7 Practical Steps For Practicing Tawakul

Tawakul is often discussed as a theoretical concept. Most Muslims know that we need to have Tawakul (trust in Allah) but not many know how to do this.

Remember that Tawakul is an internal act of worship. It is something we do inside ourselves and we earn the pleasure of Allah for doing it. So it is very important to learn how to do this internal act of worship properly.

The following steps are taken from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Madaarij As-Salikeen, and reworded for an English audience.

1. Recognizing Allah’s Attributes

The first practical step to actualizing Tawakul is to recognize who Allah is.

He is in control of everything, so only He can grant you success.

The more deeper you understand Allah’s names and attributes, the easier it gets to have Tawakul in Him. Take time to learn the names and attributes of Allah, and reflect on them. This is the first step towards Tawakul.

2. Making an effort to attain your goals
The second step is to make an effort to attain your goal. The means (Asbaab) to attain goals are of two types: worldly and spiritual.

Worldly means refer to the things we have to do in this world to attain our goals. Most of us are aware of these and have no problem doing this.

However, many Muslims forget that there are also spiritual means that we need to use in order to attain our goals. These include establishing the five daily Salah, earning halal, eating halal, having noble intentions, and making dua for success.

3. Affirming Tawhid in one’s heart
The third step is to affirm Tawhid in one’s heart. To have no doubt in the existence and power of Allah. This means that you are convinced that Allah controls everything, only He can grant you success and nothing happens without His will.

4. Being at peace with Allah’s Will
Taking the previous step further, to gain Allah’s assistance we must be at peace with Allah.

We must have full trust that Allah, Whose treasures and power are limitless, will take care of us and never abandon us. Inner peace must enter our hearts because of these beliefs.

5. Thinking good thoughts (Husn Dhann) about Allah
Husn Dhann (Good Thoughts) is a forgotten Sunnah in our times. It is even more important when dealing with Allah.

A Muslim must always maintain positive thoughts about Allah. He must believe that whatever Allah wills for Him is best for Him. Husn Dhann here means trusting Allah to take care of the end result in the way that is best for your Deen and Dunya.

6. Dispelling doubts from the mind
Shaytaan will try to distract you with fear of failure, fear of poverty, and fear of humiliation. He will try to take you think ill of Allah. He may even sabotage your efforts.

You must remove each of these doubts by confronting them. As a doubt enters your mind, repel it with a positive thought.

7. Handing over the matter to Allah
The final step of Tawakul is called ‘Tafweedh‘ which means to hand over the matter entirely to Allah.

After having taking up the worldly and spiritual means, cleared one’s mind of negative thoughts, focused on positive thoughts, and accepting Allah’s will. The next step is to just leave the end result in Allah’s Hand.

There is nothing more you can do here than to leave it to Allah and trust Him. This will bring about hope and inner peace.

The alternative (worrying about the result) brings about fear and anxiety. In this way, Tawakul is the solution to anxiety.

Regardless of whether the end result was in your favor or not, a believer must at the very least, accept Allah’s Will.

But to reach the higher levels of Imaan, one should be pleased with Allah’s will. This step is extremely hard, especially if the result is negative or tragic.

The secret to a content life is to work hard with firm Tawakul every single day. And to end each day with being happy with what Allah has destined for you for that day. Repeat daily to live a life of Tawakul.

Check out our History of Islam online course. On sale here: https://islamicselfhelp.gumroad.com/l/history1/2022