Women's Issues Made Simple

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Women's Issues Made Simple

Women's Issues Made Simple

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Women's Issues Made Simple

Author:Batul S.Arastu

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Author’s Preface 4

Introduction 5

Notes: 7

Preamble 8

Different Kinds of Blood Seen by a Woman 8

Section 1: Istihadha 9

Verification 9

Signs of Istihadha 9

Types of Istihadha 9

Section 2: Rules of Istihadha 10

Rules for Qaleelah (Little flow): 10

Rules for Mutawassitah (Medium flow): 10

Rules for Katheera (Excessive flow): 11

Change of Intensity of Blood Flow 11

Change of Flow from Less to More 11

Change of Flow from More to Less: 12

Fasting during Istihadha: 12

Sex during Istihadha: 12

Miscellaneous Points regarding Istihadha 13

Section 3: Haidh (Menstruation or Period) 14

Verification 14

Signs 14

Ensuring it is Haidh 14

Categories of women 14

Rules for a Woman in Menses 15

Some scenarios of women having a ‘Habit of Time and Duration’ 15

Some scenarios of women who have a ‘Habit of Duration’ 16

Some scenarios of women who have a ‘Habit of Time’ 16

Some scenarios of Mudhtariba: Disordered Duration 18

Some scenarios of Mubtadiya: Beginner 19

Different Types of Menstruation 19

Qadha Salat 20

Miscellaneous Points regarding Haidh 21

Section 4: Nifas (Blood of Childbirth) 22

The final 4 days are istihadha 23

Section 5: Fasting Related Issues 25

Fasting and Istihadha 25

Fasting and Haidh 25

Ramadhan and Janabat 25

Section 6: Miscellaneous Issues 27

Ghusl (Ritual Bath) 27

Dress Code, Hijab (Islamic Covering) 27

Mahram and Non-Mahram 27

Section 7: Menopause 29

Section 8: Glossary of Terms 31

Section 9: References 33

10: Changes after Printing 34

Author’s Preface

Before I came to Qum I had many questions regarding specific issues related to women, the Islamic rules women must follow. One of the main issues all women face is that of different blood cycles. There are a lot ofFiqh (Jurisprudence) books that cover these sensitive topics for women, but I often found them very confusing for myself. Alhamdulillah, joining theHouza (Seminary) in Qum helped me in understanding these confusing issues. Apart from wanting to share what I learnt, I wanted to make my life easy so I decided to write a very simple book that talks mainly about different issues women face.

In this book we will be mainly discussing different blood cycles and the different women who are special in their own way. When you read this book you will be able to figure out what kind of a blood cycle you have andInshaAllah you will be able to perform your duties as per the laws of Islam, which is obligatory on all of us.

This book is written according to the rulings ofAyatullah Khomeini andAyatullah Seestani . Although most of theMaraaji ’ have similar views on these issues, it is important that sisters who follow otherMaraaji ’ should check with their ownMarja `, because there may be minor differences in the rulings.

I would like to thank my teacherKhanum Ferozi (fromJum`iat al-Zahra), who is such a great teacher. I used to dislike the subject ofFiqh , butKhanum Ferozi taught us so well, that I started loving this subject so much I decided to write about it!

I would also like to thank my husband who encouraged and helped me a great deal.

My sincere thanks to BrotherShuja AliMirza for all the help and input.

I would like to dedicate this book to my late mother,Syeda Rabab SultanaRazavi and my late mother in lawTahera BegumArastu .

Batool Arastu

Qum, Shawwal 15, 1426/ November 18, 2005

Introduction

All things are from God and to Him they all return. God as the ultimate Creator and Sustainer ofcreation, presides over its origin, unfolding, and end result. All things essentially refer to Him, and all matters only gain any meaning in reference to Him. Man is not outside of creation and hence falls under this general principle. The realization of his essential nature prefigures the goal and final end of man’s purpose and existence. God, in His infinite Mercy, provides and makes easy the way to this final end and destination of man. This “way” is nothing other than religion. Religion takes man from where he presently stands, as a limited creaturewho in his earthly nature is very weak, and ushers him towards his infinite Creator who informs the essence of his spirit. Now, as the Creator is one and encompasses all aspects of existence - being the ultimate Totality, His way or religion encompasses all aspects of man’s being. So no religion is a true religion unless it addresses all the needs of man in his journey to God. Religion must, by definition and on principle, shed light on all matters of man’s earthly and spiritual life. Earthly, insofar as the material earth is where man has been placed, and insofar as he has been given a physical body made of earth. Spiritual, insofar as the metaphysical heavens are where man has to return, and insofar as he has been given a spirit that is of divine inspiration.

Islam, as the final religion for mankind and in its terminal and conclusive nature, has been given the most comprehensive of all “ways” or directives that direct and regulate man’s activities towards his true destination. These directives cover man’s three aspects of body, soul or mind, and spirit. Among them there are those that deal with doctrine, beliefs, and man’s intellectual life. Others pertain to his heart and soul, and define the proper emotional etiquette that he is to follow as a moral being in the path of self-purification, and outline the correct ethicalbehaviour towards his fellow human beings. Others yet apply to his physical being and actions in the material world - whether acts of worship and their prerequisites, or the worldly dealings and interactions that he is involved in with other human beings. In its comprehensive nature, Islam applies all of these directives or laws to all levels of humanity - personal, social, and political. But not everything can be done all at once, hence Islam advises a practical course to follow. It asks the individual human being to “first” locate himself in the universe by understanding his relationship with his Maker and apply his will according to this understanding in the domain where it can be applied from the outset - that is on his own self. Hence, a personal routine of worship (which is the only appropriate action with respect to the Perfect Being who holds his very existence in His hands) is what is called for. But even worship is too much to be done all at once, and it too requires other smaller acts which prepare the worshiper and set the scene, so to speak; hence the idea of “ritual purity.”

Ritual purity is an idea that is found in all religions. It requires that the worshipper be in the right physical and mental state, so as to make the spiritual state that the particular act of worship aims for more probable. Now as the physical and mental characteristics of human beings differ according to their mental or physical health, their age, or their gender, it would not be worthy of an all-wise and all-knowing Creator to allow the state of ritual purity to be achieved by all these different types of human beings in the same way. Hence there exist different laws of ritual purity for the different classes and states that human beings hold.

Women, being the childbearing members of the human race who as a consequence of the fact undergo menstruation and postnatal bleeding, have special laws of ritual purity. These laws have been carefully derived by jurisprudents from authoritative sources and are firmly based in the written and oral tradition of orthodox Islam. Developments in jurisprudential methods and the natural accretions that the outcome of such methods is given to, has meant that a vast and very accurate set of rules has been collected over the centuries. The vastness is such that there is felt the danger of the average woman not being able to navigate her way through the rules, or perhaps worse, of her losing sight of the forest for the trees.

