Fear, Hope and Love of Allah

In the name of Allah the most compassionate and the most merciful

Praise be to Allah. I thank Allah, seek his Guidance and his Forgiveness.
Peace and blessings be upon the one who communicated the Message,
fulfilled the trust, and did not leave any excuse for anyone, and upon
whom it was sent.

“This Qur’an hath been revealed to me by inspiration, that I may warn you
and all whom it reaches.” (Al-An`am: 19)

The below is a transcript of a talk given on the subject of Love, Hope and
Fear of Allah. This subject has been covered extensively by classical and
contemporary scholars; however, very few introductory works exist on this
subject that the lay person would understand. This humble attempt is
intent on introducing these basic tenets to the lay Muslim to encourage
the reader to further their knowledge by reading the classical works.

It was Allah that created us, and it is to Allah whom we will return. Allah
will judge us, account us for all our actions and enter us into our eternal
abode. This makes the relationship we have with Allah more important
than any other relationship we have such as our families, friends,
colleagues, communities and even with ourselves.

However, this relationship is often the least understood amongst the

Alameen (Mankind), in particular the following are unclear:
• How should we love Allah?
• Do we adequately fear the Wrath of Allah?
• What is the correct attitude towards the Mercy of Allah?
• How do we balance the Love, Fear and Hope in Allah?

In Islam, no worship is complete without the presence of all three qualities

of Hope, Fear and Love for Allah

Ibn Qayyim defines this beautifully by comparing it to a bird where

• the head is the muhabbah (love) of Allah
• one of the wings is khauf (fear) of punishment
• the other wing is Raja’ (hope) for mercy

Without muhabbah (love of Allah) a Muslim is unable to survive, much like

a bird with no head. Without a strong but equal balance of khauf (fear of
the punishment) and Raja’ (hope of the mercy) a Muslim cannot function
much like a bird cannot function without two equally strong balanced
wings.

We will start with Khauf (fear), move onto Raja’ (hope) and inshaAllah end
with the muhabbah (love)

Khauf (fear)

Definition
Allah tells us in the Quran

“Do not fear them but fear me if you are a true believer.” (sur’ah Al Imran:
175)

“they are the one who race ahead to do good deeds calling me with fear
and hope.” (Al-Anbiyaa :90)

“O You who believe! Fear Allah the way He should be feared and do not
die except as Muslims.” (Surah Al 'Imran: 102)

The ulema have defined khauf (fear) as:

To expect you might receive a penalty every time you breathe

And

A sense of anxiety in the heart when one remembers Allah

This means that a person is in a constant state of wakefulness and alert as

if they are anticipating Allah’s punishment coming toward them at any
moment. As if they deserve to be punished for their sins.

A person is said to have khauf (fear) of Allah if they remain within the
boundaries of halal and haraam as prescribed by Allah and his Messenger

Types of Khauf (fear)

The Messenger of Allah (peace and mercy be upon him) said:

“Indeed I have the most Taqwa and khasiya of Allah among all of you.”
(Muslim)

Al-khasiya is an elevated form of fear experienced by the learned and

righteous

The difference between Khauf and Al-Khasiya is if a person has just fear of
something then they will simply flee from it, where as the one with
khasiya will know where to go to, to safe guard from the trouble. Therefore
they are the ones who know the cure!

An interesting analogy is that if one fears from something they flee from it
but with Allah it’s the opposite, with fear you run back to Allah, from His
Anger to His Mercy.

When Allah says to fear him it means a continuous fear to obey him rather
than to disobey him.

A Practical Lesson:
A young man came to a shaykh and said “I am a young man with strong
desires. I cannot help looking at people when I am in the souk (market).
What do I do?” The shaykh handed him a cup of milk that was full to the
brim, and told him to deliver it to an address that would take the young
man directly through the souk (market). He then instructed the young
man that the milk should not be spilled, and the man said that it would
not. The shaykh then summoned one of his students and told him to
accompany the man and to severely beat him if any milk were to spill.
This man successfully took the milk to the destination and returned to give
the good news to the shaykh. The shaykh asked, “Tell me, how many
sights and faces did you see in the souk (market)?” the man replied, “I
didn’t even realize what was going on around me. I was only fearful of the
beating and disgrace that I would have to endure in public if a drop of milk
were to spill.”
The shaykh smiled and said, “It is the same with a believer. The believer
fears that Allah may disgrace him in front of the entire creation on the Day
of Judgement if his faith were to spill over his heart”. Such people save
themselves from sin because they constantly remain focused on the Day
of Judgement.

Just like a person in grief loses appetite a person with fear of Allah in his
heart loses all interest in committing sin.

