It has been said: to remove one from the state of rubūbiyya (lordship) and bring to the state of ʿubūdiyya (servitude, being a servant) is the intended meaning.
Ibn Masrūk has said: tawakkul (reliance upon God) is to submit to Allah's decree (qaḍāʾ) and the flow of His judgments.
Sehl (al-Tustarī) said: The first maqām (spiritual station) in tawakkul is that the servant, in the presence of Allah, is not the ṣāḥib (master, agent) of movement and planning, but rather accepts whatever is done to him, being like a corpse in the hands of the washer (ghassāl).
When one of the Sufis was asked what tawakkul is, he replied: Even if you were to put your hand up to the wrist into the mouth of a dragon, you should not fear anyone other than Allah.
It has been said: ghinā (spiritual richness, or istiġnāʾ) and ʿizza (dignity) both roam about in the qalb (the heart) of the muʾmin (believer); if they find a place where tawakkul is present, they settle there. If they do not find a place where tawakkul is present, they depart from there. (Nabhānī, I, 326)
Tawakkul is to trust and rely upon the Creator without regard to created beings. To see Allah as al-Malik (the Sovereign) and al-Wahhāb (the Bestower) does not prevent one from taking means. Beware of immediately denying something whose secrets you do not understand. Whoever denies what he cannot attain is deprived of the blessing of what he already possesses. (Qawānīn, 86)
(See also: tadbīr; tafwīḍ-taslīm)