To start with the second of the two, it can be said that the danger of actually getting lost in the details of the rules of ritual purity and forgetting the purpose of worship, religion, and existence itself is a very real danger. It is, in the example of navigation used above, akin to being fixated on the compass and totally unaware of both the beautiful and awe inspiring scenery on the way and the final destination of the voyage. For on the one hand, the laws of religion are not self-serving and are meant for something beyond themselves, and on the other, these particular laws are just a small subset of the entire corpus of laws that incorporate God’s will for mankind as a whole. To take the part to be the whole is as great an error as one can make. This is because there exist laws which tell us to look around and see the beauty and majesty of God in the horizons that our ship is slipping through, and in our own selves, as captains of the ship; not to mention the great number of precepts which delineate not only the method and manner of our coexistence with the other passengers on the ship, but order us to get to know them - as this leads to knowledge of ourselves and of God. In short, Islam is comprehensive and all of its laws taken together give us a beautiful and balanced picture. Taking any one part and making it bigger than it is gives us a distorted picture and a grotesque caricature of the beauty that God meant for us to experience in the journey to Himself.[ 1]

Having mentioned the necessity of seeing the whole of Islam - laws and all - to appreciate Islam’s beauty and integrity, it is important to realize that wecan not do so immediately and we are, by the nature of things, obligated to start with an empty canvas and to build the final picture piece by piece; every piece being just as important to the whole as any other vis-à-vis the required completeness. So from this perspective which calls for wholeness, all parts of Islam and hence all parts of Islamic Law,fiqh , gain relatively equal importance. As a result, in principle it is just as important to have knowledge of the section on prayer as it is to be fully aware about the rules of inheritance or to understand the laws relating to slaves. But we live in the real world of limitations and there are aspects of the Law that pertain to us not only in principle but also in a practical and experiential sense. This means that practically speaking those parts of the Law that are pertinent to us assume a greater importance and we are called to follow them first.

The book that you see before you has as its goal the simple and uncomplicated exposition of that part of the Islamic Law that, at any given time, pertains to one half of humanity during most of their conscious adult life in a real and practical way. The text explains in a clear language the special rules and methodology that women must follow during their menstrual cycles and at other times to achieve ritual purity. It has as its strengths, a systematic layout that helps to chart the sometimes complicated territory that these rules have come to form. The copious use of examples and scenarios greatly helps to make the laws and rules accessible and understandable.

It is perhaps not the first book of its kind, but it can be said that it is one of the best. Moreover, given the fact that most scholars of Islam who teach in the Muslim world are men, for whom these issues - though formallystudied - are not experienced realities, and hence are either easily forgotten or talked about with hesitation, a proverbial “blind spot” has come into existence. This book helps in eliminating this blind spot and in filling the large vacuum and need that exists for practical guidance with respect to this subject. As such, the author must be commended for both having realized the need in question and for having made the valiant efforts in responding to it in the way that she has.

We ask Allah to help us follow all the laws of His final religion in the best and most complete of manners.

Notes:

[1]It is a noteworthy fact that Imam Khomeini (r) in his historical lectures on Islamic Government that changed the destiny of mankind in our century, actually mentioned menstruation three times. He said, “…the servants of imperialism declared that Islam is not a comprehensive religion providing for every aspect of human life and has no laws or ordinances pertaining to society. It has no particular form of government. Islam concerns itself only with rules of ritual purity after menstruation and parturition. It may have a few ethical principles, but it certainly has nothing to say about human life in general and the ordering of society. …In order to make the Muslims, especially the intellectuals, and the younger generation, deviate from the path of Islam, foreign agents have constantly insinuated that Islam has nothing to offer, that Islam consists of a few ordinances concerning menstruation and parturition, and that this is the proper field of study for the mullahs. … [Hence, I ask you to] present Islam to the people in its true form, so that our youth do not picture the mullahs as sitting in some corner in Najaf or Qum, studying the questions of menstruation and parturition instead of concerning themselves with politics, and draw the conclusion that religion must be separate from politics…”

Preamble

Allah (SWT) has created all women, but each individual woman is different. For example every woman has her own unique blood cycle. In Islamic law there are different rules for the kind of blood seen by a woman. There are specific rules forHaidh ,Istihadha andNifas . It can often be very confusing for a God wary woman to understand what state she is in and follow the necessary rulings according to Islamic Jurisprudence, so that she can seek closeness to Allah (SWT). First, let us talk about the different kinds of blood seen by a woman.

Different Kinds of Blood Seen by a Woman

There are 3 types of blood that a woman may see:

Istihadha (irregular blood discharge during the month)

Haidh (period or menstruation)

Nifas (blood after childbirth)

Section 1:Istihadha

Istihadha is a type of blood seen by women where the discharge is irregular. In order to better understand the rules ofistihadha and the different types ofistihadha let us follow the eight simple guidelines below:

Verification

If the blood seen has the following conditions, then it isistihadha .

If the blood seen is not part of the regular menstrual cycle

If the blood seen is notNifas (blood seen after childbirth)

If the blood seen is not from a boil or from surgery

Signs ofIstihadha

Blood seen at the time ofistihadha usually has its own distinctive features. It:

Is usually yellowish in color

Is not thick

Is cold

Comes out without force and without burning

However, there are always some exceptions. A woman may seeistihadha blood that is red or dark, thick; warm or that comes out with force and burning.

Types ofIstihadha

After following steps 1 and 2, thatis after one verifies that the blood seen isistihadha , the next step is to know what type ofistihadha it is, as the rules differ for each type. To determine what type ofistihadha it is, one must place cotton on the surface of the vagina and see how much blood soaks the cotton. Below are the three different types ofistihadha one will determine after the test:

Qaleelah (Little flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood is on the surface and does not show on the reverse side.

Mutawasittah (Medium flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood seeps in and maybe seen on the reverse side. Blood does not stain the underwear.

Katheera (Excessive flow): when tested on a piece of cotton, blood flows out from the cotton and leaves a stain on the underwear.

Note: The best way to examine the type ofistihadha is on a piece of cotton, because on a sanitary pad the blood is absorbed and usually a sanitary pad has a plastic base to avoid leakage. Hence to determine the type ofistihadha cotton should be used.

Section 2: Rules ofIstihadha

Having determined the type ofistihadha , there are now different rules for the different types of blood. We have already talked about how to determine the type ofistihadha blood above.

