HAMKA'S DOCTRINE OF TAWAKKUL (TRUST IN GOD) By Nur Hadi Ihsan, MIRKH.* ne of the most important as well as among the highest stations (magamat) of the travellers on the Path (salik) is the station of tmoakkul, Hamka writes that tavakkulis a natu- ral consequence of faith and that the latter demands the former. It is impossible to be faithful without depending on God and trust- ing in Him. God in His absoluteness is the sole Creator, and, therefore, man has to de- pend completely on Him.! This view could be well understood in the light of al-Ghazali's conception of the relationship between tawhid and fawakkul. Al?Ghazali maintains that tacoakkul is a matter of faith in the Unity of God (tahiid). He classifies the believers in the Unity of God into four grades. The first, those who deciare the Unity of God with their tongue but their hearts believe not. It is like the fawhid of the hy pocrites. The second, those whose hearts believe in the truth of what they affirm. Itis the tawhid of common people. The third, those who believe that, based on kashif (intuition) by means of inner self, all things come from God and Hes the only cause of all that exists. This is the stage of those are near to God. The fourth, those who believe noth- ing exists except God. This is the stage of the 10 Kalimah, Vol. 2 No. 2 Oktober 2003 truly sincere (al-siddiqun), and Sufis call it al- ‘fana fi al-tawhid? Al-Ghazali compares the first two grades to a rind of coconut; the first is like the outer rind and the second is like the inner rind, The third grade is like the kernel, while the fourth is like the kernel (oil) of the kernel. According to al-Ghazali, the first two grades cannot breed the state of trust in God (tawakkul), for the first or the lowest grade is not absolve from hypocrisy, while the second grade is the faith of common Muslim which is based on an authority and tradition. Trust in God is attainable in the third stage of tawhid; it is the belief that there is no god but Allah. He is the Sole Creator of all that exists or can exist, He is without partner, and to Him alone all things depend on. When such tawhid is firmly established, it will produce the state of tawakkul? It is this stage of faith, and not the first nor the second, Hamka says, which necessarily produces tawukku!, Thus, tawakkul is the natural outcome of faith, and itis inconceivable that such faith in the Unity of God on the basis of thought, intuition and experience will not breed imwakkul. Hamka's doctrine of tawakkul, as we shall see, is based on revelation and the prac- tice of Companions. When Hamka interprets the Qur'anic verse: "Consult them in affairs. ‘Then, when you hast taken a decision put thy trustin Allah, For Allah loves those whoput their trust (in Him)."! -he says that the principal thing in this verse is that in the con- text of trust in God, that is when we have firm willand have made decision, we must never retreat and never give up, we must, instead, keep going forward and then self?surrender to God. For, by depending on God, we will always keep in the mind that there are as many things out of our consideration as those beyond our control. As human being, we have to do everything at our best, but we must be- lieve that there is the highest and the abso- lute power above our power and knowledge. Itis He who is the real Disposer.* By virtue of entrusting everything to God and recognising that He is the sole Disposer and the sole Ac- tor, we will not be let down easily sorry if fail to get thing we desire, and not be proud ei- ther if we are granted thing we wish. With regard to the Prophetic Tradition, Hamka writes that the Prophet rebuked at- titude of a Bedouin who took it for granted that God will take care of his camel and left ituntied up, the Prophet advised him:"First tie up your camel's leg and then trust in God." The Prophet also said pertaining to prevention from disease: "Flee away from leprosy, like you flee away from ferocious ti- ger,’ and regarding the treatment of disease he, for example, said:'Oh servant of God, take medicine as God Most Glory and Most Lofty created disease and also created its cure, ex- cept old age (has no medicine)."