Tawakkul (Sufism)

This is a state of total trust in God and perfect faith based on the beginning of affinity with him, when the traveller depends entirely on God's mercy. It arises from serious pursuit of [riyadat]

(mystical training) and [mujahada]

(mortification of the self). Although this implies effort on the part of the Sufi, in the process of courageously emptying himself, it is through the grace of God that success is granted. Some believe it arises gradually from the practice of patience.

Tawakkul strengthens separation from the world and the worldly mentality, and also strengthens the attainment of relatedness to divine unity. Trust in God also aids in getting away from the ego and surrendering the self. As self-surrender, all previous stages in the path are encompassed. In seeking to lose the phenomenal self and what the environment has created in him and utilizing the image of God as a motivation for attraction and divine unity the Sufi becomes more God-like.

The sixth stage in a systematic account of various stations of the Sufi spiritual path, including the path to sainthood of the Naqshbandiyya order. According to Shaykh Abu Sa'id ibn Abi'l-Khayr, this is the 13th of 40 stations or maqamat the Sufi must possess for his journey on the path of Sufism to be acceptable.