Rules forQaleelah (Little flow):

Wash the surface of the vagina

Change the cotton

For each prayer perform one newwudhu (ablution)

All other kinds of worship wherewudhu is necessary require a newwudhu as perIhtiyat -e-Wajib , (Imam Khomeini). What this means is if a woman has madewudhu forsalat and if she decides to touch the script of the Qur’an she needs to dowudhu aftersalat again.

But, As perAyatullah Seestani it iswajib (not justihtiyate wajib ) to dowudhu again for the other acts of worship that requirewudhu .

Note: To prevent the blood from gushing out, let the cotton stay in vagina. If the blood comes out in the midst of the prayers it will be deemed void.

Further explanation: If a woman sees a little discharge of blood and as per the signs and verification she is sure itsistihadha then, for performing each prayer she should wash the surface of her vagina, change the cotton and performWudhu .

Helping Note: Let the cotton stay in vagina. Between 2 prayers examine it; if no blood is seen, renewing theWudhu is not necessary.

Rules forMutawassitah (Medium flow):

Do the 3 steps ofQaleelah

For the first prayer (recited after the woman sees blood) performghusl

From the next day, performghusl for the morning prayerseveryday . This is as per Imam Khomeini.

Also, according toAyatullah Seestani , if a woman performsghusl for the afternoon prayers, she should performghusl the next day in the morning. In this scenario aghusl in the morning is required too. That is, if she performs firstghusl in the afternoon then she needs to perform the nextghusl in the morning, next day.

Note: All other kinds of worship wherewudhu is necessary should be done with a newwudhu as perIhtiyat -e-Wajib , (Imam Khomeini). What this means is if a woman has madewudhu forsalat and if she decides to touch the script of the Qur’an she needs to dowudhu again aftersalat .

As perAyatullah Seestani itswajib to dowudhu again for the other acts of worship that requirewudhu .

Another important point:Ayatullah Seestani says that a woman should perform theghusl first and then dowudhu as perIhtiyat -e-Wajib.Whereas,Imam Khomeini says it does not matter if one performsghusl first orwudhu .

Further explanation: If a woman sees medium discharge of blood and as per the signs and verification she is sure it isistihadha then, for performing each prayer she should wash the surface of her vagina, change the cotton and performWudhu and in addition performghusl if it is the firstsalat of the day.

From the next day in addition to doing the 3 steps ofQaleelah , she should performghusl for the morning prayers only, BUT for the other prayers she should wash the surface of the vagina, change the cotton and dowudhu for each prayer.

Rules forKatheera (Excessive flow):

For each prayer perform oneghusl Do the 3 steps ofQaleelah

If prayingAsr right afterDhuhr orIsha right afterMaghrib , only 3ghusls are enough for the day.

Further explanation: If a woman sees excessive discharge of blood and as per the signs and verification if she is sure it isistihadha then, for performing each prayer she should performghusl and then wash the surface of the vagina and then change the cotton and dowudhu .

But if a woman is going to prayAsr prayers right afterDhuhr prayers andIsha prayers right afterMaghrib Prayers only oneghusl for each set of prayers will suffice. However, betweenDhuhr andAsr ,Maghrib andIsha she must wash, change the cotton and dowudhu .

Important Note: As perAyatullah Seestani wudhu is not needed after theghusl but if a woman wishes she should do it beforeghusl forKatheera . Whereas, Imam Khomeini says it does not matter ifwudhu is made beforeghusl or after, butwudhu is required.

Change of Intensity of Blood Flow

When one sees the intensity of the blood flow increase, then there are different rules that apply:

Change of Flow from Less to More

Qaleelah toMutawassitah (Little to Medium flow)

Qaleelah toKatheera (Little to Excessive flow)

Mutawassitah toKatheera (Medium to Excessive flow)

Rules to be followed if the blood flow changes from less to more as stated above:

If before prayer: If the intensity of the blood flow changes from less to more, before a woman prays:

If the flow changes from little to medium then the rules for medium apply.

If the flow changes from little/medium to excessive then the rules for excessive apply.

Note: For explanation of rules for little flow, medium flow and excessive, refer to the rules ofIstihadha .

Duringprayers:If a woman feels while praying that the intensity of the blood flow changed from less to more:

If by discontinuing the prayers there is no fear that they will becomeQadha , then a woman should discontinue praying and take care of the duty as per the rules, then perform prayers.

Further explanation: If a woman starts praying and realizes that the blood flow has increased then she should see if there is enough time left so that her prayers do not getQadha . If there is enough time left then she should discontinue her prayers.

After discontinuing her prayers she should check to see if the flow has increased to medium or excessiveistihadha , and then follow the rules accordingly.

If there is not enough time left, then she should not discontinue the prayers. She should complete the prayers, then check to see if the intensity of the flow increased to medium flow or excessive flow. Follow the rules accordingly, and then repeat the prayer again with the intention ofQadha .

Change of Flow from More to Less:

Katheera toQaleelah (Excessive to Little)

Katheera toMutawassitah (Excessive to Medium)

Mutawassitah toQaleelah (Medium to Little)

Rules to be followed if the blood flow changes from more to less as stated above:

For the first prayer a woman should follow the rules as per the state she was in. Prayers after that are going to be according to the state she is in.

Further explanation: If a woman is in the state ofKatheera (Excessive flow) and before prayingDhuhr she realizes that she is in the state ofQaleelah (Little) now, she should follow the rules forKatheera for prayingDhuhr and then forAsr she should follow the rules forQaleela .

If a woman afterDhuhr realizes that state she is not in a state ofKatheera anymore but she is in a state ofQaleela now, she should still follow the rules forKatheera for prayingAsr and then forMaghrib and the prayers after that she should follow the rules ofQaleela .

Fasting duringIstihadha :

DuringQaleela : A woman should follow the rules she follows before prayers.With the only exception that a cotton should be inserted inside the vagina to prevent the blood from gushing out. (As per Imam Khomeini this isIhtiyat -e-Wajib for all the states ofistihadha )

DuringMutawassitah : A woman should follow the rules she follows before prayers.With the only exception that a cotton should be inserted inside the vagina to prevent the blood from gushing out.

DuringKatheera : A woman should performghusl , the evening before for prayers ofMaghrib .

And…

Performghusl for each prayer if there is not going to be a gap between the prayers. For example if she performsghusl forMaghrib and then praysIsha right afterMaghrib , then anotherghusl is not needed.

And…

Insert cotton inside the vagina, to prevent the blood from gushing out.

