to its Decreed
conclusion.
To work and to strive is within the ability and the limits of man…..whether the striving is
accepted or not, or whether the desired result is achieved or not is entirely
in the Blessed Hands of the Lord Most Majestic Who Created Alone!
Respected sister in Islam, please allow us to give you two
examples….one from the Noble Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.) and one from the Last and
Final Messenger of Allah (saws) to make the point clearer….
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 12 Surah
Yusuf verse 67:
67 Further, he (Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.)) said; "O my sons! Enter not
all by one gate: enter ye by different gates.
Not that I can profit you aught against Allah (His Decree): none can Command
except Allah: on Him do I put my trust and let all those who trust, put their
trust on Him."
When the eleven sons of Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.) were about
to undertake their journey from Palestine to Egypt, Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.) advised
them not to enter the gates of the city of Cairo as one group, but rather they
should enter the city by different gates……only as a precaution that if someone
were to harm or attack them, or any evil were to befall them, all of them would
not be effected by that harm.
That was the guidance of precaution given by their father,
the Noble Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.) to his sons…..and immediately after giving the
precaution to avert any harm which may perchance exist, the Noble Prophet
(saws) declared his absolute and unconditional trust in Allah Subhanah by
saying: ‘…..Not that I can
profit you aught against Allah (His Decree): none can Command except Allah: on
Him do I put my trust and let all those who trust, put their trust on Him.’
Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.), to the best of his ability, warned
his sons to take all the precautions they could possibly take to avert any harm
which might perchance happen…..and after they had used their intelligence and
exercised their will to the best of their ability to avert any possible harm,
then they should put their full trust in Allah Subhanah.
This exercise of the Noble Prophet Yaqoob (a.s.) was in
absolute accordance with the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws): "Tie your camel first, then put your trust in
Allah"
Another great example is the manner in which the Messenger
of Allah (saws) took every precautions possible to evade and escape his enemies
amongst the Quraish of Makkah when migrating from Makkah to Madinah during the
Hijrah, when the enemies of the Prophet (saws) had sworn and planned to kill
him!
- He
(saws) along with his companion Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) traveled south
towards Yemen and hid themselves for three days in the cave of ‘Thawr’ to
evade the enemy, rather than take the northerly direction of
Madinah….which the Prophet (saws) knew the enemies would obviously pursue
in their search!
- He
took provisions with him for the travel.
- He
made arrangements with the family of Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) who would come
to them in the cave and give him full information regarding the movements
and decisions of the enemies.
- He
hired an expert guide (who incidentally was a disbeliever!) to take him
from an abnormal route from Makkah to Madinah.
- Basically the Prophet (saws) did absolutely everything
in his power in his efforts to evade his enemies…..and after he (saws) had
done everything in his ability to protect himself from harm, he (saws) put
his full, absolute, and unconditional trust in His Lord Most High….so much
so, that when the enemy search party came as close as the mouth of the
very cave where Prophet Mohamed (saws) and Hadrat Abu Bakr (r.a.) had
sought refuge, he (saws) declared as is related in the Glorious Quran by
Allah Subhanah: ‘If ye help not (the
Prophet (saws), it is no matter): for Allah did indeed help him: when the disbelievers
drove him out (during the Hijrah): he (saws) had no more than one
companion: they two were in the cave and he (saws) said to his companion
"have no fear for Allah is with us": then Allah sent down his
peace upon him and strengthened him with forces which ye saw not, and
humbled to the depths the word of the disbelievers. But the Word of Allah is exalted to the
heights: for Allah is Exalted in might Wise. (Surah Taubah 9:40)
Had Allah Subhanah Willed, He could very well have sent
down Angels to protect the Prophet (saws); or send the ‘Buraq’ vehicle to
effortlessly transfer the Prophet (saws) from Makkah to Madinah; or even made
the Prophet (saws) invisible, etc……Allah is our witness sister, none amongst
the enemies of the Messenger of Allah (saws) could have even approached him
(saws), leave alone harm him (saws)!!!
But the Sunnah or practice employed by the Messenger of
Allah (saws) was to strive and do his absolute utmost first, and then after he
had done everything that he could possible muster with his intelligence and his
strength…..he would then put his complete and unconditional trust in his Lord
Most Majestic, Most Supreme!
- If
one stands in front of a running train saying he puts his trust in Allah
that no harm will reach him; it would be an act of lunacy and suicide, not
an example of putting one’s trust in Allah Subhanah!
- If
one jumps from a sky-scraper saying he puts his trust in Allah, it would
be lunacy and suicide, not an example of putting one’s trust in Allah
Subahnah!
- If
one who is not an expert in the art of swimming jumps in the middle of the
ocean saying he puts his trust in Allah, it would be an act of lunacy!
- If
one goes to an examination absolutely unprepared saying he puts his trust in
Allah, it would be lunacy to assume that he would pass the examination!
- If
one leaves one’s valuables in the open saying he puts his trust in Allah
and assumes that no thief would touch his valuables, it would be an act of
lunacy, not an example of putting one’s trust in Allah Subahanh!
Islam guides that one do absolutely everything in their
power and ability to bring about their desired result first, and after one has
done their striving to the best of their ability, they should then put their
full trust in their Lord and wholeheartedly accept whatever their Lord has
Decreed and Determined for them.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imraan verses 159-160:
159 Then when thou hast taken a decision, put thy trust in Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in
Him).
160 If Allah helps you none can overcome you:
if He forsakes you who is there after that that can help you? In
Allah then let believers put their trust.
Respected sister in Islam, because the understanding of
this fine concept of the limit of man’s will and the Ultimate Decree of the
Lord is so important to one’s faith….if perchance, because of our own
shortcoming in knowledge, and our deficiency in the language to relate the
truth into text….if perchance my respected sister, you are still not satisfied
with the explanations, or have any further queries on what exactly is meant by
the guidance of the Prophet (saws) "Tie your
camel first, then put your trust in Allah" …..in all humility and
sincerity we request you to please write to us again, and if Allah Subhanah
Wills and Helps us, we will try to the best of our ability to address your
query in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, Insha Allah.
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister