Meaning Of Tawakul
And even when we believe and are sincere it doesn’t mean that we can’t be punished for any wrongdoing surely?
Actually the term ‘Tawakkul’ goes much deeper than this, it is the whole foundation of our belief (iman). It means we believe that all the materialistic laws (cause and effect etc.) do not stand in parallel to God, rather they are all creation of God and can be intervened anytime by God, if He so wills. Whether he intervenes or not is subject to Allah’s mashiyat but tawakkul is an expression of this fact that it is God behind all these laws and it is only through His mashiyat that my camel runs away or got stolen after I tied him. Without His mashiyat, none of this could’ve happened but at the same time, I have to follow cause and effect to the best of my ability but under the premise and belief that this too is a God’s creation and can be and one day it will all be eventually intervened fully by Allah. Without ‘Tawakkul’ my whole Emaan collapses actually.
‘God will do good’ is to be seen in the broader perspective considering both this world and the world hereafter. Sometimes you will see the result of that apparent ibtila in this world (in terms of seeing the meaning behind that ibtila in this very world (in the hindsight), and sometimes you don’t; sometimes that ibtila is to test your emaan to see whether there is any loophole in your belief or not, and sometimes it befalls as a result of something wrong done by you. If you showed patience and resilience in those circumstances, that is the true test and results in true manifestation of Tawakkul based on your response. It is how you relate your intrinsic belief in God with extrinsic happenings of this world. You have to tie your camel first because if you don’t, that means you escaped from the ibtila from the very first stage. You have to tie you camel with this belief that whatever happens afterward will be based on Allah’s ilm-o-Hikmat according to His broader scheme of things. Ibtila will only happen once you tie your camel with a firm belief in God and that camel gets stolen from you, so what will be your reaction? This whole scheme of things when combined are actually a true manifestation of tawakkul.