Note:Ayatullah Seestani says that it is not a problem if the blood gushes out during the fast, and the fast is valid, but she has to prevent the blood from gushing out of her vagina during hersalats .

Sex duringIstihadha :

During the state ofQaleelah : Rules ofQaleelah (Under ‘Rules ofIstihadha ’) apply.

During the state ofMutawassitah : Must haveghusl before sex.

During the state ofKatheera : Must haveghusl before sex. But if sex is performed soon after prayers,ghusl is not necessary.

Note:Ayatullah Seestani says thatghusl is not needed before sex in any of the three conditions ofistihadha . (Performingghusl isIhtiyat -e-Mustahab )

Miscellaneous Points regardingIstihadha

According toAyatullah Seestani if a woman is not sure if she is in a stateMutawassitah orQaleelah she should consider it asQaleelah . Another scenario would be if a woman is not sure if she is in a state ofKatheera orMutawassitah . In this case she should consider it to beMutawassitah .In other words when in doubt she must always go with the lesser one.

If a woman delays her prayers thinking that herIstihadha will stop before thesalat becomesQadha , then it is okay to do so as long as she does not delay her prayers so long that they becomeQadha .

Salat eAyat is the prayers that are obligatory at the time of natural calamities for example, an earthquake, a lunar eclipse, or a solar eclipse etc.Salatul Ayat is obligatory on a woman who is experiencingIstihadha . All the rules required for a woman inistihadha during the other obligatory prayers are also required for thissalat . (Please note: Same rules apply for all the obligatory prayers.)

Thirteenth Hadith: Trust In God (Tawakkul)

بِالسَّنَدِ المُتَّصِلِ إِلَى الشَّيْخِ الجَلِيلِ ثِقَةِ الإسْلامِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ عَنْ عِدَّةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا، عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، عَنْ غَيْرِ وَاحِدٍ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ، عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عُمَرَ الحَلالِ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الحَسَنِ الأَوَّلِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ.﴾ فَقَالَ: التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللهِ دَرَجَاتٌ؛ مِنْهَا أَنْ تَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللهِ فِي أُمُورِكَ كُلِّهَا، فَمَا فَعَلَ بِكَ كُنْتَ عَنْهُ رَاضِياً، تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لا يَأْلُوكَ خَيْراً وَفَضْلاً وَتَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الحُكْمَ فِي ذَلِكَ لَهُ، فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ بِتَفْوِيضِ ذَلِكَ إلَيْهِ وَثِقْ بِهِ فِيهَا وَفِي غَيْرِهَا

Muhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni): from a group of our teachers, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from more than one transmitter, from ‘Ali ibn Asbat, from Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Hallal, from ‘Ali ibn Suwayd, from Abu al-Hasan al-’Awwal (A). ‘Ali ibn Suwayd says, ‘I asked him concerning the utterance of God Almighty: And whoever puts his trust in God, then God suffices him (65:3).’ The Imam (A) said:“There are various degrees of trust in God. Of them one is that you should put your trust in God in all your affairs, being well-pleased with whatever God does to you, knowing for certain that he does not cease in His goodness and grace towards you, and that the command therein rests with Him. So put your trust in God, leaving that to Him and relying upon Him in regard to that and everything other than that.” 1

Exposition

Halal, with a shaddah on the lam, means the seller of hill, oil. Abu al-Hasan al-’Awwal is Imam al-Kazim (A), and it is he who is meant (in traditions) when just ‘Abu al-Hasan’ is mentioned. Abu al-Hasan al-Thani is Imam al-Rida (A) and Abu al-Hasan al-Thalith is Imam al-Hadi (the Tenth Imam). Tawakkul literally mean, admission of one’s inability and reliance on one other than oneself.

( إتَّكَلْتُ عَلَى فُلانٍ فِي أَمْرٍ ) means, as the lexicographers ‘I relied upon him in a certain matter, the word ( إتَّكَلْتُ )originally being ( إوْتَكَلْتُ ), which means considering someone sufficient.

( يَأْلُوكَ ) derived from ( ألا ) and ( ألواً ) meaning ‘to fail’, ‘to neglect’, ‘to refrain’. In the transitive form, some have said, when it requires two maf’ul, the sense of preventing and depriving (man’) is assured

Tawakkul, is something other than tafwid; and the two are different from rida and wuthuq, as will be explained later on. We will now explain this noble tradition in a number of sections:

Tawakkul And Its Degrees

Know, that closely related meanings have been ascribed to tawakkul by the various definitions proposed by different schools, each according to its own approach. The author of Manazil al-sai’rin says:

التَّوَكُّلُ كِلَةُ الأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ إلَى مَالِكِهِ وَالتَّعْوِيلُ عَلَى وَكَالَتِهِ

Tawakkul means entrusting all the matters to their Master and relying upon His trusteeship.2

Some urafa have said:

التَّوَكُّلُ طَرْحُ البَدَنِ فِي العُبُودِيَّةِ وَتَعَلُّقُ القَلْبِ بِالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ

Tawakkul means throwing the body down (as in prostration) in servitude (to God) and attaching the heart to (His) Lordship.

That is, it means using one’s bodily powers in obedience to God and refraining from interfering in the matters (of the heart) and consigning it to the Lord. Some others have said:

التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللهِ انْقِطَاعُ العَبْدِ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا يَأْمُلُهُ مِنَ المَخْلُوقِينَ

Tawakkul upon God means the severance by the servant of all hopes and expectations from the creatures (and attaching, them to God).

The meanings mentioned are. closely related arid there is no need to delve further on the meaning of the word. However, that which should be mentioned is that tawakkul has various degrees in accordance with the stations of the devotees. Since the knowledge of these degrees of tawakkul depends on the knowledge of the various degrees of the devotee’s knowledge of their Lord, the Almighty and the Glorious, we cannot avoid discussing them here.

Let it be known to you that one of the esoteric principles of the wayfarers of the Path, without which no progress is possible, is the knowledge of God’s Lordship and Mastership and the quality of the sway of the Holy Essence over all affairs. We shall not discuss the theoretical aspect of this issue, for it calls for an examination of questions related to free will and predestination, which is not suitable for these pages. Here, we will only mention the different degrees of the people’s knowledge of it.

People are very different in regard to the knowledge of the Lordship of the Sacred Essence .of God. The commoners among the monotheists consider God Almighty the Creator of the general essences of things and their elements and substances; but they do not believe in the all-embracing Lordship of God, and consider His authority over things as limited. As a matter of verbal habit they may often declare that God decrees all matters and has power over all things, that nothing can come into existence without His sacred Will. Yet, their actual station is not at a par with their verbal profession, neither in respect of knowledge, nor faith, neither experience nor conviction.

