Unbelievers perceive the whole world as being in a state of chaos. They assume that they owe their existence to pure "coincidence." According to them, the happenings around them also take place by pure coincidence. Such a point of view is, however, detrimental to the mental well-being of people; they feel insecure and can never trust anyone. Nothing eases their fears for the future. They spend long hours planning ahead. Hundreds, even thousands, of independent factors work to turn their lives into one of sheer disappointment. They feel feeble; they may at any time develop an incurable disease. Something unexpected may happen one day and they may lose their jobs or someone they love. Believing these incidents to occur at random, they feel consternation at every such event. This means worshiping hundreds of independent factors as gods. In Qur'anic terms, the fearing or trusting of anything implies taking it as a god besides Allah.

In their arduous struggles, believers finds relief and peace in this cast of mind. When we consult the Qur'an, we see that all messengers and their followers met with extremely adverse and seemingly "unfortunate" incidents. Almost all believers were oppressed, threatened, assaulted, tortured, insulted, and some even were killed. Yet nothing daunted them, not even the strongest tempest of adversity and the mightiest of armies. They stood firm and strong, never giving up in their resolution. The essence of such an attitude lies solely in the consciousness a believer builds: that everything is created by Allah and, accordingly, is destined to bring goodness. Believers are well aware of the fact that Allah always provides guidance to believers and surely places no burden on any soul that it cannot bear. In the Qur'an hundreds of verses call for trust and submission in Allah:

The word in Arabic used for "trust in Allah" is tawakkul, which means "taking as guardian and helper." However, unlike its common usage, the word has a totally different connotation in the Qur'an. Ordinarily, its meaning is perceived as "doing one's best about a situation and then putting the rest in the care of Allah." But the concept of "taking as guardian and helper" conveys rather more than this. It means leaving the entire course of events and their consequences in Allah's charge.

At this point, we must avoid an essential misconception: Putting the course of events in the care of Allah in no way means avoidance of becoming involved in daily affairs. On the contrary, believers must deal with every stage of a problem or event, shouldering all responsibilities. Indeed, the true meaning of "trust in Allah" lies in being totally aware that everything we experience and everything we do takes place under Allah's control; that is why believers take the initiative in anything they undertake by "taking Him as a guardian and helper."

The prayers of the prophets recounted in the Qur'an instruct us about the significance of this subject. In Surat An-Naml, the Prophet Solomon says:

This prayer explicitly reveals that Solomon is aware that he can perform his tasks only if Allah so wills and he asks Him to give His approval when he becomes committed to action.

This is actually the rationale lying behind "trust in Allah." Believers are well aware that both the external world and their souls are entities completely under the control of Allah. Accordingly, they submit themselves — their souls — to the Almighty Creator. Consequently, believers become exceedingly brave; so brave as to challenge the whole world all alone yet calm and confident as if there were no besetting dangers.