Fear of Allah (s.w.t.) I

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is extracted from “The Purification of the Soul”, compiled from the works of Imam Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (r.a.), Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (r.a.), and Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.). 

Hakim Abu al-Qasim Ishaq ibn Muhammad as-Samarqandi (q.s.) said, “Whoever fears something runs away from it, while whoever fears Allah (s.w.t.) runs towards Him.: 

Shaykh Abu ‘Ali Fudhayl ibn ‘lyadh (q.s.) said, “If you are asked whether you fear Allah (s.w.t.), do not reply; for if you say, ‘Yes’, you would be lying; and if you say ‘No’, it would mean that you do not believe in Him.” 

Fear burns up forbidden desires, and the wrong actions which can be so dear to a servant soon become distasteful, just as honey becomes repugnant to someone who desires it, if he discovers that it is poisoned.  Fear tames the limbs and fills the heart with submission, humility and tranquility.  Arrogance, hatred, and envy depart from it, and it is filled with Him, through fear of Him and through contemplating the danger of His Punishment- and so it becomes occupied with nothing other than Him, and has no concern other than contemplation, bringing itself to account and striving in the way of Allah (s.w.t.). 

A servant with such a heart becomes watchful over every breath and every moment, and constantly reprimands the self for its inner thoughts, its actions and its words.  His state is like that of a person who is trapped in the claws of a lion, not knowing whether it will leave him alone, and allow him to escape, or whether it will attack him and kill him.  Thus, he becomes both inwardly and outwardly occupied with what he fears.  There is no room in him for anything other than what he fears.  This is the state of a person who is overwhelmed by fear of Allah (s.w.t.).