This class of people, to which we also belong, have no knowledge of God’s Lordship; their faith in tawhid is deficient and the sovereignty of the Lord is concealed from their sight by the veils of apparent causation. Hence they do not occupy the station of tawakkul, which is our concern here, except on the level of mere verbal claim. Accordingly, they do not rely in their worldly affairs on anything except the superficial causes and material factors.

If sometimes they turn their attention to God and beseech something of Him, that is either on account of imitation or for reasons of caution; since not only they see no harm in it but allow a possibility of benefit. Thus there is a scent of tawakkul in them, although whenever they deem the apparent causal factors as favorable they totally forget God and His efficacy.

Now that which is staid regarding tawakkul, that it is not opposed to action and effort is quite right and in accordance with reason as well as revelation. But to fail to see God’s Lordship and His efficacy and to consider material causes as independent is contrary to tawakkul. Although this kind of people is devoid of tawakkul in respect to their worldly affairs, they make vigorous claims of tawakkul when it comes to the matters of the Hereafter. They justify their sluggishness and neglect in the matters of acquisition of transcendental knowledge, spiritual development and fulfillment of moral and devotional duties by easy professions of reliance on God and tawakkul on His beneficence.

With such verbal declarations as ‘God is great’ and ‘My trust lies in God’s beneficence’ they hope to attain the stations of the Hereafter. However, in regard to worldly matters, they declare,“Effort and endeavor are not contrary to tawakkul on God and reliance upon His munificence.” This is nothing except one of the guiles of the carnal self and the Devil. For this sort has tawakkul on God neither in the matters of the world nor in the affairs of the Hereafter. But since they consider worldly matters as paramount, they put their reliance on material causes, not relying on God and His efficacy.

On the other hand, since the affairs of the Hereafter are not important in their eyes and as they have no real faith in the Day of Resurrection and its details, they conjure up pretexts to conceal their neglect. Hence they say, ‘God is great’, and they declare trust in God and faith in the intercession of the Intercessors, although such professions are nothing but empty verbiage and meaningless oscillations of the tongue.

There is another class of people, who, having been convinced either by reason or revelation, affirm that God Almighty is the sole determiner of matters, the cause of all causes, efficacious in the realm of being, there being no limit to His power and influence. On the level of rational belief, they have tawakkul in God; that is the complete grounds of tawakkul have been furnished for them by reason and revelation.

Hence they consider themselves as mutawakkil and are able to supply rational proofs in justification of tawakkul, having confirmed rational conviction in all the essential preliminaries of tawakkul, which are: God’s knowledge of the needs of His creatures; His power and ability to satisfy those needs; His freedom from stinginess; and His Love and mercy for His creatures. On the basis of these, it is necessary to have trust on the Omniscient, Powerful, unniggardly and Merciful Lord, Who takes care to provide whatever is good for His creatures and in their interest, Who does not allow them to remain deprived of what is good for them, even though they themselves should be incapable of distinguishing between that which is beneficial or harmful for them.

This group, although they are mutawakkil on the level of rational knowledge, has not yet attained the stage of faith; they are shaky when confronted with the matters of life. There is a conflict between their reason and their heart, in which reason is dominated by the heart which has faith in material causes and is blind to God’s power and efficacy.

There is a third group in which the conviction in God’s sway over creation has penetrated into the heart, which has firm faith in God’s Sovereignty and Mastership over things. The pen of reason has inscribed all the essentials of tawakkul on the tablet of their heart. It is they who possess the station of tawakkul.

But the members of this group also differ from one another in regard to the level and degree of faith, whose highest degree is contentment (itminan) at which the most perfect degree of tawakkul appears in their heart. Then, their heart is detached from causation and attached to the Lordship of God, on Whom they rely and in Whom they-are content, in accordance with the words of the mystic who defined tawakkul as“casting the body away in servitude to God and attaching the heart to His Lordship.”

That which was mentioned above holds true in the case when the heart still dwells in the stage of plurality (kathrat al-af’ar) otherwise it leaves behind the station of tawakkul to attain to a higher station whose discussion lies outside the scope of this exposition.

Thus, it was seen that tawakkul has various stages and degrees, and perhaps the degree of tawakkul referred to in the hadith is the one pertaining to the second group, for it mentions knowledge as its preliminary condition. Or perhaps it refers to a degree of tawakkul according to some other mode of gradation, for tawakkul is amenable to another kind of gradation, as described in relation with the various stages of wayfaring by the experts of mystics knowledge and spiritual discipline, as a gradual gradation from plurality to unity; for absolute extinction (fana’ al-mutlaq al-af’ali) is not attained instantaneously but gradually. In the first stage, the wayfarer observes unity in his own self and then in all other beings.

The stations of tawakkul, rida, taslim and all the other stations are attainable gradually. The wayfarer may at first exercise tawakkul in some of his affairs and with respect to hidden and unobservable causes. Then, gradually, his tawakkul becomes general, in that it extends from hidden and inner causes to manifest and observable ones and from his own affairs to that of his relatives and associates. Accordingly, it is stated in the holy tradition that one of the degrees of tawakkul is trust in God in all one’s affairs.

Difference Between Tawakkul And Rida

Let it be known to you that the station of rida is different from the station of tawakkul, being higher and more luminous. This is because whereas the mutawakkil seeks his own good and benefit and entrust his affairs to God considering Him the provider of good, the radi (one who has attained the station of rida) is one who has annihilated his will in the Divine Will, having no more a separate will of his own. When a mystic was asked,“Matur’id?” (What is your wish?), he replied,“Urid an la urid” (My wish is not to wish at all). What he meant is the station of rida.

As to the words of the Imam (A) in the hadith,“that you should be well-pleased (radiyan) with whatever God does to you,” they do not refer to the station of rida. Hence, he (A) says thereafter,“Know for certain that whatever He does to you, your good and benefit lies therein.” It appears that the Imams (A) intended to bring about the station of tawakkul in the listener. For this he mentions certain preliminaries. First, he (A) says,“Know that He does not cease to be good and benign towards you.”

Then he (A) says,“Know that the authority therein lies with Him.” Of course, one who knows that God Almighty has power over everything and that He does not cease to be graceful and benign, he would attain to the station of tawakkul, because the two main pillars of tawakkul are the same as stated by the Imam (A); although he (A) does not explicitly state the other two or three pillars. After mentioning the explicit and implicit preliminaries - that whatever God Almighty does is welcome because in it lies one’s good and benefit - the preliminaries which guide to the station of tawakkul, he (A) draws the conclusion and says,“Then have tawakkul on God.”

