The Foundations of Worship: Worshipping Allaah out of Love, Fear and Hope
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Subject: The Foundations of Worship: Worshipping Allaah out of Love, Fear and Hope Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:48 am
The Foundations of Worship: Worshipping Allaah out of Love, Fear and Hope
Source: Ad-Dawah ilalLaah Magazine
One of the most beautiful things about the concept of worship in Islaam is the truly unique way in which it incorporates the feelings of love, fear and hope within the hearts of the worshippers of Allah. Understanding how to combine these three qualities into the worship ('ibaadah) of Allah is one of the most essential things that every Muslim must grasp, not least because every sect which has drifted from the Straight Path has strayed in this aspect of worship.
In Islam, no worship is complete without the presence of all three qualities: LOVE of Allah, HOPE in His Mercy and FEAR of His Punishment. Contemplate the opening sura of the Qur'aan - Surat Al Fatihah - and you will see for yourself.
Ayah 1: "All Praise [and Thanks] are for Allah, Rabb (Lord) of all the worlds."
In this opening aayah (verse) of the Qur'aan, we have LOVE of Allah and every time we recite this ayah we are testifying to our love for Allah. How is that you ask? It is because in this ayah, we are acknowledging that Allah is our Rabb and the Rabb of all the worlds. Rabb is usually translated as 'the Lord', but this translation does not do justification to this name of Allah and all the meanings that this name carries. In reality Rabb means that Allah is the Creator of everything; He sustains and nourishes everything; He gives life and death; anything good which we have is from Him; everything is dependent on Him and nothing can happen unless He wills it. Furthermore, for the Muslim He - the Rabb - is the One who has guided us to the Truth and given us good morals and manners.
Thus, when we testify that Allah is out Rabb, then we are acknowledging that He is the One who has given us so many blessings - so many that is we tried to enumerate His blessings upon us, we could not count them. So how could we not love Him? After all, we know that when someone gives us even a small gift or shows even a small act of kindness towards us, then we develop so much love for them on account of that - so imagine then the love we should [1] have for our Rabb who has given us everything: nice families, shelter, security, food, health, and above all, Guidance to Islam and the Sunnah. We should be overwhelmed with our love for Him and thank Him and say: "All Praises [and Thanks] are for Allah, Rabbil-'aalameen."
Ayah 2: "The Rahman [Merciful] and the Raheem [Mercy-Giving]."
In the first ayah of surat Al Fatiha, Allah mentioned that He was ar-Rabb. In the next ayah, two more of His beautiful names are mentioned: ar-Rahmaan and ar-Raheem. Ar-Rahman means that He is the Most Merciful, that is, His Nature or His Essence is Merciful. Ar-Raheem means that He is the Giver of Mercy, in other words, His actions are full of Mercy and He shows Mercy to His creation.[2]
When we mention these two names of Allah, then we have HOPE. Since He has described Himself as so full of Mercy then we have hope that He will forgive our sins, and no matter how numerous our sins may be, we should never lose this hope because Allah has told us: "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, despair not of the Mercy of Allah. Verily Allah forgives all sins [except shirk]. Truly He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Mercy-Giving." [az-Zumar (39)].
The need to have FEAR in our worship is shown by the next ayah of surat Al Fatiha:
Ayah 3: "King/Master of the Day of Judegment."
When we recite this ayah we are reminding ourselves of the Day of Judgement - that awful Day, when we shall all stand before Allah, naked, uncircumcised and barefooted. Some will be sweating so much that it will go seventy arm-length into the earth. People will appear as if drunk though they are not. On this Day, every person will stand before Allah and account for his sins, knowing that not even the smallest action which he did is hidden from Allah:
"So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it." [az-Zalzalah (99)-8].
So when we recite this third ayah of surat Al Fatiha, we remind ourselves of this Judgement and accountability and that should bring about in us a sense of fear - that maybe ourevil actions will be too great and we will be responsible for them - may Allah protect us from such a fate.
From among the stations of worshipping Allah and seeking His help is the station of fear. Fear is one of the most important stations on the path and most beneficial for the heart. Fear is an obligation upon everyone, Allah said, “So fear them not, and fear Me alone, if you are believers.” [3:175] (The actual word used for fear in this verse is ‘khawf.’)
