Faith in Divine Providence

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is an adapted extract of Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali’s (r.a.) Ayyuha al-Walad.  When Shaykh Abu ‘Ali Shaqiq ibn Ibrahim al-Azdi al-Balkhi (q.s.) asked his student, Shaykh Hatim Ism (q.s.), who became a great spiritual master, about the benefits of associating with him, he named eight. 

Of the seventh, he said, “O my teacher!  The seventh benefit is that I looked at the people and saw that every person was preoccupied with his livelihood and search for sustenance with an intense effort.  In this regards, they did not even differentiate between halal and haram but instead, were humiliated with doubtful and haram earnings.  Then I deliberated on the following verse: 

سُوۡرَةُ هُود

۞ وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱللَّهِ رِزۡقُهَا ... (٦) 

There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance depends on Allah ... (Surah Hud:6) 

Then I developed the certitude that the Wise Qur’an is the truth and is correct and that I am also among those living creatures that are present on earth.  So thus, I got engaged in the worship of Allah (s.w.t.) and developed the certitude that He will Bring to me sustenance because He has Promised sustenance.”



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