Tafwid, Tawakkul And Thiqah

Know that tafwid is also different from tawakkul, and so also thiqah is different from these two. Hence each of the three has been considered a different station on the wayfarer’s path. The Khwajah says:3

التَّفْوِيضُ أَلْطَفُ إشَارَةً وَأَوْسَعُ مَعْنىً مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ. التَّوَكُّلُ شُعْبَةٌ مِنْهُ

That is, tafwid is subtler and more refined than tawakkul, for tawfid, means that the devotee should see no power and capacity in himself and that he should consider himself ineffectual and regard God as All-effectual. This is not so in tawakkul, for the mutawakkil makes God his own substitute, one in charge of his affairs, for attaining that which is good and beneficial. Tafwid is wider and tawakkul is a branch of it, because tawakkul is in regard to one’s interests and tafwid is in regard to absolutely all the affairs.

Moreover, tawakkul does not occur except after the presence of its cause, that is the matter in regard to which the devotee comes to rely upon God. An example of it is the tawakkul of the Apostle (S) and his Companions in regard to security from the evil of the idolaters, at the time when they were told:

﴿الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمْ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ ﴾

Those unto whom men said, ‘Lo! the people have gathered against you, therefore fear them’. But it increased them in faith and they said, ‘God is sufficient for us and an excellent trustee is He’ (3:173)

Tafwid, however, is mostly antecedent to its referent cause, as indicated by the supplication narrated from the Apostle of God (S):

اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِي إلَيْكَ وأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إلَيْكَ وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إلَيْكَ

My God, I surrender my self to Thee; I seek refuge with Thee, and I hand over my matter to Thee.

At times tafwid is subsequent to the occurrence of its cause, such as in the case of the tafwid of the believer belonging to the Pharaoh’s people. (40:44)

The account given above is a condensed translation of the exposition by the famous ‘arif ‘Abd al-Razzaq Kashani of the words of the perfect ‘arif Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari, and that which the Khwajah says is also substantially the same. However, I have reservations about considering tawakkul to be a branch of tafwid, and there is an obvious lack of rigor in regarding tafwid as being the more general of the two. Also, there is no reason to regard tawakkul as being subsequent to the cause, for tawakkul can be both antecedent as well as subsequent.

As to the words of the holy tradition,

فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ بِتَفْوِيضِ ذَلِكَ إلَيْهِ

Possibly, since tawakkul is accompanied by viewing oneself as being in charge of one’s affairs - because in tawakkul one makes God one’s wakil in an affair that he deems as pertaining to himself - the Imam (A) wished to lift the questioner from the station of tawakkul to that of tafwid, making him understand that God Almighty is not your substitute and deputy in regard to the charge of your affairs; rather, He is the master of His own realm and the Lord of His own kingdom (to which you and your affairs belong). In Manazil al-sai’rin, the Khwajah has also pointed out this while discussing the third degree of tawakkul.

And as to thiqah (reliance), it is different from tawakkul and tafwid, as the Khwajah says:

الثِّقَةُ سَوَادُ عَيْنِ التَّوَكلُِّ وَنُقْطَةُ دَائِرَةِ التَّفْوِيضِ وَسُوَيْدَاءُ قَلْبِ التَّسْلِيمِ

Thiqah is the eye of tawakkul, the (moving) point of the circle of tafwid, and the inmost heart of taslim (surrender).4

That is, the three stations cannot be attained without thiqah. Rather thiqah on God Almighty is the soul of those stations, and the devotee cannot attain them without thiqah. This allows us to understand the Imam’s allusion to it, after the mention of tawakkul and tafwid, when he says:

ثِقْ فِيهَا وَفِي غَيْرِهَا

Notes

1. Usul al-Kafi (Akhundi), ii, 391, hadith 3.

2. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.

3. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.

4. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.

Thirteenth Hadith: Trust In God (Tawakkul)

بِالسَّنَدِ المُتَّصِلِ إِلَى الشَّيْخِ الجَلِيلِ ثِقَةِ الإسْلامِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ عَنْ عِدَّةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا، عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ، عَنْ غَيْرِ وَاحِدٍ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَسْبَاطٍ، عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عُمَرَ الحَلالِ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الحَسَنِ الأَوَّلِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ قَوْلِ اللهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ.﴾ فَقَالَ: التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللهِ دَرَجَاتٌ؛ مِنْهَا أَنْ تَتَوَكَّلَ عَلَى اللهِ فِي أُمُورِكَ كُلِّهَا، فَمَا فَعَلَ بِكَ كُنْتَ عَنْهُ رَاضِياً، تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لا يَأْلُوكَ خَيْراً وَفَضْلاً وَتَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الحُكْمَ فِي ذَلِكَ لَهُ، فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ بِتَفْوِيضِ ذَلِكَ إلَيْهِ وَثِقْ بِهِ فِيهَا وَفِي غَيْرِهَا

Muhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni): from a group of our teachers, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from more than one transmitter, from ‘Ali ibn Asbat, from Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Hallal, from ‘Ali ibn Suwayd, from Abu al-Hasan al-’Awwal (A). ‘Ali ibn Suwayd says, ‘I asked him concerning the utterance of God Almighty: And whoever puts his trust in God, then God suffices him (65:3).’ The Imam (A) said:“There are various degrees of trust in God. Of them one is that you should put your trust in God in all your affairs, being well-pleased with whatever God does to you, knowing for certain that he does not cease in His goodness and grace towards you, and that the command therein rests with Him. So put your trust in God, leaving that to Him and relying upon Him in regard to that and everything other than that.” 1

Exposition

Halal, with a shaddah on the lam, means the seller of hill, oil. Abu al-Hasan al-’Awwal is Imam al-Kazim (A), and it is he who is meant (in traditions) when just ‘Abu al-Hasan’ is mentioned. Abu al-Hasan al-Thani is Imam al-Rida (A) and Abu al-Hasan al-Thalith is Imam al-Hadi (the Tenth Imam). Tawakkul literally mean, admission of one’s inability and reliance on one other than oneself.

( إتَّكَلْتُ عَلَى فُلانٍ فِي أَمْرٍ ) means, as the lexicographers ‘I relied upon him in a certain matter, the word ( إتَّكَلْتُ )originally being ( إوْتَكَلْتُ ), which means considering someone sufficient.

