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Lesson: 27 Fear and Hope
The scholars
of morals, before discussing fear, divide His quality into two kinds, viz. desirable
and censurable both of them too have various types: They have divided the disagreeable
fear into four categories:
A. Fear of
a thing about which man knows that it is going to happen but it is in man's
power to stop. B. Fear of an event which again is not in the control of man but there is a
possibility of its happening or not happening. C. Fear of a happening which is in the power of man but he has not yet found
its means. D. Fear due to baseless imaginations while man knows that such a thing cannot
happen.
As regards
the first and second category, that is, in the matters that are not in human
control, man must not fear because in such case fear or fright is meaningless
and what man should do is, after making predictable arrangements, submit to
the Will of Allah.
And in the
third case also when means is in the hand of man one should remain alert so
that he may not have to be frightened.
In the case
of the fourth, man must fight with imaginary thought and strengthen his intellectual
power. The more the power of intelligence the less that of imaginations. In
this way fear can be removed from man's mind.
The scholars
of ethics, after the said divisions, divide and fear of death generally in six
kinds. Here we make it into two:
1 - Sometimes
man is afraid of death because he thinks that he perishes with hi death or the
state of death makes him sorrowful and the thought of death gives him a shock,
whereas he should know that this grand universe has not been created uselessly
or aimlessly but that the creation of this magnificent world is for his perfection.
The Quranic verses address man in this way:
Do you think
that We have created you aimlessly and that you will not return to Us on the
Day of Judgement?
Therefore man
must know that he has an everlasting existence and it was this faith and certainty
that made brave slaves of God lovers of death and martyrdom as Amirul Mo-mineen
(a.s.) says:
By God! The
familiarity and fondness of the son of Abu Talib for death is more than the
affection of a child for its mother's breast.
As mentioned
in Mathnawi: After dying as an inorganic existence I became a renowned one,
then died to be an animal, then died and became man. Then why should I fear
that I will be decreased by death? Again I will die to get wings of an angel,
and then I will fly high. Thus I will be what you cannot be.
2 - Sometimes
man fears Gods anger and chastisement. We should realise that kind of fear is
indeed desirable. Occasionally our fear is due our own misdeeds because Allah
never punishes anyone except due to that person's sins and oppressions and unjust
deeds.
In other words,
man's fear is from the Divine Court of Justice. Hence says the Holy Quran: So
this Day no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and you shall not
be rewarded aught but that which you did.
And at another
place say: Whoever brings good, he shall have better that it, and whoever
brings evil, those who do evil shall not be rewarded for aught except what they
did.
However, we
should remember that we can remedy or recompense if we have done wrong and as
asserted by the Holy Quran the doors of repentance Tawbah are wide open and
we can do things whereby we can earn Gods pardon.
And in both
the above mentioned cases if the fear of man is regarding the fate of his children
and his survivors, then too doubtlessly, it is also due to weakness of Faith
because the Lord Almighty is the best of their Protector and it is He Who directs
all affairs to the benefit of theirs and of the society.
The best
fear
It is the fear
of man due to Grandeur of the Creator. It is even if one has done nothing wrong
sin because he knows that The highest good points of the Pious people are the
lowest points of the Muqarrabeen those esteemed who are nearest to God. Such
a man, thus, remains ashamed of himself. This is the fear which was in the hearts
of the Prophets and Walis and great Ulamah. Now we invite your attention to
some Verses and Traditions:
1 - It is
only the Shaitan that causes you to fear from his friends, but do not fear them,
and fear Me if you are believers.
2 - Say:
Surely I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the chastisement of a grievous day.
3 - What!
Will you not fight a people who broke their oaths and aimed at the expulsion
of the Apostle, and they attacked you first; do you fear them? But Allah is
most deserving that you should fear Him, if you are believers.
4 - And
those who join that which Allah has bidden to be joined and have awe of their
Lord and fear the evil reckoning.
5 - And
most certainly We will settle you in the land after them; this is for him who
fears standing in My presence and who fears My threat.
6 - Men
whom neither merchandise nor selling diverts from the remembrance of Allah and
the keeping up of prayer and the giving of poor-rate; they fear a day in which
the hearts and eyes shall turn about.
7 - And
he who obeys Allah and His Apostle, and fears Allah, and is careful of his duty
to Him, these it is that are the achievers.
8 - Those
of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah
9 - Except
what Allah pleases, surely He knows the manifest, and what is hidden. And We
will make your way smooth to a state of ease. Therefore do remind, surely reminding
does profit. He who fears will mind.
10 - And
as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul
from low desires, then surely the garden - that is the abode.
These were
some of the verses that describe the topic of fear. Now we invite your attention
to some of the narrations:
1 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: Addressing Ishaaq bin Ammar he said: Fear God as if you see him
and if you do not see Him, He does see you. If you believe that He does not
see you than you have become a Kafir and if you know that He sees you and yet
you disobey Him openly then you have imagined Him to be the lowest ones because
no slave ever disobeys his master like that.
2 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: Whoever knew God, feared Him and who feared Allah pulls out his
heart from the material world.
