Fear of the Unacceptance of One's Good Deeds When Remembering Death

Question:
May Allah reward you. We move on to a message received from Jordan. This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, when I recite the Noble Qur'an, I feel a sense of ease in my heart, and the same is true in prayer. However, when I remember the punishment of the grave and the punishment of Hellfire, I become very afraid and feel that my deeds are not accepted, that my good deeds are not accepted, and that they will not save me from the punishment of the grave. What is the ruling on this?

Answer:
…neighbors. As for the fear of the punishment of the grave, and the fear of punishment in general, and the fear of the anger of Allah, this is a required matter; this is a required matter. However, it must not reach the point of despair from the mercy of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He). Rather, the Muslim takes a middle path between fear and hope: he hopes for the mercy of Allah and fears the punishment of Allah, maintaining a balance where the side of fear does not dominate the side of hope, nor does the side of hope dominate the side of fear; rather, he remains in the middle. Allah the Exalted said: , and Allah the Exalted said: , except at the time of death. At the time of death, the side of hope dominates, because he is unable to perform deeds in that state. Some scholars mentioned that at the time of death, the side of hope dominates, due to the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): . This which the questioner, or the questioneress, mentioned is from Shaytan: the fact that he imagines that his deeds will not be accepted, and that his fear intensifies to the point that his repentance will not be accepted, that his deeds will not be accepted, and so on. All of this is from Shaytan. So the Muslim must reject these concerns and these whispers, because this means despairing from the mercy of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He). And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says: , and He says, Glorified is He: Yes.