Fear and Hope

I was listening to a talk by Sheikh Omar Suleiman titled 'purification of the soul' in which he quoted the hadith:

"In every day and every night, during the month of Ramadan, there are people to whom Allah grants freedom from the Fire, and there is for every Muslim a supplication which he can make and will be granted". [al-Bazzaar, Ahmad and Ibn Majah; Sahih]

and this in turn reminded me of surah al fatiha where Allah says he is 'The Beneficent, the Merciful'.

This all made me think that SubhanAllah, look at how much hope Allah swt has given Muslims and indeed alhamdulillah we're blessed to be a part of the ummah of Muhammad PBUH. We as believers have that every chance and opportunity to turn back to Allah swt with a sincere heart and with firm belief  that he will bestow his rehmat upon us no matter how deeply we fell into the whisper of the shayateen.

But then it also made me think is hope enough, because hope by itself makes a person i guess somewhat lazy. Whereby i think it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking 'o we're muslims and that's enough...we'll enter jannah eventually and Allah will have mercy'.

Alhamdulillah yes Allah is the most merciful...but is it right to enter into such a mindset where a person finds themself in the position of not praying, reading quran, seeking out and praying for hidaayat. Leaves you thinking then whats the difference between you and a non muslim...just the fact that you're by name a muslim...?

SubhanAllah i think Allah by decreeing and setting out certain punishments for certain sins is in no doubt showing more mercy to the believers. For example if a person found themself in a world of morals but no law and order...people would commit crimes, knowing full well that they wouldn't have to pay the price.

BUT...we will pray the price if we don't realise that Allah although he is merciful and forgiving, he indeed holds the power to carry out the punishments described to us in Qur'an and hadith.

So what i'm getting at is that 'fear and hope' coincide with one another but then how does one go about seeking the right balance between the two. I guess in a way it comes down to a person taqwah, and how fearful they are which is the purpose of ramadan, coming to recognise your lord and keeping him in mind in every action we carry out.

Is it that a person when about to perform an action is struck by the fear of Allah, leading them to act upon that fear and refrain from committing that sin...easier said than done perhaps

But is it really easy attaining that taqwah...and how does a person refrain from giving into their nafs...even though they know full well of their crime and the consequences they carry........

Comments

I was gna creat a topic on this! I came back and forgot, though :/

But I was simply gna question how to get the right balance.

"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi

o we're muslims and that's enough...we'll enter jannah eventually and Allah will have mercy'.

thats defo a dangerous mindset to enter. but when you read about hell and learn of all the horrible things there. that will make you not want to even go CLOSE to there. Also the fact that those who had to go hell for a while will have dark places in jannah where they got "burnt". who wants that?

Leaves you thinking then whats the difference between you and a non muslim...just the fact that you're by name a muslim...?

Iman, belief, is a concept that includes speech, actions and actions of the heart. if you dont have all three then you dont have imaan. and they ARE interlinked, you cant be doing lots of good deed but not have action of the heart (eg correct intention etc..) coz then those actions of the limbs wouldnt be with iman.

and in the Quran it says "those who believe..." so we need belief and belief is as above described.

 

we commit injustice to ourselves and hurt ourselves. and the punishments we get is what we brought on ourselves. Allah doesnt want to punish.

Q.16:61. If Allah were to punish men for their wrong-doing, He would not leave, on the (earth), a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term: When their Term expires, they would not be able to delay (the punishment) for a single hour, just as they would not be able to anticipate it (for a single hour).

Q.35:45. If Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve. He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated Term: when their Term expires, verily Allah has in His sight all His Servants.

Is it that a person when about to perform an action is struck by the fear of Allah, leading them to act upon that fear and refrain from committing that sin...easier said than done perhaps

that would be ihsan. which is the highest level of religion. (islam->Iman->Ihsan) to fear Allah as if you can see Him and to know that even if you can't see Him, He can. we inshaaAllah have to slowly work toward this..but not first consolidating the first two levels by consolidating their pillars and implmenting them and giving them a TANGIBLE meaning to our lives. Islam (the general term emcompassing all three levels) or should i say our Deen is not just abt belief. but ACTIONS as well.

* and going back to that first point abt the diff between muslim and non muslim. if you look at the FIRST level (Islam) 4/5 of those pillars are actions. [if you dont give zakaat, dont fast, dont pray; are you a muslim? and if you are fulfilling that first pillar at least, if you were TRULY fulfilling it; would you be NOT praying, fasting,giving zakaat?]

and its not that hard i dont think, to think abt Allah before you commit a sin. because those fingers you're using to type that song name into youtube. who gave them to you? who made them perfect and responsive for you?

the pc you have, how did you get te money for it?

your eyes, the sun shining outside, etc..etc...etc... the list of Allah's blessings is never ending.

 

how to stop giving in to your nafs? Learn abt Allah. when we do, we realise how much more important and loveable and fulfilling He is compared to our nafs. and our nafs just take and give nothing back. but Allah, He hardly "takes" anything but GIVES SO MUCH.

and learning abt Allah, its basically the first pillar of Islam isnt it? I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. do we really? we'd have to know who Allah is to be able to say that none is worthy of worship except Him

 

can you see how at the begining of my post it was abt being scared of hell and that? but really this is taking it from the bottom up. if we took it from the top. learn abt Allah. we end up loving Him, wanting to meet Him, wanting to go Jannah, wanting to fulfill that covenant we took back when we were souls. not coz we're scared of punishment. but coz He's worth it and so much more.

and all this is a HUGE reminder and revision to mylsef before ANYONE ANYONE else.

and i'd just like to say that most of what i said here is what i learnt from studying Usool Ath Thalatha. and i would advice EVERYONE to, if not study an explanation, at least read the book. its TINY.

Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

MashAllah, gr8 response and so true

I like this topic and what Lilly has to say. It makes so much sense and I feel enlightened.

I love the process that being a Muslim has. You can never know enough, and once you've read and practised upon a certain aspect, there is so much more to still learn. Its a never ending process. You just have to keep improving and working upwards.

 

Hummus wrote:

I like this topic and what Lilly has to say. It makes so much sense and I feel enlightened.

I love the process that being a Muslim has. You can never know enough, and once you've read and practised upon a certain aspect, there is so much more to still learn. Its a never ending process. You just have to keep improving and working upwards.

Smile