Flee to Allah!

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

فَفِرُّوا إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

So flee to Allāh. Verily, I am to you from Him a clear warner. [Adh-Dhariyat 50]

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

The reality of fleeing is to get away from one thing to another thing, and it is two types: the escape of the blessed and the escape of the wretched.

The escape of the blessed is to flee to Allah, The Mighty and Majestic, and the escape of the wretched is to flee from Allah and not to Him. As for fleeing to Allah, this is the fleeing (to Him) by Him allies. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, said regarding this Ayah:

[فَفِرُّوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ – So flee to Allah]:

Meaning, flee from (Allah’s punishment) and flee to Him (for protection) through obedience.

Sahl Bin Abdillah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Flee from other than Allah to Allah”.

Others (i.e. other scholars) said:

Flee from Allah’s punishment (i.e. by keeping away from disobedience) to His reward through (sound) Iman and obedience. [1]

Imam As-Sadi, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

When He (Allah) called His servants to reflect upon His signs that necessitate fear of Him based on knowledge regarding His Greatness and to constantly turn to Him through (submission, obedience and repentance), He then commanded that which is the goal behind it, namely, to flee to Him; meaning: (a person) – outwardly and inwardly – flees from what Allah hates and toward – inwardly and outwardly – what Allah loves. Flee from Jahl to ilm, from Kufr to Iman, from disobedience to obedience, and from heedlessness to the remembrance of Allah.

Whoever perfects these matters has perfected (their adherence) to the entire religion. What was feared is removed from him, and he attains the utmost goal and desire.

Allah referred returning to Him a “flight” because turning to anything other than Him is (accompanied) by various fears and harms, whereas turning to Him is (accompanied) by all kinds of beloved things, safety, joy, happiness, and success. Thus, a servant (of Allah) flees from Allah’s decree to Allah’s decree. Everything you fear, you flee from it towards Allah, The Most High, and depending on the level of one’s fear of Allah, the greater the fleeing to Him.

ۖ إِنِّي لَكُم مِّنْهُ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner.

Meaning: I warn you of the punishment of Allah and make the warning clear and evident. [2]

[1] The Heart’s Three Solid Pillars In The Path of Worship: Love, Fear, and Hope

[1] An Excerpt from “Madarij As-Salikeen”. 1/383. Publisher: Daar Mannaar 1st Edition. (1424AH- 2003)

[2] An Excerpt from Tafsir As-Sadi. Slightly paraphrased.