Insha’Allah, in today’s khutba, I intend speaking on the topic: “Fear of Allah and Hope in Allah.” Let us try to understand what these two terms “fear” and “hope” actually mean when used in respect of our relationship with Allah (SWT). What is the best approach one should take with respect to fear of Allah and hope in Allah? Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an,
مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ
We have left out nothing in the Book (al-An’am 6:38)
So the issue of fear and hope is also addressed in the Qur’an. We have in Surat al-A’raf
وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا إِنَّ رَحْمَةَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Call on Him with fear and hope. Allah’s mercy is close to those who do good (al-A’raf 7:56).
In this ayah, the two states of fear and hope are joined together in order that the ‘abd (the slave) of Allah is both fearful and hopeful of Him. And about the believers, Allah says in Surat al-Isra’,
وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا
They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Surely, the punishment of your Lord is to be feared (al-Isra’ 17:57).
And He says in Surat as-Sajda,
تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ
“Their sides leave their beds to call upon their Lord in fear and hope and donate from what We have provided for them.” (as-Sajdah 32:16).
A mu’min (a believer) leads his life between fear and hope. The thing that necessitates fear is recognizing with awe, inspiration and reverence the glory, the grandeur and the power of Allah on the one hand and the knowledge and severity of His punishment on the other. What necessitates hope is recognizing the mercy of Allah and the tremendous reward He has for His righteous slaves. In Surat al-Hijr we have,
نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ () وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الْأَلِيمُ
“Tell My slaves that I am the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful, and that My punishment is a painful punishment (al-Hijr 49-50).
Whoever recognizes the generosity and bounties of Allah hopes for Him and whoever fears His punishment, fears Him, and a hadith has been narrated in this sense, the meaning of which is as follows: “If the fear and the hope of the believer were to be weighed, they would be found equal in weight except that it is preferred that throughout his life, fear predominates so that it will lead him to do right action but upon and close to the time of death, it is urged that his hope predominates so that he has great hope of Allah at the time of death.” According to the meaning of another hadith, “Let none of you die without having a very good opinion of Allah.” This means having high hope of the mercy of Allah and expecting the very best from Him. Allah says in the Qur’an,
وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
My mercy encompasses (extends to) all things (al-A’raf 7:156).
And about true righteous believers, the Qur’an says:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ هُمْ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ رَبِّهِمْ مُشْفِقُونَ
They are those who are filled with the fear of their Lord (al-Mu’minun 23:57). Such believers even avoid things which are frivolous like idle gossip and senseless talk.
وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ
And who keep themselves away from vain things (al-Mu’minun 23:3).
There are three degrees of fear. The first degree is weak. It has no real effect either in the inward or in the outward. This fear might as well not exist because it is of no benefit or use. The second degree is strong fear which wakes up the person from his heedlessness and carries him to become obedient and upright. It drives him from his neglectfulness and makes him go on the straight path. The third degree of fear is the severe overpowering fear that reaches to such a degree that the slave loses hope in Allah. This is not permissible. It is not permissible to allow fear to reach such a degree. In ayah 53 in of Surat az-Zumar, we have:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Say: “O My servants who transgressed against themselves, do not despair of God’s mercy. For God forgives all sins. He is the Forgiving, the Merciful (az-Zumar 39:53).
It is commonly known that the best of affairs is the middle of them. The best form of fear is not the weak form which has no effect in one’s inwardness or one’s outward behavior, nor is it the one which is so strong that it makes one lose hope of Allah’s mercy, but it is the fear that transforms one’s life and makes one take up right action and give up wrong action.
People have three stations with respect to fear. The fear of ordinary people is the fear of wrong actions and consequently the fear of the punishment of such wrong actions. Wrong actions can be active or passive, which means that they can be by actively doing something that is prohibited or they can be by leaving out something which is commanded.
Ibn Mas’ud (RA) is reported to have said: “A mu’min sees his wrong actions as if he were at the foot of the mountain which he fears will fall on top of him. The immoral and corrupt person sees his wrong actions as if they were a fly flying above his nose.” So the degree of the ordinary Muslim is the fear of the wrong actions.
The fear of the elite of the believers is the fear of the conclusion of their lives; of the final act of their lives; the final state they are in; the condition of the spiritual heart when they die. There are many supplications (du’as) in which the righteous people ask for a good end to their lives. The fear of the elite of the elite is the fear from what has been written down and decreed for one and for that reason Ibn Mas’ud (RA) used to recite a du’a in the following words:
اللهُمَّ إنْ كُنْتَ كَتَبْتَنِي في أهلِ الشَّقَاءِ فَأمْحِنِي وأثْبِتْنِي في أهلِ السَّعَادَةِ
“O Allah, if you have decreed me as one of the wretched (miserable and unhappy), you erase it and write me as one of the blessed (fortunate and happy).”
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! Just as fear has degrees, hope also has degrees. The first is the hope for the mercy of Allah along with engaging with those things which will earn the mercy of Allah, which means doing right actions and giving up disobedience. This is the praiseworthy type of hope.
The second is the hope which accompanies wrong actions and disobedience. This type of hope is self-deception. It is wishful thinking; just hoping that everything will work out all right and not working hard enough for it. This is the blameworthy type of hope. The third degree of hope is very strong which reaches to a degree of considering oneself safe. This is absolutely wrong. Allah says in Surat al-A’raf,
أَفَأَمِنُوا مَكْرَ اللَّهِ فَلَا يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ
Do they feel secure against God’s plan? Only the losers feel secure against God’s plan (al-A’raf 7:99).
Just as the state of fear has three stations, the state of hope also has three stations. The generality of the people, hope for the reward of Allah for doing right actions and for being one of the people of iman.
The station of the elite is for the hope of the good pleasure of Allah. This is contained in a beautiful du’a which has been transmitted to us. The meaning of this du’a is: “O Allah, I ask you for your good pleasure and the garden and whatever of words and deeds bring one closer to them and I seek refuge with you from your displeasure and the fire and whatever of words and deeds bring one closer to them.”
And the degree of the elite of the elite is the hoping of meeting with Allah out of love for Him and longing for Him. Referring to this, we have in Surat al-Kahf,
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
Say: ‘I am only a human being like you who has received revelation. Your god is One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord act rightly and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord (al-Kahf 18:110).
Iman (faith) is between fear and hope. A believer lives between fear and hope. The right and the approved kind of fear is that which acts as a barrier between the believer and the things forbidden by Allah. But, if fear is unreasonably excessive, then the possibility is that the person will fall into despair and pessimism.
On the other hand the approved state of hope is that which impels one to do good deeds and this makes one optimistic and hopeful of being rewarded for it. It also includes making sincere repentance for sins committed and being hopeful of being forgiven. On the contrary if one does not repent and continues to indulge in sins and excesses, and is hopeful that he would be forgiven without mending his ways, then this is self-deception.
It is said that fear and hope are like the two wings of a bird. If they are well balanced, the flight will be well balanced. But, when either or both wings are deficient, the bird cannot fly properly It is advisable to strengthen the wing of fear during good times when heedlessness is feared, and to strengthen the wing of hope at times of calamity and when near death.
