9:51 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

قل -أيها النبي- لهؤلاء المتخاذلين زجرًا لهم وتوبيخًا: لن يصيبنا إلا ما قدَّره الله علينا وكتبه في اللوح المحفوظ، هو ناصرنا على أعدائنا، وعلى الله، وحده فليعتمد المؤمنون به.

قال تعالى رادا عليهم في ذلك ‏{‏قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ ما قدره وأجراه في اللوح المحفوظ‏.‏ ‏{‏هُوَ مَوْلَانَا‏}‏ أي‏:‏ متولي أمورنا الدينية والدنيوية، فعلينا الرضا بأقداره وليس في أيدينا من الأمر شيء‏.‏ ‏{‏وَعَلَى اللَّهِ‏}‏ وحده ‏{‏فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ‏}‏ أي‏:‏ يعتمدوا عليه في جلب مصالحهم ودفع المضار عنهم، ويثقوا به في تحصيل مطلوبهم، فلا خاب من توكل عليه، وأما من توكل على غيره، فإنه مخذول غير مدرك لما أمل‏.‏

فأرشد الله تعالى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى جوابهم في عداوتهم هذه التامة فقال قل أي: لهم لن يصيبنا إلا ما كتب الله لنا أي نحن تحت مشيئته وقدره وهو مولانا أي سيدنا وملجؤنا وعلى الله فليتوكل المؤمنون أي ونحن متوكلون عليه وهو حسبنا ونعم الوكيل.

Say to them ‘Nothing shall afflict us but that which God has decreed for us that we be afflicted thereby; He is our Protector our Helper and the One in charge of our affairs; in God let the believers put their trust’.

In the ninth verse (51), Allah Ta` ala has instructed the Holy Prophet ﷺ and Muslims, that they should not allow themselves to be affected by things like that said by the hypocrites and that they must always keep reality as it is before them. The words of the Holy Qur'an are:. قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّـهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّـهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿51﴾ (Say, "Nothing , can ever reach us except what Allah has written for us. He is our Master. And in Allah alone the believers must place their trust" ). In other words, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is being asked that he should tell those, who worship material causes such as these, that they were in a serious deception. These material causes were no more than a curtain. The power that moves inside them belongs to none but Allah. Whatever happens to us is exactly whatever Allah has written for us - and He, is our Master, Guardian and Helper. And Muslims must place their real trust in Him alone. Consequently, they must see material causes as no more than effective agents and signs while never taking them to be the real dispensers of any good or evil.

Belief in Destiny includes Management of affairs: Giving Inaction or Mismanagement the name of Trust is Wrong

This verse (51) brings into sharp focus the essential reality of the religious issue of Taqdir (destiny) and Tawakkul (trust). The outcome of believing in Taqdir and Tawakkul should never be that one goes home, sits tight, does nothing and says what will be will be. This is no belief in destiny and this is no practice of trust. Instead, the thing to do is that one should devote full personal energy and courage to put together whatever lawful material means one can arrange for - within the range of what lies in control. After this has been done, the matter should be resigned to destiny and trust. However, the caveat is that one has to keep his or her sight trained toward Allah alone - for it is He who has the ultimate outcome of everything one does under His absolute power and control.

Speaking generally, people around the world are found in great confusion about the religious problem of Taqdir and Tawakkul. Some of them are plain irreligious. They just do not recognize the very possibility that something like that exists. They are content with material means as the deity they are comfortable with. Then, there are other people who lack proper awareness. They have turned destiny and trust into a pretext for their sloth and inertia. The Prophet of Islam, may the blessing of Allah and peace be upon him, made full preparation for Jihad, after which, the revelation of this verse put an end to this cycle of excess and deficiency and showed the right way - as put in the lively Persian saying: بر توکل زانوے اشتربہ بند (With Tawakkul [ trust ], do tie the knees of the camel). To sum up, means which you have the option to utilize, are nothing but blessings given by Allah Ta` ala. Not taking ad-vantage of these means is ingratitude, even stupidity. Of course, do not give means the status they do not have and believe that results and outcomes are not subservient to these means - instead of all that, they obey the command of Allah Almighty.