* In addition, Hamka also makes use of the practice of Companions to formulate his doctrine of tawakkul.” It is reported that the Caliph “Umar ibn Khattab with other Com- panions went to Damascus. When they ar- rived at Jabiyah, a village in Damascus, news reached them that plaque (ta'un) broke outin Damascus, and thousands of people died of the disease, Learning the news, they were split into two groups. One said that it is bet- ter not to enter the City to avoid evil and the other purpoted that itis better to enter the City, for sickness and happiness, and life and death are depending upon God's decree. "We trustin God and we shall not flee away from His decree," they said. Because of this dis- agreement among the Companions, they went to the Caliph “Umar asking his opin- ion. ‘Umar said: "We shall return, and shall not face the epidemic." Abu ‘Ubaidah who headed the second group said: "Shall we flee away from the decree of God?" ‘Umar an- swered: "Yes, we shall flee away from the decree of God and return to the decree of God." The latter, then, mentioned an illus- tration: What do you think, if you have sheep and two grazing areas for them, one is full of grass and the other dry? Isn't it also within the decree of God to tend the sheep in the field that is full of grass? They (the second group) said:"Yes both are within the decree of God." "Then," ‘Umar asked, "in which area you will tend your sheep ?" "Of course in the field that is full of grass," they said. "Even though (this is the true), we should wait for “Abd al?Rahman ibn “Awf, he might have other opinion," said “Umar, Inthe morning, “Abd al-Rahman came and “Umar asked his opinion about the mat- ter. The former said: "Oh Commander of the Faithful (Amir al-Mu'minin), Lheard the Mes- senger of God said about it." “Umar ex claimed of joy: "God The Greatest". “Abd al?Rahman said: "I heard the Messenger of God said: "When you hear about epidemic broke out in a city, don't come to the city. If you are in the city, don't go out of it.’ ‘Umar became very pleased on hearing the saying of the Prophet for his opinion is supported by Hadith. This event indicates that the Companions of the Prophetagreed that to pre- Hamka's Doctrine of Tawakkul (Nur Hadi Ihsan, MIRKH.) 10 - 15 1vent oneself from disease is also a kind of tawakkul. Starting from this point of view, Hamka writes that tawakkul is to entrust the result of all matters and efforts to God, the Lord of the world. For He is the all?Powerful, He alone has the highest and the absolute dominance, and He is the sole decision Maker." Tazwakkul is to self?surrender and not to stand idle. It must be with effort, and itis, therefore, a great mistake to hold that tawakkul means abandon- ment of all actions.” On this point al-Ghazali writes that it is the conjecture of the fools to think that the meaning of tawakkul is to withdraw from earning, to stand idle, and to lie upon the ground like thrown plank or like meat on a wood. This kind of tawakkul is unlawful in Shari’ah which praises who puts his trust in God. There are actions the execution of which does not exclude one from the prac- tice of tawakkul. Al-Ghazali notes that the action of man are not outside the following four classifications: actions to gain useful thing which is not in one's possession, ac- tions to look after profitable thing which is already possessed, actions to guard against the harm thing which has not yet come, and actions to remove an impending harm." As far as an action is in accordance with the natural law of God (Sunnah Allah), the de- pendence is only upon none other than God Himself, and the means adopted are of natu- raland reasonably necessary, itis not against the principle of tawakkul.© Hamka's works evince how such pat- tern of al-Ghazali's thought on the issue runs smoothly in the former's elaboration of the doctrine of tawakkul. Even though Hamka does not classify actions in relation to tawakkul into various types, as al-Ghazali does, it is clear that none of examples he draws in this question falls outside al- Ghazali's four types of actions, and even those examples and the elaboration of the doctrine itself are, as we shall see, to large extent al-Ghazalian. The following are among actions which, if they are done by Muslim, will not exclude him from practising tawakkul, and, if they are abandoned will, Hamka says, surely go against the doctrine of fawakkul. 