Trusting Allah is easy when there’s not much turbulence in life, when things are plain-sailing and there are few decisions to be made. It’s when we tread unchartered territory and toe the line of uncertainty that alarm bells blare at our lost sense of control.
Turning the page into a new chapter of my life – or a new novel, it feels – has set off many alarms for me – uncertainty, worry, apprehension, fear, anxiety. Moving homes, moving cities, moving comfort zones; upending routine, familiarity, and sanctuary; huge life changes occurring in quick succession like a line of tumbling dominoes.
When the tides change, and the wind quickens, and the boat begins to rock unnervingly, comfort and solace is found in practicing tawakkul. Tawakkul literally means to place one's affairs in the hands of another; it’s relinquishing control, relying wholly on Allah, and accepting His decree contentedly.
Tawakkul literally means to place one's affairs in the hands of another.
Decisions, decisions
Navigating the choppy waters of life often calls for hefty decisions to be made. It’s part and parcel of adulthood, often burdensome on indecisive, overthinking shoulders. Mankind, unlike other creation, has the ability to gather information, seek counsel, and make informed decisions, as mentioned in the Qur’an:
… consult with them in ˹conducting˺ matters. Once you make a decision, put your trust in Allah. Surely Allah loves those who trust in Him. (excerpt 3:159)
At the crossroads of life, when we’re faced with life-altering decisions, it’s easy to ruminate on decisions made, especially if things seem to be taking a turn for the worse. Yet drowning in regrets and if only’s is not the way of the believer:
… If anything (in the form of trouble) befalls you then do not say: if only I had done something else. Rather say: Allah has decreed what he wills. Verily, the phrase ‘if only’ opens the way for the work of Satan.”1
Trusting Allah in the aftermath of a decision is demonstrated through the blessed act of istikharah. The prayer provides much-needed reassurance. It is a humbling acknowledgement of mankind’s fallible nature, lack of foresight, and total dependence on the All-Knowing.
O Allah, I ask you for the best through Your knowledge, I seek strength through Your power, and I ask You from Your majestic benevolence. For You are fully able whilst I am not, You know everything whilst I do not know anything, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if in Your knowledge, this matter (specify the matter) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my ultimate destiny, then decree it for me and make it easy it for me, then bless it for me. But if in your knowledge, this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood and my ultimate destiny, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it and decree good for me wherever it may be, then make me pleased with it.
In this supplication we confide in Allah, admitting our utter helplessness and lack of knowledge. We admit that no amount of research and consultation we do can equal the vastness of His wisdom and foresight, and no matter how confident we may feel we still seek His assistance. And so we ask that if the decision we’ve made is in our best interests in the short and long-term, in every aspect of our worldly life and the hereafter – our relationships, finances, health, spirituality, and everything else – then open avenues for it and bless us in it.
And if, through our limited knowledge and inevitability to err, the decision we’ve made is not in our best interest in any way shape or form, then divert it from us and take our hearts away from it. Let it not occupy our thoughts, remove the longing for it from us, help us overcome our biases towards it, and grant clarity to our blurred, myopic understanding. Because the heart being attached to something that is not good for it is a heart distracted and unfocused from worshipping in the best manner, from being present and wholly reliant, from being accepting and receptive. It’s a heart that is waiting, and has thus lost sight of its true purpose.
Reciting this after making any decision, no matter how small, guarantees that Allah places goodness in it, either by allowing it to come to fruition or by diverting it. Isn’t it reassuring to know that if we follow this procedure, then there is, God willing, no such thing as a bad decision?
Recollections from a closed chapter
A photo-based recollection of a few memories from a recently closed chapter of my life.
A blanket of heathland crocheted with pink and purple – heather, ling, and gorse – swathes the land as far as the eye can see, on either side of a path often meandered by wild ponies.
Silver birch, oak, beech, and non-native redwood weave beneath forest floor, telling tales of history through age-old rings, and home to an invisible flurry of chirps.
The southern coastline reflects the sky, dazzlingly blue, bejewelled. Fine, golden sand sieves through toes, paws, fingers; lingers in beach bags and backseats inviting memories of easy, breezy days.
The sea, cold of course, laps at sun-calloused feet, offering up sea-beaten relics, each wildly unique and with a story of its own.
Pockets of palm trees and evergreen foliage lay backdrop to lolls in the park, book in hand, eyes drooping in the sunny haze.
Library windows greet a creased leather armchair, seating thinkers, readers, sleepers, writers, typers, deciders, and daydreamers.
Skylines, coastlines, and shorelines, cliff points and views for miles.
Sunset signals the end of a day, the end of a page, the end of a chapter.
Through our clarity and our confusion, may we all increase in tawakkul, ameen.
Five days till Ramadan!
In the lead up to Ramadan, I’ll be releasing a free E-book for women to harness their spirituality in harmony with their menstrual cycles. This short guide will provide simple, actionable tips on how to channel the strengths of each of the four phases into acts of worship, maximising spiritual output through Ramadan and beyond, inshaAllah.
By working cohesively with the body’s natural rhythm, we women can step into our feminine power and worship Allah from a place of relaxation and ease. Out soon! ✨
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