“Say, ‘Have you considered those you call upon besides Allah? If Allah intended me harm, could they remove His harm; or if He intended me mercy, could they withhold His mercy?’ … up to His words, ‘Say: ḥasbi Allah (Allah is sufficient for me); upon Him let those who rely place their trust’” (al-Zumar 39:38).
Allah mentions this expression—ḥasbi Allah—at times when seeking to obtain benefit and at other times when seeking to ward off harm.
- In the context of acquiring benefit He says (al-Tawbah 9:59): “If only they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them and had said, ‘ḥasbunā Allah (Allah is sufficient for us); Allah will give us out of His bounty, and so will His Messenger…’”
- In the context of repelling harm He says (Āl ʿImrān 3:173): “Those to whom the people said, ‘The people have gathered against you, so fear them,’ but it only increased them in faith and they said, ‘ḥasbunā Allah, and He is the best Guardian.’”
Likewise He says (al-Anfāl 8:62): “But if they seek to deceive you, then ḥasbuka Allah (Allah is sufficient for you).”
The verse in al-Tawbah just cited contains a directive to be content and to rely on Allah, for contentment (riḍā) and reliance (tawakkul) enclose the decreed matter: tawakkul comes before it occurs, and riḍā follows once it has taken place.
For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say in his prayer:
“O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, grant me life as long as You know that life is good for me, and cause me to die when You know that death is better for me. O Allah, I ask You to grant me fear of You in private and in public; I ask You to enable me to speak the truth in anger and in satisfaction; I ask You for moderation in poverty and in wealth; I ask You for everlasting bliss; I ask You for uninterrupted joy of the eye. O Allah, I ask You for contentment after the decree has come to pass; I ask You for a life of cool tranquillity after death; I ask You for the delight of gazing upon Your Face and the longing to meet You, without any harmful distress or misleading trial. O Allah, adorn us with the adornment of faith and make us guides who are rightly guided.”
Reported by Aḥmad and al-Nasāʾī from the hadith of ʿAmmār ibn Yāsir.
What precedes the decree is merely a firm resolve to be content, not the reality of contentment itself. Thus some of the shaykhs would resolve to be content before a calamity struck, yet when it actually came their resolve slackened—just as the same may occur with patience and other virtues.
Allah the Exalted says (Āl ʿImrān 3:143): “You had wished for death before you met it, but now you have seen it before your very eyes.”
And He says (al-Ṣaff 61:2-4): “O you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? It is most hateful in Allah’s sight that you say what you do not do. Truly Allah loves those who fight in His cause in ranks, as though they were a solidly built structure.”
This verse was revealed when they said, “If only we knew which deed is most beloved to Allah, we would do it,” whereupon Allah revealed the verses concerning jihād. Some welcomed it, while others were averse.
For this reason it is disliked for a person to expose himself to tribulation by binding himself—through vows, pledges, and the like—to something the Lawgiver has not made obligatory, or by seeking public office, or by entering a land in which plague is present. It has been authentically reported in both Ṣaḥīḥs through several chains that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade vows, saying: “They do not bring about any good; they are only extracted from the stingy.” It is likewise established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs that he said to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Samurah