Another verse says, “And Me alone you all should fear,” [2:40] the actual word being a derivative of ‘rahba.’ And, “So do not fear people, but fear Me,” [5:44] the actual word in Arabic being ‘khashya.’ Different connotations of these various terms in Arabic for fear will be discussed shortly....
Allah has praised those who possess the attribute of fear saying, “And such (are the believers) who are humbled by the fear of their Lord…” [23:57]
Fear (of Allah’s displeasure or punishment) is not only for grave sinners, but also for the pious, observant believers, as in the following hadeeth: Aisha said, “O Messenger of Allah, is the verse “And those who dispense their charity while their hearts fear that to their Lord they must return” [23:60] referring to someone who commits fornication, drinks alcohol and steals and still fear Allah?
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, “No, O daughter of as-Siddiq, but it refers to one who fasts, perform salah and gives charity, and fears that it may not be accepted from him.” (Tirmithi) Al-Hasan, commenting on this, said, “By Allah, they (the Companions) obeyed Him and strove hard in it, yet they feared it might be rejected. A believer combines righteousness with fear in his heart, while a hypocrite combines evil with impunity.”
The terms ‘wajal,’ ‘khawf,’ ‘khashya’ and ‘rahba,’ are used in the Qur’an to refer to what we have translated as ‘fear’, but they are not synonyms. Abul-Qasim al-Junayd said, “Al-khawf is the anticipation of punishment.” Another scholar said, “Al-khawf is the moving of the heart upon the cognizance of that which is feared.”
The word khashya is more specific than khawf, for it is specific to the true knowers of Allah – as Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, said, “Truly, those who fear Allah from among His servants are the knowers.” [35:28]
Hence, khashya. is fear associated with the intimate knowledge (ma’rifa) of Allah-as the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, “I am most mindful of Allah among you, and most intense in fearing Him.” (Bukhari, Muslim) Khawf is movement in its essence, while khashya is concentration, stillness, and holding of breath. For example, someone who sees a fierce enemy or a flood or something like that has two states: first, movement in order to flee from it, and this is the state of khawf. Second, his stillness in a place safe from the danger-and this is khashya.
Ar-Rahba means the urge to run away from the danger-which is the opposite of ar-Raghba, which means the urge of the heart to journey towards that which it likes.
Al-Wajal is the trembling of the heart upon the cognition or remembrance of someone whose power or punishment one fears.
Al-Haybah is fear associated with awe and glorification, and its greatest form is that which occurs in association with love and intimate knowledge (ma’rifa).
Al-Khawf, then, is for the common believers, while al-kbashya is for the scholars with profound knowledge, while at-haybah is for those nearest to Allah. The extent of one’s fear for Allah is proportional to one’s knowledge, both formal and experiential, of Allah. As the Prophet, sallallahu alaybe wa sallam, said, “I am the most knowledgeable of Allah among you, and most intense in His khashya.” In another narration of the same hadeeth, the word used is khawf instead of khashya.
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, also said, “if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much, and would not enjoy intimacy with women, and would go out wandering in the wildernesses and praying to Allah.” (Ahmad)
When faced with his object of fear, a man with khawf turns to fleeing and grabbing, while a man with khashya seeks the support of knowledge. For example, when a lay person is faced with an illness, he seeks to protect himself (and seeks someone who could help) while a skilled physician turns to investigating the illness and the cure.
Abu Hafs says, “Al-khawf is Allah’s lash with which He straightens up those fleeing from His door.” He also said, “Al-khawf is a lamp in the heart, with which the good and the evil inside of the heart can be seen-and everyone you fear from, you run away from him, except Allah-when you fear Him, you run towards Him for refuge.”
Hence, the one who fears Allah is a refugee towards His Lord’s [mercy] from his Lord’s [displeasure]. Abu Suleiman said, “Whenever fear (of Allah) departs a heart, it is ruined.” Ibraheem ibn Sufyan said, “When fear of Allah resides in hearts, it burns away the sources of lust and eradicates worldly attachments.” Thun-Noon said, “People will stay on the path so long as they have (Allah’s) fear when this fear leaves them, they will go astray.”
