In ‘Something or Other’ We Trust.

Something or other? Something or other?! Alright. I’ll play along for the time being, but let me tell you that our propensity for self-deception has reached new heights (or depths). In any case, while this article is not about the Pandemic, I first, briefly, want to mention something about the Prophet’s teachings, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, regarding dealing with contagious diseases.

When reconciling reports where the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, states that contagious diseases cannot independently harm (“There is no transmission of infectious disease and no bird omens…”) and other reports where he directs Muslims to take measures against the spread of contagious diseases, scholars have stated the following: In the reports where the Prophet, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, stated that contagious diseases had no intrinsic ability to spread or to do harm, he was addressing a people who were still new to Islam and, therefore, still needed this fundamental aspect of Tawheed to be more thoroughly established in their hearts. The idea that any harm and benefit cannot come about except if Allah wills them into existence is a fundamental facet of Tawheed and has enormous implications for Eman. In fact, Tawakkul - or to depend on Allah and put one’s faith and trust in Allah - is one of the clearest indicators of Eman.

Once this principle was established, it then became safe to prescribe the material means of preventing the spread of infectious diseases, as these means would now be seen as mere means, and not independent protectors against contagion. To believe that anyone or anything other than Allah is independently capable of bringing about benefit or harm is, of course, Shirk. 

Conversely, Tawakkul is one of the most important demonstrations of Tawheed. For this reason, the command to adopt Tawakkul is clear in the Quran, and so too is the relationship between Tawakkul and Eman.

وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

And let your trust be in Allah, if you are indeed Believers. (Al-Maa’idah, 23)

Now to the point. For almost three years, we have told ourselves and others that masks, disinfectants, social distancing, lockdowns, travel bans, and every other measure we’ve taken to protect ourselves during this pandemic were all nothing more than a means by which we were protecting ourselves. “Of course it is Allah who protects and of course we put our trust in Him, alone, to protect us,'' we defensively declared, “but we’ve been commanded to make use of the material means and take measures to protect ourselves,” we would regurgitate. “It is sinful to not take such precautions!” we would warn others - as though every time we wore a mask it was with the conscious intention of protecting ourselves against Allah’s wrath!

Of course, this articulated position was entirely true. But coming from us, it was also perhaps one of the most unabashed lies that we, as Muslims, have collectively told in recent times. 

Where, for instance, is this firmness of conviction in Allah’s power and promise when we hold on to jobs that we know to be unlawful? Where is our Tawakkul when we deal in interest, take out a mortgage, sell cigarettes, sell alcohol, sell meat or chicken that is not Halal, sell lottery tickets and sell anything else we know to be unequivocally Haraam? Where is our self-proclaimed Tawakkul when we give bribes to close a deal or get this job done or that matter taken care of? Where is the Tawakkul when a Muslim man decides against growing his beard, or when a Muslim woman decides against wearing her Hijab because it will lessen the chances of being accepted at ‘that institution’ or being hired at ‘that company’? Where is it when we decide against speaking up and being clear when asked by non-Muslims about an Islamic ruling that goes against liberal fascism or secular totalitarianism?

Where is our Tawakkul in these situations? The truth, of course, is that it has dissolved into a sea of false pretexts and concocted excuses that attempt to explain why our sins and violations are neither sins nor violations, and why our cowardice is not really cowardice but, rather, ‘sound judgment’, ‘prudence’ and ‘reason’. Or perhaps our Tawakkul has drowned in a swamp of corrupt Fatwas that we pick out to justify our actions and to describe as permissible what we know to be unequivocally impermissible. Almost everywhere on the planet, and even as they engage in the kind of jobs and activities I’ve just listed, scores of Muslims will tell you that their face masks, face shields, gloves and physical distancing measures are nothing more than a mere means (Asbaab) of protection and that their faith in Allah is firm. 

Selective Tawakkul cannot be reasonable. It is true that Tawakkul is a product of Eman, and that Eman increases and decreases, but the idea that a person can apply complete Eman in one situation but cannot find an ounce of it in another does not make sense. The Tawakkul we claim to have is, at best, severely compromised. The material means of protecting against something or achieving something have displaced Allah in our hearts and - whether we acknowledge it or not - those means are the deity that we believe in. This article is not the place to discuss how Secularism’s materialism is the leading contemporary cause of our eroding belief in Allah, but for the time being, let it at least be known that that is true. 

To dethrone the Pagan materialism that exists within our hearts is absolutely necessary and something we need to work on by day and by night. A thorough contemplation of how past nations were destroyed at the height of their material strength and at how many times Eman has overpowered and obliterated the Pagan god of Materialism throughout history and in contemporary times is an important step towards that objective. It is also important to see how many times we, ourselves, have been deluded by the promise of material means and led to choices that brought us regret and misery. Let us consider how many times the Nafs and the Shaytaan misled us into believing that such means would bring us gain and benefit when, in fact, they brought us nothing but loss and harm whenever we chose them over Allah’s promise. Clearly, the proofs against a materialistic view of the world are omnipresent, but a sighted person will not see them if their heart is blind.