Chapter on the Meaning of Tawakkul

باب في معنى التوكل

Chapter on the Meaning of Reliance (Tawakkul)

99-/5220 _1-

ابْنُ بَابَوَيْهِ،قَالَ:حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي،قَالَ:حَدَّثَنَا سَعْدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ،عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ،عَنْ أَبِيهِ،فِي حَدِيثٍ مَرْفُوعٍ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ(صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ)قَالَ: «جَاءَ جَبْرَئِيلُ(عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ)إِلَى النَّبِيِّ(صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ)،فَقَالَ:يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ،إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى أَرْسَلَنِي إِلَيْكَ بِهَدِيَّةٍ لَمْ يُعْطِهَا أَحَداً قَبْلَكَ،قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ(صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ):قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هِيَ؟قَالَ:

الصَّبْرُ،وَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ.قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هُوَ؟قَالَ:اَلرِّضَا،وَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ.قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هُوَ؟قَالَ:اَلزُّهْدُ،وَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ.قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هُوَ؟قَالَ:اَلْإِخْلاَصُ،وَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ.قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هُوَ؟قَالَ:اَلْيَقِينُ،وَ أَحْسَنُ مِنْهُ،قُلْتُ:وَ مَا هُوَ،يَا جَبْرَئِيلُ؟قَالَ:إِنَّ مَدْرَجَةَ [1] ذَلِكَ التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَقُلْتُ:وَ مَا التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ؟فَقَالَ:اَلْعِلْمُ بِأَنَّ الْمَخْلُوقَ لاَ يَضُرُّ وَ لاَ يَنْفَعُ،وَ لاَ يُعْطِي وَ لاَ يَمْنَعُ،وَ اسْتِعْمَالُ الْيَأْسِ مِنَ الْخَلْقِ،فَإِذَا كَانَ الْعَبْدُ كَذَلِكَ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ لِأَحَدٍ سِوَى اللَّهِ،وَ لَمْ يَرْجُ وَ لَمْ يَخَفْ سِوَى اللَّهِ،وَ لَمْ يَطْمَعْ فِي أَحَدٍ سِوَى اللَّهِ،فَهَذَا هُوَ التَّوَكُّلُ.

قَالَ:قُلْتُ:يَا جَبْرَئِيلُ،فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ الصَّبْرِ؟قَالَ:تَصْبِرُ فِي الضَّرَّاءِ كَمَا تَصْبِرُ فِي السَّرَّاءِ،وَ فِي الْفَاقَةِ كَمَا تَصْبِرُ فِي الْغَنَاءِ،وَ فِي الْبَلاَءِ كَمَا تَصْبِرُ فِي الْعَافِيَةِ،وَ لاَ يَشْكُو حَالَهُ عِنْدَ الْمَخْلُوقِ بِمَا يُصِيبُهُ مِنَ الْبَلاَءِ.

قُلْتُ:وَ مَا تَفْسِيرُ الْقَنَاعَةِ؟قَالَ:يَقْنَعُ بِمَا يُصِيبُهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا،يَقْنَعُ بِالْقَلِيلِ وَ يَشْكُرُ الْيَسِيرَ.

قُلْتُ:فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ الرِّضَا؟فَقَالَ:اَلرِّضَا أَنْ [2] لاَ يَسْخَطَ عَلَى سَيِّدِهِ،أَصَابَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا أَوْ لَمْ يُصِبْ،وَ لاَ يَرْضَى لِنَفْسِهِ بِالْيَسِيرِ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ.

قُلْتُ:يَا جَبْرَئِيلُ،فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ الزُّهْدِ؟قَالَ:اَلزَّاهِدُ يُحِبُّ مَنْ يُحِبُّ خَالِقُهُ،وَ يُبْغِضُ مَنْ يُبْغِضُ خَالِقُهُ،وَ يَتَحَرَّجُ مِنْ حَلاَلِ الدُّنْيَا وَ لاَ يَلْتَفِتُ إِلَى حَرَامِهَا،فَإِنَّ حَلاَلَهَا حِسَابٌ وَ حَرَامَهَا عِقَابٌ،وَ يَرْحَمُ جَمِيعَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ كَمَا يَرْحَمُ نَفْسَهُ،وَ يَتَحَرَّجُ مِنَ الْكَلاَمِ كَمَا يَتَحَرَّجُ مِنَ الْمَيْتَةِ الَّتِي قَدِ اشْتَدَّ نَتْنُهَا،وَ يَتَحَرَّجُ عَنْ حُطَامِ الدُّنْيَا وَ زِينَتِهَا كَمَا يَجْتَنِبُ النَّارَ أَنْ يَغْشَاهَا [3] وَ أَنْ يُقَصِّرَ أَمَلَهُ وَ كَأَنَّ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ أَجَلَهُ.