3 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: Verily a part of worship is the fear of God. Allah says: Those
of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah!
Also the Lord
Al-mighty says: Therefore fear not the people and ear Me.
Again Allah
Almighty says: and whoever is careful of his duty to Allah, He will make
for him an outlet.
And Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: Love of status and fame has no place in fearful souls. So one who
fears Allah does not love leadership government and fame.
4 - Someone
asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.) about Almighty's Words: He replied: the one who knows
that Allah sees him and hears what he says and that he has full knowledge of
whatever good or bad he does, and the same knowledge prevents him from evil
deeds, is the one who fears from the High Grandeur of God and who has bridled
his soul from desires.
5 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: A faithful person lives between two fears: About sins which he
committed and does not know what devastation devastating sins he has brought
upon him. So, every morning at every minute he is fearful and nothing but fear
improves him as due to it he repents over past thin sins and tries to be obedient
and worshipper in the future and a Faithful does not get up in the morning
but in a state of fearfulness and only fear improves him.
6 -The Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) says: Whoever is able to do evil or a passionate thing and
does not commit it for fear of Allah Almighty, God prohibits the Hell-fire from
him and gives him protection and security and saves him on the Day of Resurrection
from calamities in the form of deeds as he has been promised is His Book the
one who fears from standing before God, for him are two gardens.
7 - The Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: one who leaves sinning for fear of Allah Almighty,
God makes him happy on the Day of Resurrection.
8 - It is also
recorded from the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.): A faithful person fears none but
Allah and speaks nothing about Allah but the truth, that is, he never attributes
indecencies to His Holy Self.
9 - The Holy
Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said: One who becomes more knowledgeable about his God fears
Him more.
10 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: Whoever fears Allah, God makes everything afraid of him, and the
one who does not fear Allah, God makes him afraid of everything.
11 - Imam Sadiq
(a.s.) said: No one is secure except the one who fears Allah.
Now we invite
your attention to some questions and answers:
A - Is there
a difference between Khashiyat and Khauf? Or are both nearer to one another
in their meaning? Some have said: Khashiyat is a khauf that is linked with respect
and with knowledge and certainty. And hence the Holy Quran is considered this
state of mind especially as that of the knowledgeable persons: Those of His
servants only who are possessor of knowledge fear Allah.
By paying attention
to the use of the word Khashiyat in the Holy Quran in many verses, it becomes
clear that Khashiyat has been used in the same meaning conveyed by Khauf and
that they are synonymous.
Question: Is
the fear of Allah anything except the fear of accountability and punishments
from Him?
Answer: Fear
of God is not necessarily always in the meaning of accountability before Him
and of His chastisement. Rather, His High Status and the serious thought of
man's duty toward Allah as His slave worshipper even without a thought of His
anger and chastisement automatically create in the mind and heart of a really
faithful man a condition of fearfulness and fright. Fear as a result of faith
in Allah and the awareness of His Grandeur and the thought of accountability
before Him combine in a faithful person .
Perhaps there
is a hint toward this in verse 28 of Surah Faatir.
And the fear
which the Prophets and the Imam (a.s.) and the midnight weeping of Amirul Mo-mineen
(a.s.) reveal the same meaning as described above. But in case of ordinary people
it refers to the divine chastisement because every wise person knows that he
must fear the consequent chastisement of his own misdeeds as the Holy Quran
says:
1 - So this
day no soul shall be dealt with unjustly in the least; and you shall not be
rewarded aught but that which you did.
2 - those
who do evil shall not be rewarded for aught except what they did.
3 - On the
day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it
has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that evil there were a long
duration of time
C - Is it absolute
fear that is desired or it has any limits?
Answer: What
can be derived from verses and traditions is as follows:
Fear is desired
in case it does not make man disappointed. Hence the Holy Quran says: He
said: And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord but the erring ones?
And also says:
and despair not of Allah's mercy; surely none despairs of Allah's mercy
except the unbelieving people.
A faithful
person is both fearful and hopeful
1 - Haaris
along with his father Mugheerah asked Imam Sadiq (a.s.): What was the admonition
will of Luqman to his son? He said: There were wonderful matters in that will
and the most astonishing of all was that he told to his son: Fear Allah in such
a way that if you bring forth all the good deeds of the human beings and the
jinns, yet He will punish you and so also be so much hopeful of Him that even
if you bring forth all the evils sins of men and jinns He will be kind to you.
Then said: my father said: There is no Faithful salve unless there are two lights
in his soul: Light of fear and Light of hope is such proportion that if this
one is weight it not be heavier and if that is weighed it too will not be heavier.
2 -Hasan bin
Abi Surah says: I heard from Imam Sadiq (a.s.): A faithful really does not become
a faithful until he is both fearful and hopeful and he is not fearful and hopeful
unless he acts in accordance with that fear and hope.
3 - It has
been recorded from Imam Sadiq (a.s.): There is a group of people who commit
sin and then say we are hopeful of of Gods Mercy and they entertain the same
belief till their death and they do unto repent. Then said: These are liars;
they are not hopeful of God and they do not fear His punishment, because, if
a man is hopeful of something he seeks it and if one fears something he runs
away from it.