1. Earning livelihood and keeping one- self away from poverty, whether the pov- erty that will, may, or perhaps befall him." This represents the first type of action in re- lation to tawakkul in al-Ghazali's classifica- tion.” 2. The action of locking house at night or before leaving it, locking chicken coop, and driving buffaloes into their stable when the day begins to get dark are not against the teaching of tawakku!. They are taken in order to take care of things we have already possessed and to protect them from evils. It is true that the key will not do and cannot avert fate except when God permits. However, we must not depend on fate save after exerting necessary efforts; for by so doing we will have acted against the law of God (Sunnait Allali). The law of God is that a man should exert his effort as far as he can, but ought not to depend but on God. The pivotal thing in all acts is, therefore, always to bear in the mind that the key possesses no power; itis only a means of effort.* According to Hamka, one who locks his chicken coop, to prevent civet cat from preying on the chicken, and lock his house to protect it from thieves, is practising the teaching of tawakkul, and is the true mutawoakkil (who trusts in God); theoretically and practically.” 3. In the situation of war, God com- mands us to take up arms to defend our- selves against enemy. Necessary and reason- able arms must be taken into consideration. It 12 Kalimah, Vol. 2 No. 2 Oktober 2003isegainst the principle of tawakkul to take up only a knife or machete against such sophis- ticated arms as bayonets and machine guns. For, according to the law of God, a knife or a machete will not do against machine gun which can spew about 500 bullets within a minute.” 4, To take medicine is also not opposed to tawakkul and it does not indicate denial of fate and the will of God either. The Prophet himself did it. He said:"There is no disease that Allah has created except that He also has created its treatment." In an other Hadith, the Prophet said: "Oh servant of God, take medicine as God Most Glory and Most Lofty created disease and also created its cure, except old age (has not medicine)."2 The Prophet ordered, in many occasions, his Companions to undergo treatment for dis- ease. When “Ali ibn Abi Talib was once suf- fering from pain in his eye, the Prophet for- bade him to eating currant and ordered him to take egg cooked with porridge. The Prophet also paid attention to various kinds of taboos and restrictions of meal for certain disease. He himself used to apply blacken- ing to his eyelids, to bleed, and to take medi- cine.* All these actions are not against the teaching of tawakkul, provided that in so do- ing one always keeps his faith not in the means but in Allah. Hamka also deals with the question of how to face danger that comes from fellow human being or from the beast and still keeping in the state of fawakkul in the mean- time. There are three ways to be up against danger of man: to keep patience with the danger, to avoid it, or to ward off it. Hamka considers the first way as the highest in re- lation to tawakkul. God said: "Take Him, therefore, for (thy) Disposer of affairs. And have patience with what they say." If one cannot bear the danger with patience, he may avoid it, and if he still carmot do so he may resort to the lowest way, that is to repel it. However, when there is no other way except to ward off the danger and oneis reluctant to act accordingly, it could no longer be called tawakkul, but rather, itis staying in vain.* With respect to evil that come from fero- cious beast, Hamka says that itis opposed to the teaching of tawakkul, and is an idle act, to remain patient when we are about, for ex- ample, to be bitten by snake or to be pounced on by ferocious beast. How to Face Tria Hamika relates the doctrine of tawwakkul (trust in God) with the doctrine of sabr (pa- tience) and the doctrine of shukr (gratitude). To express gratitude if the thing we desire is achieved, to remain patient if the result of our action has not yet meet our expectation, and be sincere to self-surrender to God. The one who acts in this way will always be given the blessing of God.” Tawakkul involves patientendurance of suffering and perseverance in the acceptance of afflictions and trials. But, how can one bear