What is the way to strengthen a believer's fear of Allah, a fear that restrains him from sins?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Perhaps this indicates that there is some religious restraint in the heart of this questioner and those like him, may Allah reward him with good. But he wants to strengthen it with an oath that he binds himself to. Is there any other reason, other than an oath, by which a person can strengthen his religious restraint? Please direct us to it, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh:
The restraint is the fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), the fear of Allah, the fear of His punishment. This is the restraint.
The questioner:
I mean, is it permissible for him to strengthen it in himself by an oath or by other means, such as the company of the righteous and looking into knowledge?
The Shaykh:
He has to fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and he should fear disobeying His command and committing what He has forbidden. This is the motivator, and it is what carries a person to leave forbidden things. The fear of Allah and the fear of punishment for one who disobeys the commands of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and reciting the Noble Qur'an and reading the hadiths, sermons, and the words of the scholars, this undoubtedly increases a person's motivation to leave forbidden things. Yes.
Perhaps this indicates that there is some religious restraint in the heart of this questioner and those like him, may Allah reward him with good. But he wants to strengthen it with an oath that he binds himself to. Is there any other reason, other than an oath, by which a person can strengthen his religious restraint? Please direct us to it, may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh:
The restraint is the fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), the fear of Allah, the fear of His punishment. This is the restraint.
The questioner:
I mean, is it permissible for him to strengthen it in himself by an oath or by other means, such as the company of the righteous and looking into knowledge?
The Shaykh:
He has to fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and he should fear disobeying His command and committing what He has forbidden. This is the motivator, and it is what carries a person to leave forbidden things. The fear of Allah and the fear of punishment for one who disobeys the commands of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), and reciting the Noble Qur'an and reading the hadiths, sermons, and the words of the scholars, this undoubtedly increases a person's motivation to leave forbidden things. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 5206- ما السبيل لتقوية المؤمن خوفه من الله خوفا ينزجر به عن المعاصي؟ - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.