How can I know whether I have taken sufficient measures, so that I may feel that I have done all that I can, and now I can put my trust in Allah with peace of mind? In other words, what are the guidelines on taking means and measures? Some people say for example, “Tie it up and put your trust in Allah.” Does that mean that the appropriate measure is to tie it up in iron chains, or is this going to extremes in taking appropriate measures?
Praise
be to Allah
Taking measures
and means is not contrary to putting one’s trust in Allah; rather this is
something that is enjoined in Islamic teaching, whilst believing that harm
and benefit are in the hand of Allah alone, may He be glorified, and that it
is He who creates the means and the ends (or cause and effect).
It is essential
that there be a real connection between the means and the end (or the cause
and the effect), which may be learned from experience, through repetition,
from religious texts, and the like.
Moreover, the
means or cause must be something that is permissible in Islam, so a
praiseworthy and permissible end can only be achieved through means that are
permissible and allowed according to Islamic teachings.
Moreover, a
person’s approach should be moderate and fall between the two extremes. So
he should not neglect appropriate measures altogether, nor should his heart
be unduly attached to them. Rather he may take these measures as other
people do in their day-to-day lives, then his heart should not be attached
to the measures that he has taken; rather his heart should be attached to
the Creator, may He be glorified and exalted, the Sovereign and Controller
of all things.
Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Focusing on the
means or causes means that the heart relies on that measure and the
individual pins his hopes on it and depends on it emotionally, and no
created thing deserves that type of attachment or reliance, because it is
not independent and does not stand alone; rather there will inevitably be
other things that help in that or oppose it. Moreover, if the Creator of
measures and causes does not allow them to lead to the (desired) effect, the
measures will be to no avail.
End quote from
Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (8/169).
As for the
guidelines on taking measures, that varies from one issue to another. Taking
measures to deal with mild sickness, for example, is not like taking
measures to deal with severe sickness. Taking measures to protect or
preserve a valuable and precious item is not like taking measures to protect
or preserve an item of little value, and so on.
Taking measures
to seek provision is different from taking measures to treat sickness, and
taking measures to obtain food and drink is different from taking measures
to have a child, bring him up to be righteous and educate him. Thus the
measures for anything depend on what it is. As for the guideline on
distinguishing between the one who is heedless and negligent and the one who
is smart and prudent varies from one issue or situation to another. This is
something that people may learn from their own experience and from studying
their environment.
See the answers
to questions no. 11749 and
130499.
And Allah knows
best .
