The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was neither fatalistic nor reckless. His trust in God was absolute, but that had never caused him to drift with the tide of events. Revelation had reminded him that he must never forget to say "insha Allah" (if God so wills) when he planned to act, and that the memory of God must be associated with humility (especially in regard to his own powers as a human being). Still, this by no means implied that he should forget to show responsibility and foresight in his choices in the world of human beings. Thus, Muhammad had been planning an emigration to Medina (hijrah) for almost two years, and nothing had been left to chance. Only after making intelligent and thorough use of his human powers had he trusted himself to the divine will, thereby clarifying for us the meaning of at-tawakul ala Allah (reliance on God, trusting oneself to God): responsibly exercising all the qualities (intellectual, spiritual, psychological, sentimental, etc.) each one of us has been granted and humbly remembering that beyond what is humanly possible, God alone makes things happen. Indeed, this teaching is the exact opposite of the temptation of fatalism: God will act only after humans have, at their own level, sought out and exhausted all the potentialities of action.
Abu Bakr had enlisted the services of a non-Muslim Bedouin, Abdullah ibn Urayqat, to guide them to Medina by an inconspicuous, unfamiliar route. The Prophet and his Companion had entrusted themselves to God, yet they had not hesitated to enlist the help of a Bedouin who, although he shared their enemies' polytheistic beliefs, was well known to them for his trustworthiness. Such an attitude is present throughout the Prophet's life: the women and men he surrounded himself with might not share his faith, but they were known to him for their moral qualities and/or their human abilities. Muhammad, like those who came after him, would not hesitate to rely on them.
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Source:"In The Footsteps of The Prophet" - Tariq Ramadan, pp. 81-83
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