A man once came to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him) with a question about his camel. He had come to see the Prophet and was about to leave the animal at the door. Should he tie her up and trust in God, he asked, or leave her loose and trust in God?
The answer was short and has been repeated by Muslims ever since: “Tie her, and trust.” (Tirmidhi 2517, graded ḥasan)
The story is loved because it refuses two easy mistakes. One is to think that trusting God means doing nothing, leaving the camel loose and blaming God if she wanders. The other is to think that tying the rope is all that matters, as if we hold everything in our own hands. The Prophet asked for both: the rope and the trust.
The Qur'an tells a bigger version of the same lesson. When some early Muslims were told that a great army had gathered against them, they did not run away and they did not boast. They said, “Those unto whom men said: Lo! the people have gathered against you, therefor fear them. (The threat of danger) but increased the faith of them and they cried: Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!” (3:173, Pickthall). Ibn ʿAbbās reported that the same words were spoken by Abraham (peace be upon him) when he was thrown into the fire (Bukhari 4563). They had done what they could. The rest they handed over.
Judaism
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain thee”
Psalms 55:23 · JPS 1917
The Psalms are full of the language of handing over. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain thee” says Psalm 55. The Hebrew idea of bitachon, trust, runs all through Jewish teaching. Jewish teachers have long insisted that trust does not cancel effort. The medieval thinker Baḥya ibn Paquda wrote a whole chapter on trust in his Duties of the Heart. He argued that a person should work with their hands while their heart rests on God.
Many Jews say a short line at night from Psalm 31: “Into Thy hand I commit my spirit.”
Christianity
“casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 · WEB
Jesus told his followers not to be anxious about tomorrow, pointing to the birds who are fed and the flowers who are clothed. The first letter of Peter puts the same thought in one line: hand over your worries, because God cares for you.
Christian writers have also warned against using trust as an excuse for idleness. The old Benedictine motto ora et labora, pray and work, keeps the two together.
Each January many Methodist churches hold a Covenant Service, renewing the promise John Wesley drew up: “I am no longer my own, but thine.” It is trust put into words and signed with a life.
Islam
“And will provide for him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expectation. And whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Lo! Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah hath set a measure for all things.”
Qur'an 65:3 · Pickthall (1930)
The Qur'an calls God al-Wakīl many times and tells believers to take Him as their Trustee. “Lord of the East and the West; there is no God save Him; so choose thou Him alone for thy defender -.” (73:9, Pickthall). Another verse promises: “And will provide for him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expectation. And whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Lo! Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah hath set a measure for all things.” (65:3, Pickthall).
Al-Ghazālī described the true wakīl as the One to whom matters are entrusted and who is fully adequate to them. People can be wakīl for each other in a small way, as when a friend handles your affairs, but only God is enough for everything.
Same and different
Jews, Christians and Muslims all teach that God can be trusted with what we cannot carry, and all three insist that trust goes with effort, not instead of it. They differ in emphasis and language more than in substance. Bitachon, faith in Providence, and tawakkul are close cousins, and the Benedictine “pray and work” and the Prophet's “tie it, and trust” make the same point from two directions. Christians also speak of trust in Christ in particular, which is distinctive to them.
families / schoolsTie it and trustGive each child a toy boat and a length of string. Practise tying a proper knot to a chair leg. Talk about what you can do (tie the knot) and what you cannot (stop the wind), and read Tirmidhi 2517 together.
faith groups / neighboursThe worry jarEveryone writes one worry anonymously and puts it in a jar. Read some out, and as a group list one practical step for each and one thing that has to be let go. Close with Psalm 55:23, 1 Peter 5:7 and Qur'an 65:3.
families / faith groupsThe night-time handoverMany Jews say Psalm 31's “Into Thy hand I commit my spirit” at bedtime, and Christians pray the same verse at Compline, the church's last service of the day. For a week, end the day by naming one thing you are handing over, and notice how you sleep.
Episode 1
