Praise be to Allah, the Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his noble Folks, Companions, the trustees of his mission and the leaders of his banner, and be pleased with us and them, O Lord of the Worlds.  O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.

Being supported or abandoned by Allah:

Dear noble brothers, Imam Ali, may Allah honor his face, said, "The backbone of Islam as well as this worldly life is four types of men: a scholar who spreads his knowledge among others and act upon it in his life, an ignorant who never refrains from learning, a rich man who is not stingy, and a poor man who never sacrifices his Hereafter for this worldly life."

He who does not act upon his knowledge
shall be punished before idol worshippers

The most dangerous person in our life is the half-educated one, for he is not knowledgeable to learn from his knowledge, nor is he  ignorant, so that he would  seek knowledge.

It was said, "Some people have Islamic knowledge, and they realize that; those are knowledgeable ones, so follow them. Some people do not have knowledge, and they realize that they are not knowledgeable; those are ignorant, so teach them. Others have no knowledge, but they do not realize that they are ignorant; those are but devils, so avoid them."

Success lies in seeking knowledge and in being in need of Allah. Hunain battle teaches us a great lesson which every believer needs every day, yet every hour of his life. Although the companions of the Prophet PBUH are mankind elite, and the Master of mankind (i.e. the Prophet PBUH) was among them, one of them said on the day of Hunain, "We will not be defeated today in the battle due to our huge number."  Allah the Almighty says:  

﴾…And on the Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great number but it availed you naught and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you, then you turned back in flight.﴿ 

[At-Taubah, 25]

In concise, when you say, "I am self-reliant", Allah will abandon you, but when you say, "I seek Allah's Help", Allah will support you. Thus, you swing between being supported or abandoned by Allah. This rule is applicable everywhere, whether in your house or at work.

Arrogance versus being in need of Allah:

The noble companions took pride in their number in Hunain, and despite the fact that they were the Prophet's companions, they were defeated (in order to learn the lesson from their failure). Actually, had the companions won on the Day of Uhud, they would have been exempted from obeying the Prophet PBUH, because they did not obey his orders and remained in their places. Instead, they rushed to the battle field in order to collect loots. On the day of Hunain, they took pride in their huge number, and had they won the battle, Tawheed would have been pointless. 

On the day of Badr, they pinned their hopes on Allah Alone, so  they won, whereas in Hunain they were defeated, because they depended on their great number. In fact, the moment you ascribe your success to your own abilities, skills, knowledge, licenses, expertise and value, you will be abandoned by Allah. On the other hand, when you put your faith in Allah, He will protect and support you. Hence, you swing between being supported or abandoned (by Allah) every hour and  every minute. I repeat; if man takes credit for his success and forget about Allah the Almighty, Allah will abandon him.

Making use of available means and putting one's trust in Allah:

The religious stance you should take, according to the aforementioned two examples, is to make use of the available means as if they are sufficient, and then put your trust in Allah as if those means are not sufficient. The western countries make use of the available to such an extent that they consider them everything, and they idealize them, which made them fall in Shirk (polytheism). taking the extreme stance looks like the steep valleys on both sides of a way (which is the appropriate stance). Hence, if you make use of all available means and forget about Allah's Help, depending on them and making them Godly, you will fall in Shirk.

﴾And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikun -polytheists﴿ 

[Yusuf, 106]

On the other hand, if you do not make use of the available means to begin with, just like most of Muslims, unfortunately, you will fall in sinning. Thus, you swing between falling in Shirk if you make use of the available means and put your trust in them, and falling in sinning if you make no use of  the means.

Dear brothers, as an employee, as a university student or as a store's owner, if you make use of available  means, relying on them totally and forgetting about Allah the Almighty, you will fall in  Shirk. Also, if you do not make use of the available means and you put your trust in Allah, this will not be enough, because the true Mutawakil (the one who puts his trust in Allah) is like the one who plants a seed in the soil, then he puts his trust in Allah the Almighty. Pay heed to these facts.

Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, once saw a camel afflicted with scabies, so he asked his owner, "O brother, what have you done to it so far?" The man said, "I have made Du'a to Allah for it so that it may be cured." Then, Umar said, "Will you treat it with tar alongside the Du'a you have made?" Well, making use of the available means is one of fundamentals of Islam.

I would like to repeat the delicate words; make use of the available means, and then put your trust in the Lord of lords, which is the gist of Tawakul. As I said previously, making use of the available means and relying on them alone will lead to Shirk, while neglecting the available means will lead you to sinning. Between sinning and associating partners with Allah there is an essential stance the Muslim should take, for he should make use of the available means as if they are enough to him, and then he put his trust in Allah as if they are useless.

The Prophet made use of the available means and he put his trust in Allah:

It is mentioned in the Prophetic biography (Sirah) that the Prophet PBUH made use of all available means when he ran away from Kuffar. He hired an expert loyal tracker (though he was Mushrik), and he PBUH traveled along the coast, and then he hid in Thawr cave. Therefore, the Prophet PBUH made use of all available means, then he put his trust in Allah.

When the pagans reached the cave (and praise be to Allah that they did), As-Siddeeq said to the Prophet PBUH, "O Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon you), if one of them (pagans) lift up his foot, he will see us." The Prophet PBUH said, "What do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah?"

The Prophet PBUH, made use of all available means. He travelled alongside the coast which was not usually taken by travelers, and he used another tracker to erase their traces. However, they reached the cave where he had hidden, so he said to Abu Bakr, confirming his trust in Allah, "What do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah?"

At your work, when you practice your specialty, in your commerce, at home and when you study, you should make use of all available means as if they are enough in helping you, and then you put your trust in Allah as if they are nothing. Keep in mind that if Muslims make use of the available means and relay on them, they will fall in Shirk, and if they do not make use of these means, they will fall in sinning. Apply this rule to your daily life. 

O Allah, give us and do not withdraw from us, dignify us and do not humiliate us, favor  us and do not turn away from us, please us and be pleased with us.