…and tie your camel

One day a man approached the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and asked whether having trust in God meant that a believer should not tie their camel (to prevent the camel from running away). The Prophet, peace be upon him, said in reply, “Trust in God and tie your camel.” Of the many lessons that can be derived from this is that while we have complete trust in God, we must also take the means He has provided for us to obtain success in this life. The same is the case in protecting one’s self and one’s property.

Just last night I experienced something that made me think of this man and his question. There have been near my home several car burglaries so I made sure to make my roommate’s car (that I have been left to manage in his absence) extra safe. I removed anything from the vehicle that might tempt someone to break in to steal it. I hid the GPS unit, put some items in the trunk, and even moved all the quarters and dimes that inevitably pile up out of sight. I then parked the car underneath a street lamp, and, of course, locked it.

However, last night around midnight I heard some sounds outside my window. I also had a feeling that so often precedes certain events in my life. I looked outside my window just as my roommate’s car was being stolen from out in front of our home. I quickly ran outside, but to no avail. The car was gone. la ilaha il Allah. There is a subtle, yet very profound lesson that I have derived from this. A lesson that I hope we all can share.

Placing our trust in God even when, in this case, our “camel” is stolen is never a misplaced trust. I still have complete faith that He will provide for me and my roommate. When I told Huseyin (my roommate) about his car he too said, “This is just the qadr of Allah.”

If we only had faith in the street lamp and the door locks, this faith would have been misplaced. God is the One who provided us with the car in the first place and it is He Who, God-willing, will provide us with another.

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It is times like this that we should also reflect upon the blessings of patience.
Listen to Sh. Faraz Rabbani speak on Patience (sabr)–its virtues, reality, and manifestation