The Doors of Success Have Been Closed for 6 Reasons

Ibn ul Qayyim Al Jawziyah (Rahimahullah) mentioned in his monumental book
“Fawaa'id ul Fawaa'id” on the authority of Shaqeeq Ibn Ibrahim (Rahimahullah),


who said:The door of Tawfeeq (i.e. success) has been closed on the people because of six things:

The First: Because they (i.e. the people) busy themselves with the Ni'mah (i.e. blessing) bestowed upon them and
forget about the gratitude they should express to Allah, the One who bestowed the favor on them.

The Second: Because they have an ardent desire for knowledge however, they abandon acting upon it.

The Third: Because they hasten to commit sin but delay repentance for the sin.

The Fourth: Because they are deceived by the companionship of the righteous but fail to emulate their actions.

The Fifth: Because the life of this world is behind them but they are insistent on chasing after it.

The Sixth: Because the hereafter is in front of them but they turn away from it.

The source of all of this stems from a lack of Raja'a (i.e. hope in Allah's mercy) and Khowf (i.e. fear of Allah's
punishment and the fact that He may not accept any of your deeds). And the origin of this stems from a weakness in
Yaqeen (i.e. certainty). And the origin of this stems from a weakness in Baseerah (i.e. sound legislative knowledge).
And the origin of this stems from humiliation and ignobility and exchanging that which is superior for that which is
mediocre.

If the individual was noble and ambitious he would not settle for mediocre. The source of every good is by the Tawfeeq
(i.e. success) of Allah as well as by His will, the nobility of the soul, its magnanimity and exaltedness. Subsequently, the
source of every evil is the villainousness of the soul, its ignobility and lowliness, as Allah says:

قد أفلح من زكاها وقد خاب من دساها...
“Indeed he will be successful who purifies his soul and he who corrupts his own soul will fail…”

Meaning, the one who exalts his soul, multiplies it's good and nurtures it upon obedience to Allah, will be successful.
However, the one who disgraces his soul and humiliates it by exposing it to sin and disobedience to Allah will utterly
lose. Thus the noble souls are not satisfied except with the finer things in life, those things that reap the most
praiseworthy outcome. On the other hand, the ignoble souls loiter around the lowliest affairs just as the fly that only
lands on feces.

Hence the noble and superior soul is not satisfied with oppression, fornication/adultery, stealing or betrayal due to the
fact that he considers himself more dignified to commit such acts. However, the ignoble soul is the total opposite. And
every soul will incline towards what is in conformity with it’s desire(s) and what it deems suitable. This is consistent with
the statement of Allah:

قل كل يعمل على شاكلته
“Every soul shall act according to what it inclines towards…”

Meaning, every soul will act upon what is in conformity with it's desires. The soul will act upon what it deems suitable
and appropriate for it. Thus, every soul will proceed upon the path that is natural for it. So the Fajir (i.e. criminal) soul
will act according to what is natural for it, of welcoming the blessing(s) of Allah with sin while turning away from Al
Mun'im (i.e. The Giver of all bounty and blessing). Yet the believer acts according to what is natural for him, of gratitude
to Allah, the One who grants His bounty to whomsoever He wills. Also loving Him, praising Him, showing affection to
Him and being modest before Him, while the slave is conscious of the fact that Allah is evaluating his every movement,
coupled with magnification and glorification of Him.

Reliance on Allah

The Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul) on Allaah
AUTHOR:
Shaikh Saalih bin Fawzaan Al-Fawzaan

SOURCE:
Haqeeqat-ut-Tawakkul ‘alaAllaah (pg. 7-14)

PRODUCED BY:
Al-Ibaanah.com

All praise be to Allaah, Lord of the all that exists, and may Allaah send His peace and praises on His Messenger, our Prophet Muhammad, as well as on all of his family members and Companions, and those who follow his guidance, tread his methodology and adhere to his Sunnah until the Day of Recompense.

To Proceed: Relying on Allaah (tawakkul) is one of the greatest forms of worship. Allaah says: “So upon Allaah, put your trust if you are truly believers.” [Surah Al-Maa’idah: 23] So He made relying upon Allaah (tawakkul) a condition for Eemaan (Faith). Allaah said to His Prophet: “So when you have made a decision, then put your trust in Allaah.” [Surah Aali ‘Imraan: 159] So He ordered His Prophet to put his trust and reliance on Allaah. Allaah says: “O Prophet! Allaah is sufficient for you and for the believers who follow you.” [Surah Al-Anfaal: 64] And He says: “And whoever is dutiful to Allaah, He makes a way out for him (from every difficulty). And He will provide for him from places he never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allaah, He will suffice him. Verily, Allaah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed, Allaah has set a measure for all things.” [Surah At-Talaaq: 2-3] And He says: “And whoever is dutiful to Allaah, He will make his matter easy for him. That is the Command of Allaah, which He has sent down to you. And whoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will expiate from him his sins and enlarge his reward.” [Surah At-Talaaq: 4-5]

