Sufficient is Allah

Reliance on the closest people in our families is the hallmark of humans. We are social animals. The interaction between people is required to keep our social engines running. We start building reliance on friends and family members. We accumulate wealth for our children that they can live a sober life. That they do not struggle as hard as we did. It is natural for us to rely on our resources to build a fort that protects our family’s future.

Allah however, mentions in Quran

And Allah is most knowing of your enemies; and sufficient is Allah as an ally, and sufficient is Allah as a helper.
- Surah Al Nisa verse 45

Does it mean we do not work ?

Yes. It means we do not go to work. We do not give time to our families. We do not move ourselves. It only means, we rely on Allah. This is the only absolute meaning of the verse.

But, it will lead to starvation, misery and poverty. The family system will start collapsing. We will not be able to build a fort to protect our future self. It is wrong to live a life where we only rely on Allah and we do not move ourselves.

Before making more assumptions, let us look at the way that Prophet (PBUH) has emboldened.

A man from Bani Israel asked someone from Bani Israel to give him a loan of one thousand Dinars and the later gave it to him. The debtor went on a voyage (when the time for the payment of the debt became due) but he did not find a boat, so he took a piece of wood and bored it and put 1000 diners in it and threw it into the sea. The creditor went out and took the piece of wood to his family to be used as fire-wood." (See Hadith No. 488 B, Vol. 3). And the Prophet PBUH narrated the narration (and said), “When he sawed the wood, he found his money.
- Sahih Bukhari Book 24, Hadith 99

Numerous questions arise from this hadith. I will try to enumerate them.

1. Did Bani Israel live a sober life?

Yes, there existed good muslims and scholars in the ummah of Musa (as). Some of these people committed grave mistakes, just like some muslims are committing grave mistakes. But they were living a life of normalcy, believing in God and His messenger.

2. How to repay the debt?

Even if we are stuck on an island and we do not find means to return the debt to the creditor, we should put our money in a wooden plank and throw it into the sea.

3. Will the creditor get the money?

Yes, he will get the money that we threw into the sea. He might come across our wooden plank the sea. He cuts it open and he might find his money.

4. Is it possible to throw 1000 Dinar (5 Lac PKR) into the river?

It is not possible. If we do it, we will be labelled weird and not-normal. Due to the fear of losing money and reputation, we might not make it to the ‘throwing’ part.

Then, why did Prophet (PBUH) narrate this hadith?

The only logical reasoning of Prophet PBUH’s telling a story is; he wanted us to act upon it. He asked us to move eyes closed, feet naked and hand-cuffed.

He wanted us to throw our money into the river if this is what means to follow Allah. Our money might not reach the creditor, but we will find Allah the moment we throw our wealth away from us.

Conclusion

There are a lot of verses and hadiths where God and His messengers ask us to fear the God and trust Him.

We human beings are logical creatures. We do not literary see the God before us. It is difficult for us to act upon these instructions. We need logical reasoning for every action.

We need to ask questions like;

Where is God?

Was Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) a sooth sayer, a magician or a massanger?

How do we believe Quran and all holy books are word of God?

Why do we live a life of sanity when we can live a life of fun?

What really is fun?

We need to ask these questions. Because the only way to finding Allah is walking on the path where Allah exists. He exists in our books, white boards, laboratories and science projects. He exists in light and not darkness.

The trust will only develop after we find Him. And the moment we find ”there exists a God”, it might become difficult for us to live a life of poverty. We will become bold, brave and confident. Our actions will have the back of God, we trust. It will become easier to live a life of fun and joy.