Wednesday, July 06, 2005


Blind Tawakkul

The same chorus is repeated over and over again, particularly with regards to marriage. This chorus is of the blind tawakkul school of thought, the school of thought that argues that since everything is willed, there's no point in putting any effort into doing good. Apparently, in "Islam," we believe that Allah (SWT) has already written for us who we are to get married to, so there's no reason to worry about who we marry.
Why marriage in particular? Last time I checked, Allah (SWT) willed everything.
To marry a pious spouse is obviously a good deed. So, all good deeds being equal, what if we saw the blind tawakkulites' logic through to completion? Any smart Muslim knows that good deeds require effort, though the effort might be large or small. So if tawakkulites reason that there is no point in putting effort into finding a spouse, why not apply their logic to prayer? According to their logic, it makes perfect sense, Islamically speaking, to sit down through the whole Super Bowl, miss however many salawaat would be missed, and say, "Allah (SWT) never willed for me to pray."
What about people in failed marriages? Would we tell a divorced woman who was battered in her previous marriage that she shouldn't put effort into looking for the right husband because everything is "willed" anyway?
What about the age-old custom of arranged marriages by parents? Blind tawakkulites overlook the many instances where someone actually looks for a spouse for their son or daughter. This doesn't keep with the tawakkulites' reasoning that a spouse will just fall in our laps.
This school of thought has spilled over into other instances as well - namely political activism. Obviously, if someone isn't praying, fasting, or giving in charity, then there are indeed other things to worry about aside from the oppression of the Palestinians. And, of course, our misdeeds and sins are more hurtful to the Chechens than Russia's bombs.
The blind tawakkulites, however, would have us believe that the success from Allah (SWT) will only come from our ibaadaat. As much as I would like for this to be true, as it might be seem to be the best way to get people to the masaajid, I think we all know that this is wrong.
The tawakkul line of thinking comes completely in line with efforts to separate Islam from all aspects of our life, to the point where Islam becomes SOMETHING ELSE.

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