such thing? Following in the footsteps of al-Ghazali®, Hamka says thatthere are two reasons why such attitude is not impossible; love for God (al-Inubb fi -Lali) and full devo- tion of attention and concentration to Him (tawajjuh liliah). To one who puts his trust in God, evil, however big it is, will do nothing to him, for his attention is fully concentrated on God. This question can be reasonably exemplified as follows: 1, Soldier in the battle field, due to his concentration in fighting the enemy, is nor- mally unaware of and often does not realise his wounds, thoiigh he sees the wounded part of his body is bleeding. This is so because his attention is fully paid to fighting 2. The one who engages his mind in a serious thinking, whose whole aitention is Hamka's Doctrine of Tawakku! (Nur Hadi thsan, MIRKH.) 10 - 15 18devoted to the matter he is thinking about, is normally unmindful to his surroundings and would not respond to other's greeting. It is not because he is deaf, but because his is so fully absorbed in his thought that he does not realise what is going on around him.” The same is the case of one who is in- toxicated with love; he is eager to meet with his beloved, and his thought and act are con- centrated on the beloved. He does not take care of whatever thing happens to him, not endurance and evil either. If such thing could happen in that kind of endurance and evil, and in relation to such love of ordinary fellow human being, then, how thing would go if the lover is one of great soul and the beloved is the Almighty ? This kind of love, Hamka says, is truly inef- fable. Only he who tastes knows, it is a mat- ter of experience. The beauty of Divine Pres- ence (al-hadrah al-Rububiyah) encompasses all kinds and aspects of beauty and love. When. mind is fully engaged in the love for God, it cannot grasp any other thing in the mean- time. Nor can it feel other thing, whatever it is, except the Beloved. This is the true and the highest love. It is reported that the wife of Fath al?Musalli, who was a well-known Sufi, as her husband was, once had her foot bumped. against stone and her front nails crushed. Amazingly, she did not moan and, instead, she burst into laughter. She was, then, asked:"Don't you feel pain?" "Pain?...No at all" she replied. "The taste of reward per- vaded my heart, removed from my foot the severity of pain," she continued.” Sahl al-Tustari was also reported to have suffered from a disease the cure of which he is familiar with as he used to treat others. But, he did not treat himself and left the disease uncured. When he was asked:"Why don't you treat your own disease sooner?" He said:"If I treat it sooner, 1am afraid that it will be cured sooner. For I be- Yeve that itisthepinc ofm y bye” Those people choose to live in hardship and austerity because they expect the greater happiness in return. In many cases, they, even, ask for trial, calamity, and adversity from God, in order that they may express more and more gratitude to Him. They feel certain that the reward from God is far better than thatendurance and hardship they bear. They yearn to meet with God, and His promise is, surely coming. God says: "For those whose hope are in the meeting with Allah (in the Hereafter, let them strive); for the Term (ap- pointed) by Allah is surely coming."* Conclusion Inthe view of Hamka, tawakkul is anatu- ral outcome of true faith (fawhid), and itis in- conceivable that the true faith in the Oneness of God on the basis of thought, intuition, and experience will not produce the state of iawakkul. Hamka believes that tawakkul is to entrust the result of all matters and efforts to God and to self-surrender to Him. Tawakkul involves patient endurance of suffering and perseverance in the acceptance of affliction and trials. This, however, does not mean that to practice fawakkul is to stand idle, abandon necessary actions, or withdraw from earning, it must be with effort. Hamka relates the doc- trine of fawwakkul with the doctrine of sabr (pa- tience) and Shukr (gratitude), thatis tu remain patience if the result of an action does not yet meet expectation, to express gratitude if the thing desired is attained, and be sincere to self-surrender to God. Wallahu a° lam bi al- shawab. 