Seadet-i Ebediyye - Endless Bliss Third Fascicle

III — Third group of causes are those whose effect is not for
certain, nor are they always necessary but are obtained by
thinking and searching. Earning money through such causes is
like curing the invalids by means of augury and incantation,
about which our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’, while
explaining tawakkul, stated: ‘People who have tawakkul do not
cure the sick by way of augury and incantation.” He did not say:
“Those who have tawakkul do not work or live in cities, but they
go to the mountains.”
There are three grades of tawakkul while holding to causes:
a) A single person who occupies a high grade of tawakkul
lives far away from the city lest he will commit sins and in order
that he will not trespass against anybody. He does not take
anything with him. When he becomes hungry he eats whatever he
finds. If he cannot find anything to eat he does not fear that he
will die of hunger. If he suffers hunger, even if he is about to die
of hunger, he deems it good for himself. For, a traveller who
takes something to eat with him may be robbed, even killed on
the way, which has happened many times. But it is not wâjib to
avoid such an event.
b) A person at the second grade does not earn money, but he
does not leave town, either. He worships in mosques. He does not
expect anything from anybody. He expects from Allâhu ta’âlâ.
c) A person who is at the third grade works to earn money.
But he observes Islam, the sunnat in everything he does. He
avoids playing tricks, looking for subtle means or dealing with
commercial information. A person who does not avoid these has
dived into the third group of causes and does not have tawakkul.
To have tawakkul does not mean not to work. For, Hadrat
Abû Bakr had perfect tawakkul in everything he did. After he
was elected Khalîfa, he went on selling tissues at a market-place.
When he was asked, “O you, the Khalîfa! Is it appropriate to
trade while presiding over the state?” he stated, “How can I
support the people if I don’t support my household?” Upon this,
they decided it would be de rigueur to pay the Khalîfa a stipend
from the Bayt-ul-mâl. From then on, he always kept busy with
matters of the public. He was the highest of people who had
tawakkul, yet he engaged in trade. But he did not think of earning
money. He deemed his earnings not from his capital or work but
from Allâhu ta’âlâ. Nor did he like his own property more than
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