قُلْتُ:يَا جَبْرَئِيلُ،فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ الْإِخْلاَصِ؟قَالَ:اَلْمُخْلِصُ الَّذِي لاَ يَسْأَلُ النَّاسَ شَيْئاً حَتَّى يَجِدَ،وَ إِذَا وَجَدَ رَضِيَ،وَ إِذَا بَقِيَ عِنْدَهُ شَيْءٌ أَعْطَاهُ فِي اللَّهِ،فَإِنَّ مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلِ الْمَخْلُوقَ فَقَدْ أَقَرَّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ بِالْعُبُودِيَّةِ،وَ إِذَا وَجَدَ فَرَضِيَ،فَهُوَ عَنِ اللَّهِ رَاضٍ،وَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ رَاضٍ،وَ إِذَا أَعْطَى لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَهُوَ عَلَى حَدِّ الثِّقَةِ بِرَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ.

قُلْتُ:فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ الْيَقِينِ؟قَالَ:اَلْمُوقِنُ يَعْمَلُ لِلَّهِ كَأَنَّهُ يَرَاهُ،فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَرَى اللَّهَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرَاهُ،وَ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ يَقِيناً أَنَّ مَا أَصَابَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُخْطِئَهُ،وَ أَنَّ مَا أَخْطَأَهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُصِيبَهُ،وَ هَذَا كُلُّهُ أَغْصَانُ التَّوَكُّلِ،وَ مَدْرَجَةُ الزُّهْدِ».

99-/5220 _1- Ibn Bābawayh said: My father narrated to us, who said: Sa‘d ibn ‘Abd Allāh narrated to us, from Aḥmad ibn Abī ‘Abd Allāh, from his father, in a hadith raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). He said: “Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and said: O Messenger of Allah, surely Allah, Blessed and Exalted, has sent me to you with a gift He has not given to anyone before you. The Messenger of Allah said: I asked, What is it? He said: Patience; and better than it. I asked, And what is that? He said: Contentment; and better than it. I asked, And what is that? He said: Asceticism; and better than it. I asked, And what is that? He said: Sincerity; and better than it. I asked, And what is that? He said: Certainty; and better than it. I asked, And what is that, O Gabriel? He said: The path to all of that is reliance upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic. I said: And what is reliance upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic? He said: Knowing that the created being neither harms nor benefits, neither gives nor withholds; and adopting despair with respect to creation. When the servant is like that, he does not act for anyone other than Allah, he hopes in and fears none but Allah, and he covets no one besides Allah. This is reliance (tawakkul).

He said: I asked: O Gabriel, then what is the explanation of patience? He said: That you are patient in hardship as you are in prosperity; in poverty as in wealth; in affliction as in well-being; and that you do not complain of your condition to the creation because of what befalls you of trials.

I asked: And what is the explanation of contentment (qanā‘ah)? He said: That one is content with what befalls him of this world; he is content with little and thanks for the small amount.

I asked: Then what is the explanation of satisfaction (riḍā)? He said: Satisfaction is that one does not become displeased with his Master, whether he attains something of this world or not; and that he does not deem a small amount of deeds sufficient for himself.

I asked: O Gabriel, then what is the explanation of asceticism (zuhd)? He said: The ascetic loves whomever his Creator loves and hates whomever his Creator hates; he is scrupulous even regarding the lawful of this world and does not turn towards its unlawful—for its lawful entails reckoning and its unlawful entails punishment; he shows mercy to all the Muslims just as he shows mercy to himself; he is scrupulous regarding speech as he is scrupulous regarding a carcass whose stench has become severe; and he is scrupulous regarding the debris and adornment of the world, just as he avoids the Fire lest it envelop him; and that he shortens his hopes, as if his term were between his eyes.

I asked: O Gabriel, then what is the explanation of sincerity (ikhlāṣ)? He said: The sincere one does not ask people for anything until he finds (it), and when he finds (it) he is content; and if something remains with him he gives it for the sake of Allah. For whoever does not ask the created has acknowledged servitude to Allah, Mighty and Majestic; and when he finds and is content, then he is content with Allah, and Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is content with him; and when he gives for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, he does so on the basis of trust in his Lord, Mighty and Majestic.

I asked: Then what is the explanation of certainty (yaqīn)? He said: The one certain in faith acts for Allah as though he sees Him; and if he does not see Allah, then surely Allah sees him. And that he know with certainty that what struck him was never going to miss him, and what missed him was never going to strike him. All of this are branches of reliance, and the pathway to asceticism.”

