For generations of Muslims, tawakkul has been an essential part of faith – making a sincere effort while recognising the limits of human control
I once asked an elderly naan seller on the streets of Kabul how he was managing to make a living. It was almost midday and he had not sold a single naan. What would he take home, I asked. “Tawakkul ba Khuda,” he replied.
He had a long silver beard, deep brown eyes and a beautiful smile. As a frontline journalist covering the Afghan war, I had heard those words many times before. From a young woman trying to establish a clothing business in the middle of the conflict, to a military commander confronting a deadly insurgency, to a school student preparing for the long and uncertain journey towards a university degree, the expression seemed to surface wherever hope and hardship met.