ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · ÜÇÜNCÜ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL · Dördüncü Madde
**Fourth Article**
Concerning the limits, reality, and wisdom of necessity for complete trust (tawakkul).
O esteemed one! Know that the friends of Allah have said: The term *tawakkul* is derived from the root “agency” (*wikalah*) and has been incorporated into the verbal form "tafa'ala" to become *tawakkul*. To entrust someone with *tawakkul* means to accept them as an agent in carrying out their affairs and guiding their path. This agent performs the task without receiving any command from the principal and without leaving room for carefulness in following how it is done.
Some have defined *tawakkul* as: “Cutting off hope from all things other than Allah and placing trust only in Him.”
Others have said: "Trust (tawakkul) is attaching the heart to no one but Allah when performing actions, and being content with Him alone." Still others have said: "Trust is abandoning reliance on means. For relying on means implies that the continuation of the body's existence depends upon someone other than Allah.”
A perfect person has said: “Trust is realizing that the continuation of the body’s existence, the prevention of harm to it, and the provision of sufficient sustenance do not depend on any person or thing, but solely on Allah, and that the heart knows this and finds contentment in it. After that, if Allah wills, He may appoint someone or something as a means for you. Or, without means or intermediaries, He suffices you through His own power. Know this and believe it with your heart. Cut off all expectation from all created beings and every means whatsoever. Find only Allah as the true originator of effect. Thus, you will have attained the perfection of trust. Become an intimate friend of God (arif-i billah) and remain solely with Him.”
The fortress and cause of *tawakkul* is continuous remembrance (*dhikr*). The inner fortress within that fortress is to realize the majesty and perfection of Allah’s knowledge and power, to know that He is free from forgetfulness and weakness through reflection (*tafakkur*) and purification of the heart (*tazkiyah*). Indeed, attending to this constant *dhikr* and *tafakkur* is the cause of complete trust in sustenance.
The sustenance of servants has been divided into four categories:
1. Assured Sustenance (*Rizq-i Mazmūn*)
2. Portioned Sustenance (*Rizq-i Maqsūm*)
3. Entrusted Sustenance (*Rizq-i Mamlūk*)
4. Promised Sustenance (*Rizq-i Maw’ūd*)
**Assured Sustenance (*Rizq-i Mazmūn*)**:
The strength of the body and the nourishment of the organism, water and earth – these are not due to other causes but are themselves. Allah is Himself the guarantor of this type of sustenance. It is only in return for this sustenance that trust (tawakkul) is obligatory, and its obligation is established by rational and scriptural evidence. For Allah has commanded us to perform obedience and servitude to Him through these very bodies of ours. In order to fulfill the responsibilities He has imposed upon us, He has guaranteed us a sustenance sufficient to prevent our bodies from weakening. His assumption of responsibility for the sustenance of servants has elevated it to an obligatory degree for three reasons.
First, Allah is the Lord (*Mawlā*) and we are His servants. This requires that Allah provide his servant with sufficient sustenance, and that the servant fulfill the duties commanded by his Lord. Second, Allah created His servants in need of sustenance and guided them to ask it from Him. For He did not reveal to them what their sustenance is, but rather withheld this knowledge so they may seek it out at the right time and place, knowing where, how, and when to acquire it. Therefore, the wisdom requires that He provide them with their sustenance. Third, Allah has imposed upon His servants the responsibility of servitude. But the request for sustenance is included within the act of servitude commanded to the servants. Thus, the wisdom requires that Allah assume responsibility for the sustenance of His servants, so that they may have the opportunity to fulfill the servitude for which they are obligated and be prepared for it. Surely nothing is obligatory upon Allah, but He is the guarantor of the sustenance as determined by His wisdom.
**Portioned Sustenance (*Rizq-i Maqsūm*)**:
Allah has apportioned it to His servants and written it in the Preserved Tablet (*Lawh al-Mahfūz*). Everyone receives their allotted portion of this sustenance, at its appointed time, eating, drinking, and wearing it. This sustenance does not exceed nor fall short of what is written on the Preserved Tablet. It neither arrives before its time nor is delayed beyond it. As stated in a hadith: “Sustenance has been apportioned; it does not increase with piety as much as it decreases with wickedness.”
**Entrusted Sustenance (*Rizq-i Mamlūk*)**:
Allah has entrusted it to the command of His servants. A person may possess any object from worldly possessions, up to the measure and amount that is decreed and written for him. As Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: “Spend out of what We have provided you.” (Hypocrites 63/10), thereby announcing this entrusted sustenance.
**Promised Sustenance (*Rizq-i Maw’ūd*)**:
Allah has promised to give it to His pious servants, on the condition that they be mindful and abstain from forbidden things and transgress not the limits of religion. As the Holy Qur'an says: “Whoever fears Allah and avoids sinful excesses, He will remove his anxieties and provide for him from a source he could never expect.” (Talak 65/3), thereby announcing promised sustenance to us.
These are the four types of sustenance. However, it is not possible to request the sustenance that is assured (*rizq-i mazmūn*) which is necessary for food and the existence of the body, as explained above. For this is part of Allah’s actions upon His servants, such as life, death, and illness. It is neither possible for a servant to know it and obtain it, nor to eliminate it.
It is not necessary for a servant to request the apportioned sustenance (*rizq-i maqsūm*), which is one of the causes of his life’s continuation. For the servant has no need for it.
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