( يَأْلُوكَ ) derived from ( ألا ) and ( ألواً ) meaning ‘to fail’, ‘to neglect’, ‘to refrain’. In the transitive form, some have said, when it requires two maf’ul, the sense of preventing and depriving (man’) is assured

Tawakkul, is something other than tafwid; and the two are different from rida and wuthuq, as will be explained later on. We will now explain this noble tradition in a number of sections:

Tawakkul And Its Degrees

Know, that closely related meanings have been ascribed to tawakkul by the various definitions proposed by different schools, each according to its own approach. The author of Manazil al-sai’rin says:

التَّوَكُّلُ كِلَةُ الأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ إلَى مَالِكِهِ وَالتَّعْوِيلُ عَلَى وَكَالَتِهِ

Tawakkul means entrusting all the matters to their Master and relying upon His trusteeship.2

Some urafa have said:

التَّوَكُّلُ طَرْحُ البَدَنِ فِي العُبُودِيَّةِ وَتَعَلُّقُ القَلْبِ بِالرُّبُوبِيَّةِ

Tawakkul means throwing the body down (as in prostration) in servitude (to God) and attaching the heart to (His) Lordship.

That is, it means using one’s bodily powers in obedience to God and refraining from interfering in the matters (of the heart) and consigning it to the Lord. Some others have said:

التَّوَكُّلُ عَلَى اللهِ انْقِطَاعُ العَبْدِ فِي جَمِيعِ مَا يَأْمُلُهُ مِنَ المَخْلُوقِينَ

Tawakkul upon God means the severance by the servant of all hopes and expectations from the creatures (and attaching, them to God).

The meanings mentioned are. closely related arid there is no need to delve further on the meaning of the word. However, that which should be mentioned is that tawakkul has various degrees in accordance with the stations of the devotees. Since the knowledge of these degrees of tawakkul depends on the knowledge of the various degrees of the devotee’s knowledge of their Lord, the Almighty and the Glorious, we cannot avoid discussing them here.

Let it be known to you that one of the esoteric principles of the wayfarers of the Path, without which no progress is possible, is the knowledge of God’s Lordship and Mastership and the quality of the sway of the Holy Essence over all affairs. We shall not discuss the theoretical aspect of this issue, for it calls for an examination of questions related to free will and predestination, which is not suitable for these pages. Here, we will only mention the different degrees of the people’s knowledge of it.

People are very different in regard to the knowledge of the Lordship of the Sacred Essence .of God. The commoners among the monotheists consider God Almighty the Creator of the general essences of things and their elements and substances; but they do not believe in the all-embracing Lordship of God, and consider His authority over things as limited. As a matter of verbal habit they may often declare that God decrees all matters and has power over all things, that nothing can come into existence without His sacred Will. Yet, their actual station is not at a par with their verbal profession, neither in respect of knowledge, nor faith, neither experience nor conviction.

This class of people, to which we also belong, have no knowledge of God’s Lordship; their faith in tawhid is deficient and the sovereignty of the Lord is concealed from their sight by the veils of apparent causation. Hence they do not occupy the station of tawakkul, which is our concern here, except on the level of mere verbal claim. Accordingly, they do not rely in their worldly affairs on anything except the superficial causes and material factors.

If sometimes they turn their attention to God and beseech something of Him, that is either on account of imitation or for reasons of caution; since not only they see no harm in it but allow a possibility of benefit. Thus there is a scent of tawakkul in them, although whenever they deem the apparent causal factors as favorable they totally forget God and His efficacy.

Now that which is staid regarding tawakkul, that it is not opposed to action and effort is quite right and in accordance with reason as well as revelation. But to fail to see God’s Lordship and His efficacy and to consider material causes as independent is contrary to tawakkul. Although this kind of people is devoid of tawakkul in respect to their worldly affairs, they make vigorous claims of tawakkul when it comes to the matters of the Hereafter. They justify their sluggishness and neglect in the matters of acquisition of transcendental knowledge, spiritual development and fulfillment of moral and devotional duties by easy professions of reliance on God and tawakkul on His beneficence.

With such verbal declarations as ‘God is great’ and ‘My trust lies in God’s beneficence’ they hope to attain the stations of the Hereafter. However, in regard to worldly matters, they declare,“Effort and endeavor are not contrary to tawakkul on God and reliance upon His munificence.” This is nothing except one of the guiles of the carnal self and the Devil. For this sort has tawakkul on God neither in the matters of the world nor in the affairs of the Hereafter. But since they consider worldly matters as paramount, they put their reliance on material causes, not relying on God and His efficacy.

On the other hand, since the affairs of the Hereafter are not important in their eyes and as they have no real faith in the Day of Resurrection and its details, they conjure up pretexts to conceal their neglect. Hence they say, ‘God is great’, and they declare trust in God and faith in the intercession of the Intercessors, although such professions are nothing but empty verbiage and meaningless oscillations of the tongue.

There is another class of people, who, having been convinced either by reason or revelation, affirm that God Almighty is the sole determiner of matters, the cause of all causes, efficacious in the realm of being, there being no limit to His power and influence. On the level of rational belief, they have tawakkul in God; that is the complete grounds of tawakkul have been furnished for them by reason and revelation.

Hence they consider themselves as mutawakkil and are able to supply rational proofs in justification of tawakkul, having confirmed rational conviction in all the essential preliminaries of tawakkul, which are: God’s knowledge of the needs of His creatures; His power and ability to satisfy those needs; His freedom from stinginess; and His Love and mercy for His creatures. On the basis of these, it is necessary to have trust on the Omniscient, Powerful, unniggardly and Merciful Lord, Who takes care to provide whatever is good for His creatures and in their interest, Who does not allow them to remain deprived of what is good for them, even though they themselves should be incapable of distinguishing between that which is beneficial or harmful for them.

This group, although they are mutawakkil on the level of rational knowledge, has not yet attained the stage of faith; they are shaky when confronted with the matters of life. There is a conflict between their reason and their heart, in which reason is dominated by the heart which has faith in material causes and is blind to God’s power and efficacy.

There is a third group in which the conviction in God’s sway over creation has penetrated into the heart, which has firm faith in God’s Sovereignty and Mastership over things. The pen of reason has inscribed all the essentials of tawakkul on the tablet of their heart. It is they who possess the station of tawakkul.

But the members of this group also differ from one another in regard to the level and degree of faith, whose highest degree is contentment (itminan) at which the most perfect degree of tawakkul appears in their heart. Then, their heart is detached from causation and attached to the Lordship of God, on Whom they rely and in Whom they-are content, in accordance with the words of the mystic who defined tawakkul as“casting the body away in servitude to God and attaching the heart to His Lordship.”

That which was mentioned above holds true in the case when the heart still dwells in the stage of plurality (kathrat al-af’ar) otherwise it leaves behind the station of tawakkul to attain to a higher station whose discussion lies outside the scope of this exposition.