_1) -معاني الأخبار:1/260.

Ma‘ānī al-Akhbār: 1/260.

[1] المدرجة:الطريق،و ممرّ الأشياء على الطريق.

al-mudrajah: al-ṭarīq, wa mamarru al-ashyā’ ‘alā al-ṭarīq.

[2] في المصدر:قال الراضي.

fī al-maṣdar: qāla al-rāḍī.

[3] في المصدر:تغشاه.

fī al-maṣdar: taghshāhu.

المستدرك

Al-Mustadrak

(سورة هود)

(Sūrat Hūd)

قوله تعالى:

فَلَوْ لاٰ كٰانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ أُولُوا بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسٰادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِمَّنْ أَنْجَيْنَا مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّبَعَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مَا أُتْرِفُوا فِيهِ وَكَانُوا مُجْرِمِينَ [116]

And why were there not, out of the generations before you, persons possessing understanding, forbidding mischief in the earth, except a few of those whom We delivered from among them? and those who were unjust went after what they are made to enjoy of worldly life, and they were guilty. (Qur’an 11:116, M. H. Shakir)

99- _1-

فُرَاتُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكُوفِيُّ فِي(تَفْسِيرِهِ)مُعَنْعَناً عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ(عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ) فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: فَلَوْ لاٰ كٰانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ أُولُوا بَقِيَّةٍ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْفَسٰادِ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَى آخِرِ الْآيَةِ،قَالَ:تَخْرُجُ الطَّائِفَةُ مِنَّا،وَ مَثَلُنَا كَمَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ،فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُقْتَلُ،وَ تَبْقَى مِنْهُمْ بَقِيَّةٌ لِيُحْيُوا ذَلِكَ الْأَمْرَ يَوْماً مَا.

99- _1- Furāt ibn Ibrāhīm al-Kūfī, in his Tafsīr, with a chain, from Zayd ibn ‘Alī (peace be upon him), regarding His saying, Exalted is He: “Why were there not, out of the generations before you, persons possessing understanding, forbidding corruption in the land … to the end of the verse,” said: A group from us will go forth, and our example is like those who were before us among the generations. Some of them will be killed, and a remnant of them will remain in order to revive that matter one day.

99- _2-

وَ عَنْهُ،قَالَ:حَدَّثَنِي جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْفَزَارِيُّ مُعَنْعَناً عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ(عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ) ،فِي قَوْلِهِ: فَلَوْ لاٰ كٰانَ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ قَالَ:نَزَلَتْ هَذِهِ فِينَا.

99- _2- And from him, he said: Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad al-Fazārī narrated to me, with a chain, from Zayd ibn ‘Alī (peace be upon him), regarding His saying, “Why were there not, out of the generations before you…” He said: This was revealed about us.

قوله تعالى:

وَ مٰا كٰانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرىٰ بِظُلْمٍ وَ أَهْلُهٰا مُصْلِحُونَ [117]

And your Lord would not destroy the towns unjustly, while their people acted well. (Qur’an 11:117, M. H. Shakir)

99- _3-

الطَّبْرِسِيُّ فِي(مَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلاَقِ)،فِي مَوْعِظَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ(صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ)لاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ:قَالَ لَهُ: «يَا ابْنَ مَسْعُودٍ:أَنْصِفِ النَّاسَ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ،وَ انْصَحِ الْأُمَّةَ وَ ارْحَمْهُمْ،فَإِذَا كُنْتَ كَذَلِكَ وَ غَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَلْدَةٍ أَنْتَ فِيهَا، وَ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِمَ الْعَذَابَ،نَظَرَ إِلَيْكَ فَرَحِمَهُمْ بِكَ،يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: وَ مٰا كٰانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرىٰ بِظُلْمٍ وَ أَهْلُهٰا مُصْلِحُونَ ».

99- _3- Al-Ṭabrisī, in Makārim al-Akhlāq, in the admonition of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to Ibn Mas‘ūd, said: He said to him: “O Ibn Mas‘ūd, be just to people with respect to yourself, advise the community and have mercy on them. If you are like that, and Allah becomes angry with the people of a town you are in and intends to send down punishment upon them, He will look at you and have mercy on them because of you. Allah, Exalted, says: ‘And your Lord would not destroy the towns unjustly, while their people acted well.’”

_1) -تفسير فرات:63.

Tafsīr Furāt: 63.

_2) -تفسير فرات:63.

Tafsīr Furāt: 63.

_3) -مكارم الأخلاق:457.

Makārim al-Akhlāq: 457.