Fear, however, is not the end in itself, but a means towards an end. When that end, Allah’s ultimate pleasure, is attained, there is no need for fear. As Allah says to the people of Paradise: “there is no fear upon them, nor do they grieve.”
Fear is associated with actions, while love is connected with being and attributes. When the believers enter the Realm of Allah’s eternal blessings, their love will multiply, while their fear will disappear. Hence, the place of love is higher and nobler than the place of fear.
The true and praiseworthy fear is that which stops a person from the prohibitions of Allah. But when fear exceeds this boundary, it may bring hopelessness and despair.
Abu Uthman said, “Sincerity of fear is vigilance from sins, open and secret.” I also heard Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah honor his soul, say, “The praiseworthy fear is that which prevented you from the prohibitions of Allah.”
The author of al-Manazil, Shaykh al-Harawi, said, “Al-khawf, or fear, is to do away with careless sense of security by envisioning the great news (of the Last Day).”
He further said, “The beginning of fear is the fear of punishment, and this kind of fear is sufficient to establish the soundness of one’s faith. It is born out of one’s affirmation of the warning (of Allah’s punishment), recognition of one’s transgressions and consideration of the punishment.” Thus, fear is preceded by cognition and knowledge for a man cannot fear what he does not know.
Two more things are related to fear: the thing or occurrence that is feared and the way that leads one to it. Lack of knowledge of either of these leads to a concomitant lack of fear. If one does not know that a certain act leads to a feared outcome or he knows so but does not know the value or might of that which he claims to fear, one does not really have true fear. Similarly, an active awareness of the punishment or loss that one fears, not just a passive and abstract knowledge of it, is an indication of the sincerity of fear and sound faith.
Another praiseworthy category of fear is to fear returning to the state of sinfulness and heedlessness after one has attained closeness to Allah and sincere fear of His displeasure for if one feels unduly secure in one’s state, it is likely that one will go back to the state of sinfulness.
Then the next verse goes on to say:
"You alone we worship." i.e. we single out Allah for our worship. And how do we worship Him? With LOVE, HOPE and FEAR. And in order to achieve these qualities, we need Allah's assistance, so we say then: "We seek Your Aid." [1:4].
STRIKING THE BALANCE
After understanding the need to have love, fear and hope in our worship, the question that now arises is: in what proportions should these qualities be present in our worship? Again we turn to the Qur'aan for our answer.
"Call upon Him with Fear and Hope." [al-A'raff(7)].
And also:
"Their sides forsake their beds, to invokde their Lord in Fear and Hope." [as-Sajdah(32)].
Some have said that it is better to strengthen fear more than hope because when vain hopes overcome a person he is ruined. Others say that the best of situations is a complete balance of hope and fear with overwhelming love, for love is composite while hope is a sharpener and fear a driver.
So both fear and hope should be present inour hearts in equal proportions. Anas - radiAllaahu 'anhu - reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam entered upon a young boy who was dying. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi 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 sallallaahu 'alaihi 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."[3]
The heart in its journey towards Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, is like a bird whose head is love, and hope and fear are its two wings. When the head and the two wings are sound and healthy the flight of the bird is good, but when the head is cut off, it immediately dies, and when either or both wings are deficient, the bird cannot properly fly and may become victim of any hunter or snare. The righteous predecessors preferred 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.
Whenever we do a good action, we should have 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 sin, we should have hope that Allah will accept out Repentance and forgive us, but we should also fear that we may be accountable for it.
This balance should also be reflected in out da'wah (which of course is also worship). So when we invite others to the Truth, we should not give them the impression that they have "nothing to worry about"; nor do we suggest that they are doomed forever. Rather, we couple warnings with encouragement. We inform them of the horrors of the Fire as well as telling them about the bliss of Paradise. Just as we find Allah telling us in the Qur'aan:
"Verily your Lord is Quick in Punishment and verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Giver of Mercy." [al-A'raaf(7)].