14 Kalimah, Vol. 2 No. 2 Oktober 2Endnotes ‘Hama, Tafsir al-Azhar, vol. lV, 975. Among the earliest elaboration ofthe relationship between the doctrine of tawakkul and the doctrine of tawhid in Sufism is found in the saying of Shagig of Balkh ‘who elucidated the point in the following passage. There are three things which a man is bound to practise. The negligence of any one of them leads to the negligence of all by necessary, and the cleavage to any one of them must needs the cleavage of them all. Firstly, to declare with mind, tongue and actions that God is One, He is the Giver of benefit or harm, and to Him alone all actions, thought and speech are devoted. Secondly, while acting, thinking and speaking in the sincere belief that there is no God except Him, trust must be more in Him than in the world or any other thing on the face of the earth Thirdly, when the sincere belief in the Unity of God and trust in Him are fimly established, itis necessary to be satisfied with Him and not to be angry on account of any vexatious thing, and to beware of anger and to keep the heart to be always with Him and let it not be withdrawn from Him for a single moment (see, Nicholson, The Mystics of Islam, 42-3). ? Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, /hya’ “ulum al-din, vol. IV, 245. 2 Ibid, 247. “Qur'an, 3.189 5 Hamka, Tafsir al-Azhar, vol. IV, 972. ° bid. 7 Transmitted by al-Tirmidhi (see, Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn Sawarah al-Tirmidhi, Sunan al- Tirmidhi, ed. Ibrahim “Atwah “Awad (Istanbul: Cagri Yayinlari, 1981), vol. IV, 660, Hadith no. 2517. *Hamka, Tasauf Moderen, 245. *Transmitted by al-Tirmmidhi, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, vol. 1V, 383, Hadith no, 2038 ‘Haka, Tasauf Moderen, 24527. Ibid,, 242 and Tafsir al-Azhar, vol. IV, 972. }?Hamka, Tafsir al-Azhar, vol. 1V, 975 1° ALGhazall, Ihya’ “ulum al-din, vol. IV, 265. See, Ibid, Ibid, 265-268. *Hamka, Tasauf Moderen, 242. ¥ See, atGhazall, Ihya’ “ulum al-din, vol. IV, 265. ? Hamka, Tasauf Moderen, 244. ” Ibid. ® Ibid, 243. ® Transmitted oy al-Bukhari (see, al-Bukhari, Sahin al-Bukhari t, Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Lahore: Kazi Publications, 4th revised edition 1979), vol. 7, 395, in "the Book of Medicine", Hadith no. 582 ® Transmitted by a-Tirmidhi (see note no. 4 page 86 of this work) ® Hamka, Tasauf Moderen, 247-8. ™ Quran, 73: 9-10. 2 Hama, Tasauf Moderen, 242 ® ibid. 243. ® Hamka, Tafsir al-Azhar, vol. IV, 973 ® See, alGhazali, /hya’ “ulum al-din, vol. IV, 347-8. = Hamka, Tasauf Moderen, 249, ® ibid, 260. bid, Al-Ghazali maintains that itis improper to give up medicine in all circumstances. He, however, notes that there are many saints did not undergo treatment for their disease. They might have done so by different motives: (1) they might have come to know by dream, strong imagination, or by kashf that their death was approaching and no medicine will be useful at that time. ‘Abu Bakr had given up medicine for this reason. (2) they might have been engaged in the thought of God that they forget the ache of their disease and had no time to treat it, Abu Darda’ was more worried about his sins than the pain of his body. He said:"! am complaining of my sins.” (3) the disease might have become chronic and would no be able to be cured by any medicine. Rabi’ ibn Khuthaim said:"I remember the “Ad and Thamud tribes, there were physicians among them but they also perished with their patients.” (4) they might intentionally give up medicine and keep themseives illo get far better rewards for their patience with the trial of God, or they wanted to, try their strength to be patient. Sahl al?Tustari said"Physical disease is mercy and mental d'seace is punishment.” (5) they believe that sins are compensated by disease. It is said in the tradition:"The fever of one day is atonement for the sin of one year.” (6) they think, that continual sound health may produce greed, pride and other evils which leads to forget God Its reported that Ammar ibn Yasir married a woman, when he knew that the woman never fell il, he divorced her. See, Al- Ghazaii, thya’ “ulum al-din, vol. 1V, 28779. » Qur'an, 29:5, * Nur Hadi Ihsan, MIRKH. : Dosen tetap dan Dekan Fakultas Ushuluddin ISTD, PMG. serta peserta program doctoral pada UM, KL Malaysia. Hamka's Doctrine of Tawakkul (Nur Hadi thsan, MIRKH.) 10 - 15 15