Three Types of People
In previous discussions, we looked at the life of Moosa A.S. and the balance that he found between Tawakkul and the adoption of the means. It is important to note that such a balance was found in the lives of all the Ambiyaa A.S. Scholars divide people into three categories in terms of their approach to Tawakkul…

The first type of person is one who relies wholly on Allah, without personally asserting any effort toward the end goal himself. The term used to describe this concept is Tawakkul. This is contradictory to Tawakkul as understood from the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is exemplified in the context of the current global pandemic by those who claim to trust Allah to protect them from its harm, while they themselves refrain from taking the necessary prescribed precautions of social distancing and sheltering in place in order to prevent the further spread of the virus.

The second type of person takes the means to achieve the desired outcome, while relying solely on those means, and not on Allah. Nūḥ A.S. could not convince his own son, who adopted his own means, to seek refuge in Allah from the flood, in the safety of the ark.
قَالَ سَآوِي إِلَىٰ جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ ۚ قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ ۚ وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ

His son defiantly said, “I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water.” [Noah] said, “There is no protector today from the decree of Allah, except for whom He gives mercy.” And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.

This action is sinful because it goes against Tawḥīd for one to rely on something other than Allah, and therefore, it contradicts Tawakkul.

The third group of people are those who take the necessary means to achieving the desired outcome and place their trust in Allah to grant them success. This is the correct understanding of Tawakkul as taught and practiced by Nabi S.A.W. and every prophet before him.

One might wonder why Moosa A.S. asked for his brother’s (Haroon A.S.) assistance in giving Dawah to Firawn. It was, no doubt, his reliance on Allah and Allah’s divine wisdom in directing him to that action that provided him with the necessary means in overcoming his challenges.

Likewise, during any time of uncertainty and fear, the people of Tawakkul are those who remain steadfast in their hope in Allah to bring them through the test, while they use every permissible means to achieve that end.