The Impact of Love, Fear and Hope In The Worship and Behaviour of Muslim
In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy
Allah [The Most High] said:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ أَندَاداً يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلّهِ
And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them as they love Allah. But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else). [2:165]
Imam As-Sadi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
The (true) believers love Allah more than the love that the idol worshippers have for the partners they associate with Allah in worship. This is because they (believers) have a pure and sincere love for Allah. As for the Mushrikoon, they associate partners with Allah in worship out of the love they have for their false objects of worship. The believers love The One (Allah) who deserves true love in reality, for true love of Allah is the very thing upon which depends the rectification of a person, his happiness and success. As for the Mushrikoon, they love those who are not worthy of being given any love, rather having love for such things is the very reason behind wretchedness, corruption and loss. [1]
The Believers Also Worship Allah with Fear and Hope!
Allah (The Most High) said:
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًا ۖ وَكَانُوا لَنَا خَاشِعِينَ
Verily, they (i.e. Prophets) used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us. [21:90]
Imam As-Sadi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
They used to hasten towards the performance of good deeds and carried them out in the most virtuous times. They carried out those good deeds in a befitting manner and in the manner it is obligated. They never left a virtuous deed they were able to perform; rather they took the opportunity to perform it. They used to call upon Allah with Hope and Fear – asking Allah for those good things that are desired in the worldly life and afterlife. They used to seek Allah’s Refuge from those frightening things that bring about harm in this life and the next. Thus, they had fear and hope, and they were not heedless, inattentive and arrogant. [2]
Love, Fear And Hope In Surah Al-Fatihah
These three pillars are the pillars of servitude of the heart and no act of worship is accepted except through them. Allah is to be worshipped out of love of Him, hoping for His reward and fearing His punishment. Allah [The Blessed and Most High] mentioned these pillars of worship in Surah Al Fatihah – the best Surah of the Qur’an.
Love as a pillar of worship is found in statement [الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ – All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)]. This is because Allah is the Bestower of all favours and the Bestower of blessings is loved in accordance with the favours He bestows, and [الْحَمْدُ] is to praise alongside having love for the one who is praised.
Hope as a pillar of worship is found in the statement [الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ -The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful]. That is because the believer hopes for Allah’s Mercy and desires its attainment.
Fear as a pillar of worship is found in the statement [مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين -The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)]. [يَوْمِ الدِّين – The Day of Recompense] is the day of reckoning.
Then the statement [إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ – You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything)] follows thereafter, which means: O our Lord! We worship You based on those aforementioned pillars- love, hope and fear. These are the three pillars upon which[إِيَّاكَ نَعۡبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسۡتَعِينُ is established. They have also been mentioned in Surah Al-Israa Verse 57:
[أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ يَبۡتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّہُمۡ أَقۡرَبُ وَيَرۡجُونَ رَحۡمَتَهُ ۥ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۥۤۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ -Those whom they call upon [like ‘Iesa (Jesus) – son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angel, etc.] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the nearest and they [‘Iesa (Jesus), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angels, etc.] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment].
In the above Ayah, the statement “desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah)” means seeking to get close to Allah through love and doing what He loves. Then Allah stated, “(They) hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment”. Therefore in this Ayah, love, fear and hope are mentioned, and likewise stated in Surah Al-Anbiyaa: [إِنَّهُمۡ ڪَانُواْ يُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلۡخَيۡرَٲتِ وَيَدۡعُونَنَا رَغَبً۬ا وَرَهَبً۬اۖ وَڪَانُواْ لَنَا خَـٰشِعِينَ – Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us].
