Depend solely on your Lord

 

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back! part of 29:17


Depend solely on your Lord

In the well known historical compilation Al-Bidāya wa-n-Nihāya (البداية والنهاية), The Beginning and The End, by Ibn Kathir, there is mention of the story of the grandson of sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattabؓ, known as Sālim ibn Abdullahؓ ibn Umarؓ.

Once when Hisham bin Abdul Malik, one of the Umayyad rulers was performing Hajj, he saw Sālim performing Tawaf around the Ka'aba.  Unadorned, with simple attire and handling pair of sandals in need of repair, the austere appearance caused an idea to form in the ruler's mind.  Perhaps he is needy and I should help him, after all, I am the rich and generous ruler. He went close to him and said,"Sālim, let me know if you are in need of anything so that I can help you."

Sālim looked visibly disturbed, and replied:  'Have some humility. How can you want me to ask other than Allah for my needs, while we are in the house of Allah?'

Hisham realized his audacious mistake and he left him alone while observing him complete the obligations of his pilgrimage. Yet not one to give up easily, he kept observing and followed him out of the House of Allah. As soon as they were outside, he caught up to him and said, 'O Sālim, now that we are outside the House of Allah, and your reason for not telling me earlier is not applicable, so now tell me what are you needs that I can fulfill them?'

Sālim asked, 'Are you referring something worldly or my needs in the Hereafter?' 

Hisham promptly replied, 'Of course, something worldly. Only Allah can fulfill your needs of the Hereafter.'

Perhaps realizing that the poor ruler needs to understand the truths of the world, Sālim said, 'O Hisham, I swear by Allah, I have yet to ask anything worldly from the One who owns the world, so how do you expect me to ask of someone who does not own it?'

This piercing lesson caused Hisham's eyes to be welled up with tears and he said, 'I would give up my entire kingdom to be like Sālim.' At that moment, he probably meant it.