Furthermore, Allaah has linked this reliance (tawakkul) to worship ( ‘ibaadah), as occurs in His statement: “So worship Him and put your trust in Him.” [Surah Hood: 123] Allaah orders us to put our trust in Him, and He praises those who do it. He also states in many verses of the Qur’aan that He loves those who put their reliance in Him. All of this indicates and shows the importance of putting one’s trust in Allaah. Relying upon Allaah is from the actions of the heart – so it is an act of worship of the heart. Therefore, putting one’s trust in Allaah is not to be done with one’s limbs and body parts. Rather, it is found in the heart, just like fear (khawf), awe (khashyah), longing (raghbah), dreading (rahbah) and dutifulness (taqwaa) of Allaah – all of these are acts of worship of the heart. The position of tawakkul (reliance on Allaah) is as some of the scholars have stated: “The position of tawakkul in the Religion is like that of the head on a body.” So a person that does not have tawakkul does not have Religion, just like a body that has no head. It is well known that if a body is missing its head, it will cease to live. This is the same case with the Religion – if it lacks tawakkul, it lacks correctness – meaning that one will not have a correct religion. Therefore, relying on Allaah has a great standing amongst the stations of servitude to Allaah. Allaah uses it to distinguish His believing servants from everyone else. So whoever doesn’t put his trust in Allaah at all is a disbeliever. And whoever puts his trust in Allaah and also on others besides Allaah (at the same time) is a polytheist. And as for the one who puts his trust in Allaah alone – he is a monotheistic believer whom Allaah loves and whose actions and statements He is pleased with.

This is since he has established his actions and statements upon a correct foundation. So what is the meaning of this tawakkul (reliance on Allaah), which holds such importance and high position in the Religion? The Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul) on Allaah Tawakkul on Allaah means: Entrusting one’s affairs to Him and relying on Him in all matters. Entrusting one’s affairs to Allaah entails not turning to someone else for support. So reliance (tawakkul) upon Allaah can be with regard to matters of Creed, such that the servant’s heart does not turn to anyone else besides Allaah. Therefore, he is always putting his reliance in Allaah, entrusting all of his affairs to Him. The pagans did not fall into polytheism and disbelief except due to the fact that they put their reliance in other than Allaah, entrusted their affairs to other than Him, and believed in their hearts that someone besides Allaah was able to grant their requests, alleviate their worries and repel harms from them. So they relied on statues, idols, trees, stones, graves, shrines and the deceased. They put their trust in created beings to grant them things that only Allaah could do. So they began to ask them for help, offer sacrifices to them, make oaths to them, and direct various forms of worship to them. This is since they have relied on them apart from Allaah, thinking that they have the power to benefit them, harm them or grant their requests. Due to this, when they put their reliance in other than Allaah and directed their beliefs and worship to other than Him, they disbelieved in Him. The foundation of Shirk is: Entrusting one’s affairs and putting one’s reliance on other than Allaah. This is why Allaah says: “So upon Allaah, put your trust if you are truly believers.” [Surah Al-Maa’idah: 23] The scholars say: The object of the verb here “upon Allaah” denotes limitedness. Thus the ayah means: “Put your trust in Allaah alone and not anyone else.” So Allaah has restricted tawakkul to Himself alone apart from others. Upon Allaah” means not upon anyone else. The ayah continues: “…put your trust if you are truly believers.”

Allaah has made tawakkul (reliance on Allaah) here a sign of one’s Faith in Him and proof of one’s Tawheed. As for the one who claims to be a believer and an adherent of Tawheed, but yet then goes on to put his trust in other than Allaah, such as stones, trees, statues, graves, the deceased, and so on, then this person’s claim is false. And he is not a believer since he has entrusted his affairs to someone besides Allaah. Likewise, one can put his trust in Allaah in order to achieve his worldly needs, such as obtaining provision, preventing an enemy, and repelling harms and dangers from himself. Therefore, relying upon Allaah can be in religious matters as well as worldly matters. So you should rely on Allaah in your Creed and your Tawheed. And put your trust in Allaah for fulfilling your needs even if your needs are of a worldly nature, such as eating, drinking, clothing and accomplishing some set goals. Put your reliance and trust in Allaah for all matters. Reliance on Allaah is not limited to just matters of Creed and Tawheed. Rather, it even applies to worldly matters and seeking provision. When it comes to fulfilling any goal, do not rely on anyone besides Allaah. This is since all of the affairs are in the Hand of Allaah. The keys of the heavens and the earth are in His Hand, so we must put our trust and reliance in Him.

All of the needs and objectives of the servants lie in the Hand of Allaah. So how can a person put his trust and reliance in other than Allaah for his religious and worldly matters? No doubt this is from ignorance and turning away from Allaah. Therefore, relying on Allaah is one of the greatest stations of servitude.

Published: April 1, 2006