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وَيَقُولُونَ طَاعَةٌ فَإِذَا بَرَزُواْ مِنْ عِندِكَ بَيَّتَ طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ غَيْرَ ٱلَّذِي تَقُولُ وَٱللَّهُ يَكْتُبُ مَا يُبَيِّتُونَ فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَكِيلاً
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-An-Nisâ’ ( النساء )

Tafsir al-Tustari

…So turn away from them, and put your trust in God…He was asked, ‘What is trust? (tawakkul)?’ He replied:Trust is the submission of the body in servanthood, the attachment of the heart to the divine lordliness (rubūbiyya) and the disclaiming of all power (ḥawl) and strength (quwwa).Then he was asked: ‘What is the reality (ḥaqīqa) of trust (tawakkul) in principle?’ He replied:At its root, the reality of trust is the realisation of God’s oneness (tawḥīd), while its branch is the knowledge of the Last Day [lit. knowledge of the Hour] (ilm al-sāʿa); and through tranquil repose (sukūn) in it [trust] there is visual beholding (muʿāyana).Then he said:Do not be anxious about trust, for truly it is a means of livelihood for those who possess it.He was asked, ‘Who are those who possess it?’ He replied:They are those who have been privileged with a special quality.Sahl was asked to clarify this further, and he said:Truly all the sciences are the lowest categories of worship (taʿabbud). The sum of all worship is only the lowest category of scrupulous piety (waraʿ). The sum of all renunciation (zuhd) is the lowest category of the manifestation of divine omnipotence (ẓuhūr al-qudra). Furthermore, the divine omnipotence does not become apparent to anyone except the one who has complete trust (mutawakkil). Trust is not susceptible of any categorical definition, nor does it have a limit that would make it susceptible of comparison, nor does it have an utmost degree that can be reached.Then he was asked, ‘Describe something of it to us’ and he replied:Trust has a thousand ranks, the first of which is the ability to walk on air. He was then asked, ‘How does the servant reach that level?’ He answered:The first thing is gnosis (maʿrifa), then affirmation (iqrār), then the realisation of God’s oneness (tawḥīd), then submission (islām), then the excellence in faith (iḥsān), then the committing of one’s affairs [to God] (tafwīḍ), then trust (tawakkul), and finally the state of tranquil repose (sukūn) in God, Mighty and Majestic is He, in every situation. And he added:Trust is not acceptable from anyone except one who is mindful of God (muttaqī).He was asked, ‘What is mindfulness of God?’ He replied:It is to refrain from all harm [to others] (adhā). His words, Exalted is He:

Tafsīr al-Tustarī, trans. Annabel Keeler and Ali Keeler
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