Balancing Fear and Hope in the Life of the Muslim
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Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. We move on to another issue via a message sent by a young man from the Noble Makkah. He says: I am twenty-three years old. He describes himself as a righteous shaykh with certain attributes, saying: For a year, I have been living a life full of pessimism, anxiety, and crying. I think about death, and I think about the punishment of the grave and the punishment of Hell. What should I do? May Allah reward you with good. Knowing that I often go to the Haram and return to my house, guide us, may Allah preserve you.
Answer:
Fear of death, fear of the grave, fear of the Fire, and fear of the terrors of the Day of Resurrection are required. It is required to have this fear and to remember these things so that it drives a person to repent to Allah the Exalted, and to drive him to righteous deeds and servitude. However, if the matter reaches the point of pessimism, bad opinion of Allah the Exalted, and despair of the mercy of Allah, then this is a whispering of Satan. A person must seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
So the fear of these terrors is to be accompanied by the hope for the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the desire for His forgiveness, and not by despair.[Yusuf 12:87], Allah the Exalted said: [Yusuf 12:87] He, the Exalted, said: [Az-Zumar 39:53] [Az-Zumar 39:53].
It is obligatory for the Muslim to be balanced between fear and hope, not giving precedence to the side of fear, nor giving precedence to the side of hope, but rather being balanced between fear and hope. This leads him to righteous deeds and to having a good opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He hopes for the reward of Allah and fears the punishment of Allah. For this reason, He, the Exalted, says regarding Zakariyya and Yahya (peace be upon them both), and the house of Zakariyya:[Al-Anbya 21:90] and they were humble before Us. And He, the Exalted, says: [Al-A'raf 7:55] and in the other verse: [Al-A'raf 7:205] And He, the Exalted, says regarding His prophets: He, the Exalted, says: [Al-Isra 17:57]. So combining fear and hope is the path of the people of the Sunnah and the community. As for those who took only one side, those who took only the side of hope, they are called the Murji'ah, and they are a sect that opposes the people of the Sunnah and the community. And those who took only the side of fear, they are the Khawarij, and they are called the Wa'idiyah, and they are also a sect that opposes the people of the Sunnah and the community. As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they combined fear and hope, and this is the way of the Messengers (peace be upon them all). Yes.
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. We move on to another issue via a message sent by a young man from the Noble Makkah. He says: I am twenty-three years old. He describes himself as a righteous shaykh with certain attributes, saying: For a year, I have been living a life full of pessimism, anxiety, and crying. I think about death, and I think about the punishment of the grave and the punishment of Hell. What should I do? May Allah reward you with good. Knowing that I often go to the Haram and return to my house, guide us, may Allah preserve you.
Answer:
Fear of death, fear of the grave, fear of the Fire, and fear of the terrors of the Day of Resurrection are required. It is required to have this fear and to remember these things so that it drives a person to repent to Allah the Exalted, and to drive him to righteous deeds and servitude. However, if the matter reaches the point of pessimism, bad opinion of Allah the Exalted, and despair of the mercy of Allah, then this is a whispering of Satan. A person must seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan.
So the fear of these terrors is to be accompanied by the hope for the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the desire for His forgiveness, and not by despair.
of relief from Allah
مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِIndeed, no one despairs of relief from Allah except the disbelieving people."
إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَSay, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah.
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِIndeed, Allah forgives all sins
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًاIt is obligatory for the Muslim to be balanced between fear and hope, not giving precedence to the side of fear, nor giving precedence to the side of hope, but rather being balanced between fear and hope. This leads him to righteous deeds and to having a good opinion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He hopes for the reward of Allah and fears the punishment of Allah. For this reason, He, the Exalted, says regarding Zakariyya and Yahya (peace be upon them both), and the house of Zakariyya:
Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَيَدْعُونَنَا رَغَبًا وَرَهَبًاCall upon your Lord in humility and privately
ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةًAnd remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech
وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِThose whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared.
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ كَانَ مَحْذُورًا
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 4433- الموازنة بين الخوف والرجاء في حياة المسلم - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.