Therefore, a slave (i.e. the one who worships Allah alone) must combine these three pillars [love, fear and hope] in his (or her) acts of worship and remembrance of Allah. It is not permissible to worship Allah with only one of them without the others, such as worshipping Allah with love alone without fear and hope, or worshipping Allah with hope alone, or worshipping Allah with fear alone. And due to this, some of the scholars said, ”Whoever worships Allah with love alone is a heretic and whoever worships Allah with fear alone is a Harooree (i.e. from the Khaarij), and whoever worships Allah with hope alone is a Murji, and whoever worships Allah with love, fear and hope is a believer and person of Tawheed. [3]
Al-Allamah Sahih Al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him, said:
We should know that fear of Allah should be combined with love and hope, so that fear does not become a cause of giving up hope in Allah’s Mercy. A believer should have both fear of Allah and hope in Allah’s Mercy, so that fear alone does not lead him to give up hope in Allah’s mercy, nor will hope alone make feel secure from Allah’s plan. That is because giving up hope in Allah’s Mercy and feeling secure from Allah’s plan are two affairs that negate perfect Tawheed. Allah [The Most High] said: [فَلَا يَأۡمَنُ مَڪۡرَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ – None feels secure from the Plan of Allah except the people who are the losers]. [7:99]
Allah [The Most High] said: [إِنَّهُ ۥ لَا يَاْيۡـَٔسُ مِن رَّوۡحِ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلۡقَوۡمُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرُونَ – Certainly no one despairs of Allah’s Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.” [12:87]
Allah said: [ وَمَن يَقۡنَطُ مِن رَّحۡمَةِ رَبِّهِۦۤ إِلَّا ٱلضَّآلُّونَ – “And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray. [15:56]
Ismaa’eel Ibn Rafi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “Feeling secure from Allah’s plan is when a servant of Allah is persistent in committing sin, whilst hoping for Allah’s forgiveness”. The Scholars say that despair is to distance oneself from having hope for relief and losing hope in that, and it is the opposite of feeling secure from Allah’s plan. Both these two matters are a great sin. It is neither permissible for a believer to adhere to fear alone, and thus despairs of Allah’s Mercy, nor should he adhere to hope alone, and thus feels secure from Allah’s punishment; rather he should have fear and hope – fearful due to his sins, performs acts of obedience to Allah and hopes for Allah’s Mercy, just as Allah [The Most High] stated:
إِنَّهُمۡ ڪَانُواْ يُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلۡخَيۡرَٲتِ وَيَدۡعُونَنَا رَغَبً۬ا وَرَهَبً۬اۖ وَڪَانُواْ لَنَا خَـٰشِعِينَ
Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us. [21:90]
Allah said: [ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدۡعُونَ يَبۡتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ ٱلۡوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّہُمۡ أَقۡرَبُ وَيَرۡجُونَ رَحۡمَتَهُ ۥ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ ۥۤۚ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحۡذُورً۬ا – Those whom they call upon [like ‘Iesa (Jesus) – son of Maryam (Mary), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angel, etc.] desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord (Allah), as to which of them should be the nearest and they [‘Iesa (Jesus), ‘Uzair (Ezra), angels, etc.] hope for His Mercy and fear His Torment. Verily, the Torment of your Lord is something to be afraid of! [17:57]
When fear of Allah and hope in Allah are combined, it urges a slave (i.e. a worshipper of Allah) to perform deeds and utilise the beneficial means to that. Indeed. alongside having hope in Allah’s Mercy, he performs acts of obedience and hopes for reward; and by way of fear, he abandons disobedience due to being fearful of Allah’s punishment. But if he despairs of Allah’s Mercy, he may stop performing righteous deeds, and if he feels secure from Allah’s punishment, he is pushed towards acts of disobedience. [4]
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: It is obligated to a person that his fear and hope are the same because if one of them is more than the other he is destroyed.”
Amongst the scholars are those who say that if you desire to perform an act of obedience, you should have more hope that Allah will accept it, raise your status by way of it and strengthen you. And if you desire to commit an act of disobedience, you should have more fear so that you do not fall into it. And amongst the scholars are those who say that fear and hope should be based on the circumstances of a person. If one is in a state of poor health, he should have more hope because the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “None of you should die except whilst having good thoughts about Allah”. This is because if one has overwhelming fear whilst he is in a state of poor health, it may lead him to despair of Allah’s Mercy. As for when one is in a state of good health, he should have more fear because a state of good health is a reason for corruption [i.e. it corrupts some people because they take it for granted and are ungrateful etc]. The best position – in my view – regarding this dangerous subject matter is that a person (approaches the affair) based on his circumstances and the position that is more precise is that a person should have more hope when he performs a good deed, and when he desires an evil deed, he should have more fear. [5]
We ask Allah:
اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لِي دِينِي الَّذِي هُوَ عِصْمَةُ أَمْرِي
وَأَصْلِحْ لِي دُنْيَايَ الَّتِي فِيهَا مَعَاشِي
وَأَصْلِحْ لِي آخِرَتِي الَّتِي فِيهَا مَعَادِي
وَاجْعَلِ الْحَيَاةَ زِيَادَةً لِي فِي كُلِّ خَيْرٍ
وَاجْعَلِ الْمَوْتَ رَاحَةً لِي مِنْ كُلِّ شَرٍّ
O Allah! Rectify my religion for me, which is the safeguard of my affairs; rectify my worldly [affairs], wherein is my livelihood; and rectify my Afterlife to which is my return; and make life for me [as a means of] increase in every good and make death for me as a rest from every evil. [Sahih Muslim Number: 2720]
[1] An Excerpt from ‘Tayseer Al-kareem Ar-Rahmaan Fee Tafseer kalaam Al-Mannaan’ by Imaam Sadi’.
[2] An Excerpt from ‘Tayseer Al-kareem Ar-Rahmaan Fee Tafseer kalaam Al-Mannaan’ by Imaam Sadi.
[3] An Excerpt from Fiqhul Ad’iyah Wal-Adkaar’ 1/ 99-100
[4] Al-Irshaad Ilaa Saheeh Al-I’tiqaad War-Raddu Alaa Ahlish-Shirki Wal-Ilhaad’ pages 85. Publisher: Daarul Aasimah’ 1st ed (Year 1423AH- year 2002
[5] Sharh Hilyati Talibal Ilm. Page 35-36. By Imam Muhammad Ibn Salih al-Uthaymin