Thus, it was seen that tawakkul has various stages and degrees, and perhaps the degree of tawakkul referred to in the hadith is the one pertaining to the second group, for it mentions knowledge as its preliminary condition. Or perhaps it refers to a degree of tawakkul according to some other mode of gradation, for tawakkul is amenable to another kind of gradation, as described in relation with the various stages of wayfaring by the experts of mystics knowledge and spiritual discipline, as a gradual gradation from plurality to unity; for absolute extinction (fana’ al-mutlaq al-af’ali) is not attained instantaneously but gradually. In the first stage, the wayfarer observes unity in his own self and then in all other beings.

The stations of tawakkul, rida, taslim and all the other stations are attainable gradually. The wayfarer may at first exercise tawakkul in some of his affairs and with respect to hidden and unobservable causes. Then, gradually, his tawakkul becomes general, in that it extends from hidden and inner causes to manifest and observable ones and from his own affairs to that of his relatives and associates. Accordingly, it is stated in the holy tradition that one of the degrees of tawakkul is trust in God in all one’s affairs.

Difference Between Tawakkul And Rida

Let it be known to you that the station of rida is different from the station of tawakkul, being higher and more luminous. This is because whereas the mutawakkil seeks his own good and benefit and entrust his affairs to God considering Him the provider of good, the radi (one who has attained the station of rida) is one who has annihilated his will in the Divine Will, having no more a separate will of his own. When a mystic was asked,“Matur’id?” (What is your wish?), he replied,“Urid an la urid” (My wish is not to wish at all). What he meant is the station of rida.

As to the words of the Imam (A) in the hadith,“that you should be well-pleased (radiyan) with whatever God does to you,” they do not refer to the station of rida. Hence, he (A) says thereafter,“Know for certain that whatever He does to you, your good and benefit lies therein.” It appears that the Imams (A) intended to bring about the station of tawakkul in the listener. For this he mentions certain preliminaries. First, he (A) says,“Know that He does not cease to be good and benign towards you.”

Then he (A) says,“Know that the authority therein lies with Him.” Of course, one who knows that God Almighty has power over everything and that He does not cease to be graceful and benign, he would attain to the station of tawakkul, because the two main pillars of tawakkul are the same as stated by the Imam (A); although he (A) does not explicitly state the other two or three pillars. After mentioning the explicit and implicit preliminaries - that whatever God Almighty does is welcome because in it lies one’s good and benefit - the preliminaries which guide to the station of tawakkul, he (A) draws the conclusion and says,“Then have tawakkul on God.”

Tafwid, Tawakkul And Thiqah

Know that tafwid is also different from tawakkul, and so also thiqah is different from these two. Hence each of the three has been considered a different station on the wayfarer’s path. The Khwajah says:3

التَّفْوِيضُ أَلْطَفُ إشَارَةً وَأَوْسَعُ مَعْنىً مِنَ التَّوَكُّلِ. التَّوَكُّلُ شُعْبَةٌ مِنْهُ

That is, tafwid is subtler and more refined than tawakkul, for tawfid, means that the devotee should see no power and capacity in himself and that he should consider himself ineffectual and regard God as All-effectual. This is not so in tawakkul, for the mutawakkil makes God his own substitute, one in charge of his affairs, for attaining that which is good and beneficial. Tafwid is wider and tawakkul is a branch of it, because tawakkul is in regard to one’s interests and tafwid is in regard to absolutely all the affairs.

Moreover, tawakkul does not occur except after the presence of its cause, that is the matter in regard to which the devotee comes to rely upon God. An example of it is the tawakkul of the Apostle (S) and his Companions in regard to security from the evil of the idolaters, at the time when they were told:

﴿الَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمْ النَّاسُ إِنَّ النَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا لَكُمْ فَاخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَقَالُوا حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ ﴾

Those unto whom men said, ‘Lo! the people have gathered against you, therefore fear them’. But it increased them in faith and they said, ‘God is sufficient for us and an excellent trustee is He’ (3:173)

Tafwid, however, is mostly antecedent to its referent cause, as indicated by the supplication narrated from the Apostle of God (S):

اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِي إلَيْكَ وأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إلَيْكَ وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إلَيْكَ

My God, I surrender my self to Thee; I seek refuge with Thee, and I hand over my matter to Thee.

At times tafwid is subsequent to the occurrence of its cause, such as in the case of the tafwid of the believer belonging to the Pharaoh’s people. (40:44)

The account given above is a condensed translation of the exposition by the famous ‘arif ‘Abd al-Razzaq Kashani of the words of the perfect ‘arif Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari, and that which the Khwajah says is also substantially the same. However, I have reservations about considering tawakkul to be a branch of tafwid, and there is an obvious lack of rigor in regarding tafwid as being the more general of the two. Also, there is no reason to regard tawakkul as being subsequent to the cause, for tawakkul can be both antecedent as well as subsequent.

As to the words of the holy tradition,

فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللهِ بِتَفْوِيضِ ذَلِكَ إلَيْهِ

Possibly, since tawakkul is accompanied by viewing oneself as being in charge of one’s affairs - because in tawakkul one makes God one’s wakil in an affair that he deems as pertaining to himself - the Imam (A) wished to lift the questioner from the station of tawakkul to that of tafwid, making him understand that God Almighty is not your substitute and deputy in regard to the charge of your affairs; rather, He is the master of His own realm and the Lord of His own kingdom (to which you and your affairs belong). In Manazil al-sai’rin, the Khwajah has also pointed out this while discussing the third degree of tawakkul.

And as to thiqah (reliance), it is different from tawakkul and tafwid, as the Khwajah says:

الثِّقَةُ سَوَادُ عَيْنِ التَّوَكلُِّ وَنُقْطَةُ دَائِرَةِ التَّفْوِيضِ وَسُوَيْدَاءُ قَلْبِ التَّسْلِيمِ

Thiqah is the eye of tawakkul, the (moving) point of the circle of tafwid, and the inmost heart of taslim (surrender).4

That is, the three stations cannot be attained without thiqah. Rather thiqah on God Almighty is the soul of those stations, and the devotee cannot attain them without thiqah. This allows us to understand the Imam’s allusion to it, after the mention of tawakkul and tafwid, when he says:

ثِقْ فِيهَا وَفِي غَيْرِهَا

Notes

1. Usul al-Kafi (Akhundi), ii, 391, hadith 3.

2. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.

3. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.

4. Khwajah ‘Abd Allah al-’Ansari, Manazil al-sa’irin.