Islamic Tawakkal

Umar bin Khattab (rd) heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying , " if you trust Allah with the right kind of Tawakkal, He will provide you sustenance as He provides for the birds - they go out in the morning with empty stomachs and come back in the evening with full stomachs "
[Tirmidhi]

Explanation : The life of the Prophet (saws) was a superb example of Islamic Tawakkal. In every move and at every stage of his mission , he used the best tactics and the best strategies at human disposal, and then fully relied on Allah without having even a bit of worry at the consequences.

For example, while migrating from Makkah to Madinah, he took all the precautions that were humanly possible for his safe departure from Makkah and safe arrival in Madinah.

Planning the migration secretly, leaving when least expected, asking Ali (rd) to sleep in his bed so that his departure is not noticed, selecting a hiding place on an opposite direction to Madinah, arranging of survival provisions for three days of hiding and a week of travelling, arranging of a faithful guide, arranging for the camels to be brought only when leaving the hiding place, selection of route least traveled, etc. But once he had done whatever was humanly possible, he had such trust in Allah that he was never worried about the consequences even when everything seemed to fall apart.

It was the remarkable demonstration of his Tawakkal, when enemies reached at the mount of the Thowr cave and Abu Bakr (rd) became worried, he calmly assured him, "Do not worry, Allah is with us."

Even in basic matters of the world, one has to do his best then leave the results to Allah(Swt). With the degeneration of the Ummah , Tawakkal has also been taken on wrong connotations.

Some people think that Tawakkal entails only siting like monks and thinking Allah will do something. That meaning is from Shaitan to make Muslims inactive and indolent.

The real Tawakkal is such a strong conviction of Allah's approval and mercy being with you in your Islamic struggle that no problem in the world is able to dampen your spirit or make you feel defeated or helpless.