39 - الْحَسِيبُ

[Bint e Aisha]

الْحَسِيبُ

 

Translation

الْحَسِيبُ  is translated as The Reckoner and The Accounter. It comes from حَسِبَ – to reckon / judge. Muhaasabah is to take accountability. 

 

It also means to be enough so The One Who is enough is al-Haseeb.

 

Definition

It is understood in different ways. Shaykh Sa’di (Rahimahullah) said it is that Being Who knows His servants very well, in totality. 

 

It is that Being Who is enough for those who trust Him i.e. Tawakkul. 

وَمَنْ يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ  - for Allah is all sufficient for the person who puts his trust in Him. [Surah Talaaq: 3]

 

Allah ta’ala is Haseeb for the person who trusts Him and knows Allah ta’ala is enough for him and if a person puts his trust in someone else then, Scholars write that that person is lost. We see this when people run after this or that person or think, “If I do this, I’ll be the happiest person in the world” and they put all their hopes and expectations in a person or thing or system. Then when the breakdown happens (which sooner or later will happen) then they are totally lost. 

 

Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullah) writes, whoever becomes Allah ta’ala’s, Allah ta’ala is enough for him i.e. if a person gives himself wholeheartedly to Allah ta’ala then He will be enough for him and when Allah ta’ala is enough for a person (Materially or spiritually) then the person does not need anyone else. Obviously we live in the world and need to have people around us but that is different. You do not need someone to the extent that you cannot live without them. We have this problem of wanting to be appreciated but some people do not have that need as the more Tawakkul a person has in Allah ta’ala, the less they have the need to be appreciated and praised and though it is nice to get it, the need is not there. 

 

There is a story of someone who was abused verbally and he said, “If what you say is true then Allah forgive me and if I go to Jannah and Allah is pleased with me then none of what you say matters.”

 

This person had the feeling that Allah ta’ala was enough for him and it did not matter that he was abused and not praised. 

 

No one can share in this trait.

 

Tawakkul

فَقُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ ۖ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

Allah is all-sufficient for me. There is no God but Him. In Him I have put my trust. He is the Rabb of the Mighty Throne [Surah Tawbah: 129]

 

People of Tawakkul place their trust in Allah ta’ala. It becomes manifest in a situation where it is you verses the world, when you know something is the right thing to do according to Deen and everyone is against you.

 

In the Qur’an

It is mentioned in different ways in the Qur’an.

 

Surah Nisaa’: 6 - وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ حَسِيبًا

Allah sufficeth as a Reckoner.

Surah Naba: 36 - جَزَاءً مِنْ رَبِّكَ عَطَاءً حِسَابًا

A recompense from your Rabb and a gift beyond their account.

 

The second meaning of الْحَسِيبُ is to estimate/ account. 

الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ - The sun and the moon move along their computed courses [Surah Ar-Rahmaan: 5]

 

The sun and the moon move in an estimated measure i.e. they do not collide with each other. 

 

Muhaasabah

From the same word comes the word, Muhaasabah. – to evaluate one’s self. We should try to take an account of ourselves before the Day of Judgment. 

 

Counsel

We should do Muhaasabah in this world. It is mentioned in Hadith that we should evaluate ourselves before we are evaluated.

 

Though we may be weak and we need other people, we should know that in our strength and in our intentions, Allah ta’ala is enough. He is الْحَسِيبُ. 

 

To live in this world we do have to depend and trust people otherwise we would not even go to a doctor. We have to trust family and friends but we should know that perfect trust and dependency is on Allah ta’ala and not people, not even your parents or husband. 

 

Poem:
“When Allah is with you, what are you scared of?
When Allah is not with you, nothing will help you”

 

Imam Shafi’ee (Rahimahullah) on his deathbed said, “You are enough for me. In my heart I have good Ghumaan (Regard) for You and this Hasab for You is enough for me. When my love for You is true, then I do not care of the path of difficulty.”

 

And that is one the secrets of this word. If Allah ta’ala is enough for us then difficulty will not seem difficult. Knowing Allah ta’ala is watching over us and will reward us. 

 

We should ask to be of those who rely on Him and He is enough for them. Following Du’a taken from Munaajaati Maqbool:

 
O Allah, make me from those who put their trust in You and You became sufficient for them, who sought guidance from You and You guided them, and who sought help from You and You helped them . 

 

Du’a

We should ask Allah ta’ala for an easy reckoning:

اللهم حاسبني حسابا يسيرا – Allaahumma haasibnee hisaabay yaseeraa

O Allah! Grant me an easy reckoning.

 

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