My Fave Ayah
“It is only Shaytaan that suggests to you the fear of his awliya (supporters, friends, polytheists, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad); so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers.” (Aal-Imran 3:175)
In this verse of the Holy Qu’ran Allah commands us to fear only Allah and none other than Him. Shaytaan will try to make us fear his followers but we have to know that none is more powerful than Allah.
Fear is a form of Worship.
This is one of my favourite verses from the Qur’an. It makes me feel that nothing can harm me if Allah doesn’t will. I once had many fears; fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of animals, fear of the Jinn etc. But when I heard this verse, I thought to myself, indeed none of these fears are bigger than Allah’s Power; only Allah can save me from all these fears . This verse also taught me that all these fears are from Shaytaan whereas I should have been fearing Allah and the Day of Judgment when I will have to stand and I will be given the final result of my deeds; Hell or Heaven.
What is fear?
Fear is a feeling, it is an action of the Heart which assumes some harm might come upon oneself .
Why should we fear Allah?
We should fear Allah as He has the power to control everything, and He is the Creator of Hell and can punish us.
How should we fear Allah?
We should fear Him by obeying His commandments and never doing anything that would displease Allah in any way.
The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) feared Allah, and would cry when he heard the verses of punishment. All the Prophets feared Allah and would continuously work to attain Allah’s pleasure even though they knew that they were the chosen ones.
“The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses (this Quran) are recited unto them, they increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone).” (Al-Anfaal 08:02)
It s the true believers that fear Allah, and cry when they hear the Qur’an and while making dua. They feel the power of Allah, and understand His words and warnings.
The angels fear Allah and so are in continuous obedience of Him, never do they disobey.
“And to Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of creatures, and the angels [as well], and they are not arrogant. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.” (An-Nahl 16:49-50)
There are 2 kinds of Fear:
- Fear of Worship: We fear Allah because He is praiseworthy and because of this fear we will do good deeds. So when we fear only Allah this becomes Ibadah (Worship) and when we seek refuge in someone other than Allah or we fear Satan or his followers, this becomes a fear of Shirk, meaning we have associated partners with Allah.
- Natural Fear: When something or someone is capable, alive and present which could harm you; that is natural fear. For example, fear that a lion present in front of you, could eat you. Natural fear can become an act of worship when you seek refuge in Allah.
To gain fear of Allah we have to know Allah is the All-Capable, He is the All-Knowing and He has all the Knowledge and Wisdom.
Among the seven categories of people who will be under the shade of the Throne of Allah on the Day of Judgement will be a man. A man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but he says: ‘I fear Allah’
In conclusion when a daughter has fear of Allah, she will never disobey her parents, when a boss has fear of Allah he would always give the worker his wages on time. When a person has fear of Allah in their hearts they will give people their rights, they will not cheat each other and there will be Peace in the world. Fear of Allah compels a person to do good.
Indeed who ever puts his trust in Allah out of fear and hope, he will be successful in this life and the hereafter.
Fatima Damad
AAT, Writer