“Leave it to Allah.”
We’ve all heard it.
Some of us grew up with it drilled into our heads.
Lost your job? “Have Tawakkul.”
Didn’t study for the exam? “Make du’a and have faith.”
Didn’t take any action, make any plan, or lift a single finger?
“Allah will provide.”
And while the intent behind those words might be pure… the understanding? Not so much.
Tawakkul Is Not Passive
Let’s get something straight:
Tawakkul is not sitting back and waiting for things to magically happen.
It’s not surrendering your own effort.
It’s not wrapping your inaction in religious vocabulary and calling it “faith.”
Tawakkul is about doing everything you can — and then trusting that what you can’t control, Allah will handle.
It’s hustle plus hope.
Work plus trust.
Action plus surrender.
The Prophet ﷺ didn’t walk into battle without strategy.
He tied his camel. He took precautions. He made alliances.
And then he put his trust in Allah.
Meanwhile, Western Culture Went the Other Extreme
While many Muslims were busy saying “God will handle it,”
the Western world ran in the opposite direction.
Control everything.
Have a 10-year plan.
Hack your routine.
Optimize your sleep.
Track your steps, your spending, your goals, your thoughts.
Everything’s a system. Everything’s a funnel.
And if it doesn’t work? You didn’t try hard enough.
It’s exhausting.
Because life doesn’t always follow the script.
And when things fall apart — and they will —
“just try harder” doesn’t always help.
We’re Trying to Teach Something Better
At Mayous, we try to show kids a third way.
In our stories, Tawakkul isn’t a cop-out, and it’s not control-freak energy either.
It’s something wiser.
We teach kids:
-
Show up.
-
Try your best.
-
Be smart. Be kind. Be prepared.
-
And then? Let go.
You’re not God.
You’re not powerless either.
You’re responsible for the input, not the outcome.
And that’s what real Tawakkul is.
Trusting Allah Is Not an Excuse — It’s a Mindset
It’s the difference between saying:
🛑 “I didn’t apply to the job. If Allah wills it, it’ll happen.”
vs.
✅ “I applied to five jobs, prepped my CV, showed up fully… and now I trust whatever outcome Allah writes for me.”
One of those is avoidance.
The other is Tawakkul.
And our kids need to learn that difference early — because this world will either tell them they’re completely in control… or completely helpless.
Neither is true.
So We Write Stories That Reflect That Balance
Because Islam isn’t about extremes.
It’s about effort and surrender living side by side.
We don’t want to raise kids who think making du’a replaces doing the work.
But we also don’t want them to burn out chasing things they were never meant to carry alone.
We want them to dream big.
To work hard.
And then, when it’s all done — to look up and say:
“Now I trust You to take it from here.”
Want to share that message with your kids in a story they’ll actually enjoy?
👉 Subscribe to our newsletter to receive free eBooks, and find our story on Tawakkul in our Book Catalog.
Or you can find its print version on our Book Catalog as always.