Why do we worship Allah? Is it out of hope for Paradise or fear of the Fire, or for some other reason? The story of the group (al-Rahit).

The Shaykh : Please, my brother. Abu al-Nizara has been moving to ask a question for a long time, so no blame is on him.

The questioner : Our Shaykh, no blame, please. Why do we worship Allah? Do we worship Allah out of hope for Paradise and fear of the Fire? Or is there something else? I mean, is there something innate in human nature?

The Shaykh : Yes, your question is circling around what is narrated about Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyyah, that she used to say in her supplication. I say it is circling around what you intend; it is circling around this. There is a difference between what you intend and what the question is circling around: "I do not worship You out of hope for Your Paradise or fear of Your Fire, but I worship You because You are worthy of worship." The truth is that this matter, which came in this phrase narrated from Rabi'ah al-'Adawiyyah, and I do not care whether it is authentic from her or not, because I look at the statement, not at who said it. This statement is contrary to human nature and contrary to what I thought was the fitrah (innate natural disposition). That is, a person worships Allah contrary to Rabi'ah's school of thought, if the saying is attributed to her. He worships Allah out of hope, desire, and fear. This is how Allah described His servants in the Noble Qur'an. It is impossible for humans to be free from fear of something great, terrifying, and frightening. It is impossible unless one is taken out of the state of humanity, and we are speaking about humans. So look, for example, at Musa (Moses), the one who spoke to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), when Allah gathered him with the magicians of Pharaoh. The magicians came with their magic, and their magic took hold of the minds of the people present, including Musa, about whom the Lord of the Worlds said in the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an: So Musa feared the magic of the magicians, even though it was false. But fear is the nature of man. Therefore, if a person fears a beast, a lion, a hyena, the magic of a sorcerer, and the like, how can he not fear the punishment of the Lord of the Worlds? And how can he not hope for the abiding pleasure with Allah? It is impossible for a person to be completely free from this. So he worships Allah out of hope for His Paradise and fear of His Fire. Therefore, the description of the Messenger (peace be upon him) of himself came when he mentioned something to them that does not come to my mind now. One of them said: "This is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." This is not the story of Anas ibn Malik and the group. He said (peace be upon him): So he fears Allah. How can we imagine a person who worships Allah and does not fear Him? That is impossible. Now, say what is in your heart.

The questioner : He fears Him and hopes for His Paradise, but the entire universe glorifies Allah with His praise and worships Allah. Does the entire universe hope for Allah's Paradise and worship Allah? And there is inanimate matter and there are animals?

The Shaykh : No, that is a second question. You are talking about the universe. (He laughs)The Shaykh : (may Allah have mercy on him) You are talking about a servant among Allah's servants. Does he worship Allah because He is worthy of worship, or does he worship Him out of hope for His Paradise and fear of His Fire? I have mentioned what I have. So what do you have left?

The questioner : What I have left is that I fear Allah and hope for His Paradise, and I feel a drive that is love for His worship. So when I prostrate, I want to prostrate again.

The Shaykh : Very good.

The questioner : This is the intention I mean. That is, there is a drive in man, an innate disposition...

The Shaykh : It is okay, my brother! But this drive that you feel in yourself, if your soul were not filled with fear of your Lord and hope for His Paradise, would you feel this feeling?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Therefore, I must now mention the story of the group (al-Rahit), and in it is something that circles or comes close to circling around this drive you are talking about, but it is not a proof. A group came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and did not find him. They found his family, his wives. So they asked them about the worship of the Messenger (peace be upon him), his standing in the night, his fasting during the day, and his abstention from women? They said: "He (peace be upon him) stands in the night and sleeps." They thought he stood the whole night. They heard something different from what they imagined about the master of mankind. He stands and sleeps. This is strange. He fasts and breaks his fast. They also thought he fasted the whole year. And he also comes to the women. Anas said: "They found it little." That is, they found the worship of the Messenger (peace be upon him) to be: he stands in the night and sleeps, he fasts and breaks his fast, and he comes to the women. This is little for the Messenger (peace be upon him) according to their imagination. But they started to rationalize why the Messenger was moderate in his worship. Why does he break his fast and not fast the whole year? Why does he sleep and not stand the whole night? What does he want with women? Some scholars say: "Knowledge is lost between the laps of women." They said: "This is the Messenger of Allah." They are asking and they are answering. They said: "This is the Messenger of Allah. Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what will come." This answer is very dangerous. If it were not a slip, its owner would be a disbeliever. This is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah has forgiven him what has passed of his sin and what will come. As if they are saying, why does the Prophet trouble himself? He stands the whole night, fasts the whole year, becomes a monk, and does not satisfy his desire with women. Why? First: Allah has forgiven him: He puts his feet in cold water, and the matter is over. Why does he trouble himself? As for us—and they are speaking about themselves—we must strive in the worship of Allah so that Allah forgives us. One of them said: "As for me, I will fast the whole year and not break my fast." The second said: "I will stand in the night and not sleep." The third said: "I will not marry women." They left, agreeing on this...