These are the guiding definitions and distinctions I will use in this series of posts.

Trust

Believe

The Difference between Trusting and Believing

  • Trust means to have confidence in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone and believe means to accept something as true, genuine, or real.  Pediaa

Trust as a Decision

If a co-worker says “I’m hungry” near lunch hour, I’d assume she’s hungry - not because I trust her but because I have no reason not to. If the same co-worker excuses herself from a meeting that’s running long, saying she has an important appointment to keep, I may or may not believe her. If I chose to believe her it’s because I chose to trust that she’s telling the truth - despite the possibility she was only trying to get out of a boring and unproductive meeting. We choose to trust when we sense there’s a reason not to trust.

Trust as a Heuristic and Eventually a Habit.

We may initially choose not to doubt or question some people, though in time and assuming these individuals remain trustworthy, our trust becomes automatic.

Emotional Trust and Cognitive Trust

Emotional trust is the feeling we can count on someone, because they are fundamentally good and will not harm us. However, emotional trust doesn’t require that we agree with their opinions or follow their advice. Cognitive trust means we are confident of another’s competence in a some knowledge or skill area. We might even follow their guidance if we trust them on an emotional level as well.

Trust When We Cannot Comprehend or Control

From “Trust in God and Tie your Camel”, Office of the Chaplain, Carleton College:

One of my favorite hadiths or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH*), involves a camel. Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, the hadith outlines the story of a Bedouin man who was leaving his camel without tying it. The Prophet (PBUH) asked him “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet then replied, “Tie your camel first, and then put your trust in Allah.”  

Trust means giving up control. When a friend trusts another with a secret, they give up control over where that secret could go. In a world and a time where it feels like there is nothing we can control, to trust that it’ll all be alright may feel even riskier than usual. 

We focus on what we can realistically control, and trust that the rest is out of our hands. We tie our camels, and then trust in Allah."

* Peace Be Upon Him.