The ulema have said that advice or guidance cannot affect someone
devoid of the fear of Allah. Advice washes off and nothing affects him
because his heart refuses to accept.

Khauf (fear) is the whip of Allah for those who flee from his door of mercy

Khauf (fear) is like a light in ones heart to see what errors ones making

With khauf (fear) one is kept on the right path

Abu Said (radhiallahu anhu) narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi
wasallam) mentioned a man from the previous generation or from the
people proceeding your age whom Allah had given both wealth and
children. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “When the time of
his death approached, he asked his children, 'What type of father have I
been to you?' They replied: 'You have been a good father.' He said, 'But he
(i.e. your father) has not stored any good deeds with Allah (for the
Hereafter): if he should face Allah, Allah will punish him. So listen, (O my
children), when I die, burn my body till I become mere coal and then grind
it into powder, and when there is a stormy wind, throw me (my ashes) in
it.' So he took a firm promise from his children (to follow his instructions).
And by Allah they (his sons) did accordingly (fulfilled their promise). Then
Allah said, 'Be!' and behold! That man was standing there! Allah then said,
'O my slave! What made you do what you did?' That man said, 'Fear of
You.' So Allah forgave him.” (Bukhari)

Raja’ (hope):

Necessity of Hope

The fear of Allah has never been a reason to feel hopelessness or

pessimism. In many verses of the Qur'an it is declared that a Muslim
should be in a constant state of hopefulness:

“Call on Him fearfully and eagerly. Allah's mercy is close to the good-
doers.” (Al-A'raf: 56)
Losing Hope

On the other hand, hopelessness is a characteristic of disbelievers, which

is also indicated in various Qur'anic verses:

“Those who reject Allah's Signs and the meeting with Him, such people
can despair of my mercy, such people will have a painful punishment.“
(al-'Ankabut: 23)

We should never lose Raja’ (hope), because Allah tells us in the Qur'aan

“O My slaves, who have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of

the Mercy of Allah, Verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly He is Oft-Forgiving,
the Most Merciful” (Zumar: 53)

The above aya is a stark reminder for us to maintain Raja’ (hope) in the
Mercy of Allah. This was evident in the following hadith where a man had
never conducted a single virtuous deed in his life, yet had a sincere
repenting heart, so Allah tilted the axis of the earth in order to shower his
Mercy onto him. This shows the doors of mercy are never closed and we
must always retain hope that they will be opened for us

Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Prophet of Allah (PBUH) said: "There was a man from among a nation
before you who killed ninety-nine people and then made an inquiry about
the most learned person on the earth. He was directed to a monk.
He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine people and
asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted. He
replied in the negative and the man killed him also completing one
hundred. He then asked about the most learned man in the earth. He was
directed to a scholar. He told him that he had killed one hundred people
and asked him if there was any chance for his repentance to be accepted.
He replied in the affirmative and asked, `Who stands between you and
repentance? Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people
devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not
come back to your land because it is an evil place.' So he went away and
hardly had he covered half the distance when death overtook him; and
there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of
torment. The angels of mercy pleaded, 'This man has come with a
repenting heart to Allah,' and the angels of punishment argued, 'He never
did a virtuous deed in his life.' Then there appeared another angel in the
form of a human being and the contending angels agreed to make him
arbiter between them. He said, `Measure the distance between the two
lands. He will be considered belonging to the land to which he is nearer.'
They measured and found him closer to the land (land of piety) where he
intended to go, and so the angels of mercy collected his soul".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Another version says: "Allah commanded (the land which he wanted to
leave) to move away and commanded the other land (his destination) to
draw nearer and then He said: "Now measure the distance between them.'
It was found that he was nearer to his goal by a hand's span and was thus
forgiven".
A believer should always hope for Allah's Compassion, Mercy and
Forgiveness, and understand that Allah loves to hear the repentance of his
slave

Muhabbah (Love):

Definition

Now going back to the head of the bird, as described by ibn Qayyim. Love
is the driving force that must co-exist with Khauf (fear) and Raja’ (hope),
like how the head controls the wings on a bird

Love has been defined by the ulema in numerous different ways:

It is that it is something clean and pure

Its something which is elevated above all other things

It is like a seed from which everything grows out of

It is being optimistic about meeting Allah

In summary, love for Allah means submitting to the will of Allah beyond
your own will, to give preference to the what Allah wants rather than what
you want and to always maintain the remembrance of Allah in the heart,
tongue and limbs

Love and Shukr (Gratitude)