And our Righteous Predecessors used to 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 [e.g. Sufis]. But he who worships Allah in fear, love and hope is a Muwahhid Mu'min [a believer upon Tawheed." [4]
The Murji'ah were a sect that emerged within the first century of Islaam. The people of this sect (known as murji'ees) believe that sins do not affect faith, i.e. no matter what sins a person commits, his iman (faith) is complete and perfect. They worship Allah only with hope because they believe that as along as one believed and testified to Islaam, they would enter Paradise regardless of their actions.
Unfortunately, all too often nowadays we find a somewhat similar attitude amongst the Muslims today, which is why we find that so often when we try to advise someone to turn to the Deen and abandon sin, they just point to their hearts and say, "Allah knows what's in my heart", or that "Allah forgives" or something similar.
As for the Khawaarij, they worshipped Allah in fear only because they held that anyone who committed major sins was a disbeliever and would therefore dwell in Hellfire forever. This, of course, is gross extremism and a straying from the correct Path. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "There were two men from Banoo Israa'eel who strove equally. One of them committed sins and the other strove hard in worship. And the one who strove in worship continued to see the other sin and kept saying to him: 'Desist'. So one day, he found him committing a sin and so said to him: 'Desist'. So he replied: "Leave me to my Lord; have you been sent as a watcher over me?" He said, "By Allah, Allah will nor forgive you, nor will Allah admit you to Paradise." Then their souls were taken and they came together before the Lord of the Worlds. So He said to the one who strove in worship: "Did you have knowledge of Me, or did you have any power over what was in my Hands?" And He said to the sinner: "Go and enter Paradise through My Mercy." And He said to the other: "Take him to the Fire." Aboo Hurairah said: "By Him is Whose Hand is my soul! He spoke a word which destroyed this world and the Hereafter for him."[5]
Therefore, we should never say of anyone that he or she is a 'lost cause' or 'doomed' or the like since this is a great sin. However, we fear for those who commit major sins because they have been threatened with punsihment in the Qur'an. It is up to Allah whether He chooses to punish them or whether He will forgive them
The Sufis reduced the religion to just 'love' and so all their talk and all their mystical practices are centred around developing more 'love'.
It is thus clear how imbalances in any of the three qualities of worship can lead to major deviation and straying from the True Guidance. Therefore, it is important for every Muslim to inculcate all three things in his heart properly. As was mentioned before, the fear and hope should be in equal proportions[6] but as for love, then that should be uppermost, As Fudayl ibn Iyyaad (d.187H) said: "The love is better than fear. The fear checks us from sinning, and the love makes us to do what is prescribed with an open heart."[7]
May Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala grant us what we hope for and protect us from what we fear. Aameen.
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Footnotes
1 This is why the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam encouraged us to give gifts to one another. He said: "Give gifts to one another, you will come to love one another." [Hasan - Collected in al-Bukhaaree's al-Adabul-Mufrad & declared hasan by al-Albaanee in al-Irwaa(1601).
2 As explained by Ibnul-Qayyim (d.751H) in Badaa'i-ul-Faawaa'id & others.
3 Hasan - Collected by at-Tirmidhee & Ibn Maajah. Authenticated by al-Albaanee in Ahkaamul-Janaa'iz (no. 2).
4 Quoted by ibn Rajab in at-Takhweef minan-Naar as the saying of one of the Salaf.
5 Saheeh - Reported by Aboo Hurairah & collected in Aboo Daawood (eng. trans. vol.3 p.1365 no.4883). Authenticatd by al-Albaanee in Saheehul-Jaami (4455).
6 This was the opinion of most of the Salaf. Al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyyaad said that when one is healthy and well, then fear should predominate, but when terminally ill then hope should predominate - so that one should strive to do good when well and not despair of Allah's Mercy when terminally ill. [At-Takhweef minan-Naar].
7 Reported in at-Takhweef minan-Naar of Ibn Rajab. Note that some scholars hold that fear is better than love. Allah knows best.
