How should reliance on Allah be joined with taking lawful means?
2026-09-21
T63 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Selected explanation · Selected source passage(s) — fully translated
Selected passage criticizing the claim that divine decree makes human causes ineffective. The opening statement and the claim that supplication is “merely worship” are positions Ibn Taymiyyah rejects. The English translates every displayed Arabic paragraph; this selection is not the complete surrounding work. Square brackets identify translator-supplied clarification.
النص العربي
المقتطف
وَإِنَّ حَقِيقَةَ التَّوَكُّلِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ حَقِيقَةِ التَّفْوِيضِ الْمَحْضِ وَهَذَا وَإِنْ كَانَ قَالَهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ الْمَشَايِخِ فَهُوَ غَلَطٌ أَيْضًا وَكَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ مَنْ قَالَ: إنَّ الدُّعَاءَ إنَّمَا هُوَ عِبَادَةٌ مَحْضَةٌ. فَهَذِهِ الْأَقْوَالُ وَمَا أَشْبَهَهَا يَجْمَعُهَا أَصْلٌ وَاحِدٌ: وَهُوَ أَنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ ظَنُّوا أَنَّ كَوْنَ الْأُمُورِ مُقَدَّرَةً مَقْضِيَّةً يَمْنَعُ أَنْ تَتَوَقَّفَ عَلَى أَسْبَابٍ مُقَدَّرَةٍ - أَيْضًا - تَكُونُ مِنْ الْعَبْدِ؛ وَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ يُقَدِّرُ الْأُمُورَ وَيَقْضِيهَا بِالْأَسْبَابِ الَّتِي جَعَلَهَا مُعَلَّقَةً بِهَا مِنْ أَفْعَالِ الْعِبَادِ وَغَيْرِ أَفْعَالِهِمْ وَلِهَذَا كَانَ طَرْدُ قَوْلِهِمْ يُوجِبُ تَعْطِيلَ الْأَعْمَالِ بِالْكُلِّيَّةِ.
English translation
English translation reviewed against the displayed Arabic by SalafAlSalih editorial preparation (AI-assisted); explanatory additions appear in square brackets or separate notes.
Selected explanation
[They also say] that the reality of reliance is equivalent to simply entrusting matters [to Allah]. Although a group of spiritual teachers have said this, it is also mistaken. The same applies to the statement of those who say that supplication is merely an act of worship [without being a cause of an outcome]. These statements and others like them share one underlying principle: these people thought that the fact that matters are decreed and determined prevents them from depending on causes, also decreed, that proceed from the servant. They did not know that Allah, Glorified is He, decrees and determines matters through the causes upon which He has made them depend, including the servants’ actions and things other than their actions. For this reason, carrying their position through consistently would require abandoning deeds altogether.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 10/22
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic passage checked against the cited volume and printed page. English reviewed against every displayed Arabic paragraph on 14 October 2026.