We should have love for our Rabb who has given us everything: families,
shelter, security, food, health and above all the Guidance of Islam and the
Sunnah. We should be overwhelming in our love for Him. That is why we
praise Him and thank Him and say,

“All praise (and thanks) is for Allah, Rabbil-‘aalameen.” (Al-Fatiha:1)

Growing the muhabbah (Love) for Allah

Ibn Qayyim provides us with 10 points to help increase the level of

muhabbah (love) in our hearts

1. reciting the Qur'an while pondering over its meanings and what is
meant by it.
2. getting closer to Allah by performing voluntary deeds after
completing obligatory deeds. This is as is stated in a Hadith Qudsi:
"My slave continues getting closer to Me by performing voluntary
deeds until I love him." [al-Bukhari]
3. continual remembrance of Allah under all circumstances, with one's
tongue, heart and actions. The extent of one's love of Allah is
determined by this.
4. giving precedence to what He loves over what you love when you
are overtaken by your desires.
 5. the heart being avid of Allah's Names, and Attributes and the heart
roaming in that garden of knowledge.
6. observing Allah's kindness, goodness and bounties, both hidden and
open.
7. the heart being soft, subdued and meek before Allah (and this is the
most wonderful)
8. being alone with Allah during the time when the Lord descends
during the last portion of the night while reading His Book and
ending that by asking for forgiveness and repenting.
9. sitting with the beloved and sincere, benefitting from the most
fruitful of their speech. And not to speak unless speaking is more
beneficial and you know that it will improve your state and be
beneficial to others.
10.remaining away from every cause that comes between the heart
and Allah

Striking the Balance:

After understanding the need to have love, hope and fear in our worship,
the next question that naturally arises is that, in what proportion should
these qualities be present in our worship? Again we turn to the Qur'aan for
the answer.

“Call upon Him with Fear and Hope.” (A’raf: 56)

“Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in Fear and Hope.”
(Sajdah: 16)

So both khauf (fear) and Raja’ (hope) should be present in our hearts in
equal and balanced proportions, much like the two wings on the bird
referred to by Ibn Qayyim

Anas (radi-allahu anhu) reported that the Prophet (salla-allahu alaihe wa-
sallam) entered upon a young boy who was dying. The Prophet (salla-
allahu alaihe wa-sallam) asked, “How are you?” The boy replied, “O
Messenger of Allah, I am in between hoping in Allah and fearing for my
sins.” The Prophet (salla-allahu alaihe wa-sallam) said, “The like of these
two qualities do not unite in the heart of a servant except that Allah gives
him what he hopes for and protects him from what he feared.”

Therefore whenever we do a good action, we should hope that it has been

accepted by Allah, but at the same time we should also have fear that
maybe it isn’t enough or that the good deed has not been worthy of
acceptance. Likewise when we seek tawbah (repentence), we should have
hope that Allah will accept our repentance and forgive us, but we should
also fear that we may be accountable for it.

This balance should be reflected in our daily lives, we should not have the
impression that ‘we have nothing to worry about’, nor should we think that
‘we are doomed forever’. Allah gives us warnings with encouragement.
Allah informs us of the horrors of the Fire and the bliss of Paradise. He tells
us:
“Verily your Lord is Quick in Punishment and verily He is the Oft-Forgiving,
the Giver of Mercy.” (A’raf: 167)

And the scholars of Islaam say,

“He who worships Allah with hope only is a murji’ee. He who worships Him
in fear only is a Harooree (Khaarijee). And He who worships Allah in love
only is a Zindeeq (heretic). But he who worships Allah in fear, love and
hope is a Muwahhid Mu’min (a believer upon Tawheed).”

The Murji’a believed that as long as one believed and testified to Islaam,
they would never enter Hellfire (even temporarily) regardless of their
actions.

As for the Khawaarij, they held that anyone who commits major sins was a
disbeliever and would therefore dwell in Hellfire forever.

The Zindeeqs are sects who became like Christians and reduced the
religion to just ‘love’ devoid of the correct belief or actions.

Therefore its important for every Muslim to combine all three of them in
his heart properly. As was mentioned before, the fear and hope should be
in equal proportions, but as for love then that should be uppermost.
Referring back to Ibn Qayyim’s analogy of the bird, a bird could survive
with a damaged wing but would die without a head. After all it is through
the head that the wings will function.

We ask Allah to unite our hearts on the right path and to follow the 10
qualities mentioned by ibn Qayyim. We ask Allah to make us close to the
Prophet (salla-allahu alaihe wa-sallam) on the Day of Judgment.

All mistakes are my own, anything which is the truth is from Allah, and His
mercy encompasses all that is in the heavens and earth.