Depend on Allah and use the means
“If you truly depended on Allah then Allah will provide for you like He provides for the bird.”
True dependence on Allah (tawakkul) requires both believing that Allah alone is the provider and actively working through the means He created, and those who combine the two receive provision with happiness rather than misery.
The khutbah in 8 steps
- Opening khutbah formulas and Quran verses on tawakkul and taqwa
- Tawakkul defined: two necessary pillars, believing Allah alone provides, and working through worldly means
- Example of Musa at the sea: belief ('kalla, Allah is with me') plus action (striking the sea)
- Hadith of the birds: provision comes to those who go out and trust Allah
- Warning against depending on means (job, spouse, parents) instead of the Creator
- Provision can come with happiness or misery depending on whether it is sought in a halal or haram way
- Reminder of human weakness in infancy and old age; warning of Qarun who credited his own intelligence
- Closing du'a asking Allah for sufficiency through the halal
In the khateeb's words
“what does it mean to depend on Allah depending on Allah has two parts has two parts has two pillars and both parts are necessary”
“that if you truly depended on Allah if you truly depended on Allah then Allah will provide for you like He provides for the bird the bird goes out hungry and he comes back full”
“but subhanallah the bird eats somewhere between 50 to 70 percent of its body weight”
“and don't be like Qarun Qarun where his people they told him thank Allah for the things that Allah has given you he said I have what I have because I'm smart”
For the dinner table
Today the khateeb taught us what it really means to depend on Allah. He said it has two pillars, and we need both: first, truly believing that everything good we have, our food, our money, even our very lives, comes from Allah alone; and second, actually going out and working, because Allah provides for us through means, just like He created us through our parents. He reminded us of Musa, who stood at the sea with an army behind him and calmly said Allah is with me, then struck the water and watched it open. He also shared the beautiful hadith about the birds, who leave their nests hungry every morning not knowing where their food is, and come back full because Allah provides for them. And he warned us not to be like Qarun, who thought his wealth came from his own cleverness, but to thank Allah for everything we have, because we were all helpless babies once, and our strength is only a gift from Him.
- If a bird can wake up hungry and trust Allah will feed it, what's one worry you could hand over to Allah this week?
- The khateeb said we sometimes depend on the means, like a job or a parent, instead of Allah; what's one 'means' in your life you want to remember to thank Allah for?
- Musa had to hit the sea with his stick before it split, what's your 'stick,' the small effort Allah is asking you to make right now?
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