Your Problem Isn’t Tawakkul... It’s Adaptability.

﷽

Tawakkul, sabr, and adaptability are essentials of the believer’s journey to Allah _{سبحانه وتعالى}. Often, we focus so heavily on tawakkul that we neglect the practicalities of life. Then, when life throws unexpected challenges our way, we crumble under the pressure.

It’s not always a matter of lacking trust in Allah ‎_{سبحانه وتعالى}. More often than not, our issues stem from our inability to adapt.

Think of it as going on a road trip.

You have to prepare in advance. You know the destination ahead of time; however, your ETA is unknown. Because of that, you pack light. Clothed in your intentions, sustained by imaan, and carrying only your knowledge, you leave space in your suitcase to continue acquiring knowledge like souvenirs as you travel.

With tawakkul, you put your destination into the GPS and trust the navigation to guide you without constantly second-guessing its directions or looking for shortcuts.

With sabr, you use cruise control to set a maintainable speed. If you go too fast, you’ll burn out; if you move too slow, you’ll become bored and stagnate. Cruise control allows you to focus on the road ahead without constantly looking down at the speedometer. Instead, you can sightsee a bit, appreciate the journey, and take in its beauty.

Adaptability is the ability to pivot without losing trust in the journey or desire for the destination when you’ve missed an exit, taken a wrong turn, or encountered a detour. This is the skill that is often left behind.

When things don’t go according to your plan, do you:

1. Try to force your way through, draining all your energy on something that clearly isn’t working?

2. Stop and dwell on what went wrong, replaying your mistakes and attaching yourself emotionally to an outcome that didn’t manifest?

3. Or adjust and look for the detour signs, trusting that just as a GPS recalculates when you make a wrong turn, Allah’s _ﷻ plan accounts for every detour and misstep?

You need only to trust Him and keep moving forward, even if it’s little by little.

To be adaptable, you must stop:

• planting your feet too firmly in this dunya,

• resisting life’s detours, and

• clinging to plans and expectations that were never meant to be permanent.

A traveler doesn’t settle at every stop.

We’re all here to be tested, so this journey will continually require you to adjust to mounting pressure and difficulty without losing faith or compromising your relationship with our Creator.

Allah ‎_{سبحانه وتعالى} is your ultimate GPS. He knows every route, every detour, and every possible outcome.

Your task is simple:

1. Set your destination with tawakkul.

2. Maintain steady progress with sabr.

3. Adjust with adaptability, trusting Allah ‎_{سبحانه وتعالى} to navigate you through any rough patches and guide you back to the Path that leads to Him _ﷻ.

The results are always with Allah ‎_{سبحانه وتعالى}, but the intention is yours. Trust the process and make every step count.

Try out these exercises to help you further internalize this.

1. Imagine you’re packing for a journey to the akhirah.

• What would you bring? Write down your “suitcase” contents (e.g., acts of worship, intentions, lessons learned).

• What souvenirs have you collected from past stops on this journey to Allah ‎_{سبحانه وتعالى}?

2. Each night, journal about a curveball that you encountered that day:

• How did you respond to it?

• How could you have responded better?

• How did it strengthen your relationship with Allah _ﷻ?

Adaptability is a skill. You have to strengthen it through practice so don’t be too hard on yourself.

As-salamu alaikum, until next time, in sha Allah.

— Khalisa