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The Signs of Fear of Allah; Its Reasons; Its Fruits and Some Poems
Know! Dear Muslim brothers and sisters. We can find out whether we fear Allah or are oblivious of him through some simple tests. Here are some of them:
The tongue informs us: if we talk evil, backbite and engage in frivolous gossip, it shows that there is very little concern. We should engage our tongues in the remembrance of Allah, in the recitation of the Quran and in circles of knowledge.
In the heart we should expel hatred, enmity and jealousy and replace them with well-wishing and care for Muslims.
We should be careful of what we put in our stomachs.
Our eyes should not wander off to look at haram objects.
Our feet should not walk towards haram places.
We should not extend our hands for haram purposes.
We should be concerned in our good deeds that we don't perform them for anyone else except Allah.
The Reasons for Fearing Allah:
O servants of Allah, there are many reasons why we should fear. The following is a list of a number of them;
- the fear of death before repenting; - the fear of not living up to one's repentance and breaking one's promise; - the fear of not being able to fulfil Allah’s obligations; - the fear of losing one's softness in the heart and its hardening; - the fear of losing consistency; - the fear of allowing temptations to dominate; - the fear of Allah making one's self responsible for doing goods deeds because of conceit; - the fear of becoming arrogant and egotistical due to the abundance of bounties; - the fear of being distracted from Allah by other creation; - the fear of being led to an evil ending through excessive bounties; - the fear of being punished early (i.e. in this world); - the fear of being disgraced at the time of death; - the fear of being beguiled by the glitter of this world; - the fear of Allah revealing one's secret in one's state of oblivion; - the fear of being stamped with a bad death at the time of death; - the fear of the pangs of death; - the fear of the questions of Munkar and Nakeer in the grave; - the fear of the punishment of the grave; - the fear of the horrors of the horizon (at the time of resurrection); - the fear of the awe during the presentation in front of Allah; - the fear and the shame of being naked (at the time of resurrection); - the fear of being questioned about every little thing in life; - the fear of the bridge (over Hell) and its sharpness; - the fear of the fire, its chains and its torment; - the fear of being deprived of Paradise, the Eternal and everlasting kingdom and abode and - the fear of being deprived of seeing Allah's tremendous visage.
The jurist of Samarkand says that the person who does one good deed should be weary of four things (imagine what a person who commits a sin should be afraid of):
The fear of not being accepted because Allah says:
‘Allah only accepts from those who fear.’ [Maidah: 27]
The fear of showing off, for Allah says: ‘They have been instructed to worship Allah sincerely; religion is for him Alone.’ [Bayinah: 5]
The fear of preserving the good deed because Allah says: ‘Whoever brings a good deed shall have ten times its reward.’ [An`am: 161]
The fear of being deserted in performing good deeds, for Allah says: ‘My reconciliation (with good) is only through Allah; it is upon Him that I trust and it is to Him that I resort.’ [Hud: 88]
The Fruits of Fear:
Ghazali (rahmatullahi `alayhi) sais: ‘Fear rips away desires and muddens luxuries so that cherished sins become reprehensible, just as a honey lover is repelled by it when he learns that it has poison in it. This is how fear burns desires; disciplines the organs; subordinates the heart and gives it tranquility. It also enables the heart to rid itself of pride, hatred, and envy; and it leaves it absorbed in it (fear). Hence, the heart becomes preoccupied with its own worries and looks towards its best interest in the long run. It is then engaged in only matters like meditation, self-analysis and struggle. It cherishes its time and moments.’ [Ihya: 4/160]
Poems:
Abdullah ibn Mubarak (rahimahullah) said about fear:
When night befalls, they endure it and see it through bowing in ruku. Fear has released their sleep, so they stand and acquire security in vigilance.
Hasan ibn Hani (rahimahullah) composed the following (it has been credited to Imam Shafi`ee (rahimahullah):
Fear Allah and hope for every good thing from Him; Don’t follow your adamant self, lest you regret it; Remain in between hope and fear and you will rejoice with the Pardon of Allah if you submit.
[Muajjamul Udaba: 17/303 credited to Imam Shafi`ee and also in the Divan of Hasan.] --------
The Foundations of Worship: Worshipping Allaah out of Love, Fear and Hope
Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:48 am
