Allah (mighty and glorified is He) has said:

But no, by your Lord (O Muhammad!), they can have no faith until they make you the judge in their disputes then they find no hesitation in themselves about your decisions and accept them with full submission (4.65).

 

Or shall man have whatever he desires? (53.24) To Allah belongs the hereafter and the present [life]. (53.25)

 

Your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and He chooses [what He pleases]; they do not have the choice. Mighty and glorified is He above what they associate [with Him]. (28.68)

The Prophet (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him) has said: "The person who has truly experienced faith is one who has accepted Allah as the Lord, Islam as religion, and Muhammad as a Prophet." The Prophet (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him) has also said: "Worship Allah with satisfaction. If you cannot, then there is so much good in showing patience with what you dislike."

 

There are many other verses and Prophetic sayings that call, explicitly or implicitly and allusively, to the abandonment of seeking provision and resisting destiny.

 

The people of knowledge have also said: "The person who does not seek provision will be provided for." Shaikh Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhili (May Allah be pleased with him) has said: "If you have to seek provision, then seek not to seek provision!" He has also said: "Do not choose any of your affairs, and choose not to choose. Run away from what is chosen, your own escape, and everything to Allah (glorified is He): 'Your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and He chooses [what He pleases].’"

 

His words in the first verse above — "but no, by your Lord (O Muhammad!), they can have no faith until they make you the judge in their disputes then they find no hesitation in themselves about your decisions, and accept them with full submission" — prove that faith is earned only by the person who makes Allah and His Messenger (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him) the judge on himself, in word and deed; on what he takes and what he gives up; on what he loves and what he hates. This includes actions that have been delegated to the servant, and actions of divine dispensation and which require surrender. Obedience is a duty on the believer in both cases. Delegated actions are the commandments and prohibitions related to what the servants do. Actions of divine dispensation are what He sends your way and is against your desire. It is then clear from this that you can obtain true faith only by two: Obeying His orders and surrendering to His subduing.

 

Allah (mighty and glorified is He) did not only deny the faith of the person who does not make Him and the Messenger judge or one who takes them as judge but feels hesitation about His judgment. He also swore on that by His Lordship that is special to His Messenger (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him), showing kindness, caring, special treatment, and guardianship [toward the Messenger]. For He did not say “but no, by the Lord,” but He said “but no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you the judge of in their disputes.” This is confirmed in the oath and what is being sworn with, because He (mighty is He) knows what the souls are used to in terms of their love to be victorious and triumphant, regardless of whether it was in the right or in the wrong. This shows His caring for His Messenger (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him), making his judgment His own and his Verdict His own, and imposing on the servants submitting to his judgment and obeying his leadership. He would not accept their belief in His Lordship until they submit to the judgment of His Messenger (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him). That is because he is as His Lord described him: “He does not speak out of his own desire. (53.3) It is nothing but a revelation that is revealed. (53.4)” His judgment is Allah’s judgment, and his verdict is Allah’s verdict, as He said: “Verily, those who swear allegiance to you swear allegiance to Allah,” and He confirmed that by saying: “The hand of Allah is over their hands” (48.10).

 

This verse has another hint to his great status and the glorification of his standing (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him), which is His words: “But no, by your Lord,” linking Himself (glory be to Him) to him. This is what He also said in this other verse: “kaf, ha’, ya’, ‘ayn, sad. (19.1) This is the account of the mercy of your Lord [O Muhammad!] to His servant Zechariah. (19.2)” The True One (glory be to Him) linked His name to Muhammad (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him), and He linked Zechariah to Himself, so that the servant may know the difference between the two statuses and the contrast between the two ranks.

 

Furthermore, He did not demand only an external acceptance of the adjudication for them to become believers in Him, but He necessitated that they must have no hesitation about the judgment, i.e. have no discomfort in themselves about his judgments (May Allah send prayer and peace upon him), whether the judgment was with or against what they desired.

 

The souls feel discomfort because of the absence of light and the presence of darkness. This is where hesitation, which is the discomfort, comes from. The believers are not like that, because the light of faith has filled their hearts, so they have become embracing and at ease. Their hearts have become embracing by the light of the All-embracing One, relaxed by the presence of His great favor, prepared for the arrival of His judgments, and surrendered to Him in what He does and does not do.

Notes
[1] The Arabic term “Tadbir” — which is, admittedly, translated only roughly as “seeking provision” — refers to the state of when the person is too concerned about his affairs and overplans to secure what he wants to the extent of losing his reliance on God and resisting what God has chosen for him in favor of what he wants for himself.

Copyright © 2009 Translated by Louay Fatoohi
All Rights Reserved