You see it between contraction and expansion, the two that are the poles of the horizon of its sky (Explanation of the scholars' disagreement regarding the one who travels to Allah: which prevails, hope or fear, and an explanation of the stronger position in that)
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The Shaykh : For this reason, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"You see it between contraction and expansion, the two that are the poles of the horizon of its sky"
He means that his heart is between contraction and expansion. When does it expand? When there is hope. And it contracts when there is despair and fear. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the one who travels to the Almighty: does hope prevail or does fear prevail? Because if hope prevails, he falls into a danger, which is security from the plot of Allah. And if fear prevails, he falls into a danger, which is despair of the mercy of Allah. So he is between two dangers. Imam Ahmad said: "It should be that his fear and his hope are equal, so whichever of the two prevails over the other, its owner is destroyed".
Some scholars compared it to a bird flying between two wings: the wing of hope and the wing of fear. If one of them tilts, it falls and drops. Some scholars distinguished and said: It should be that when his soul prompts him to sin, the side of fear prevails. Why? So that he does not fall into it, because his soul may carry him to hope, and he will say, "I will commit the sin, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." And when he performs obedience, the side of hope should prevail, the side of hope, because when he performs obedience, he should not say, "It will not be accepted from me," but rather he should give preference to the side of acceptance, which is the side of hope, so that he is good in his opinion of Allah the Almighty. These are two opinions.
The third opinion says: It should be that hope and fear are based on the difference in direction. So if you look at your actions, the side of fear should prevail, whether they are obedience or sin. And if you look at the favor of Allah, the side of hope should prevail, because the side of hope prevails, for Allah the Exalted has written a book with Him that His mercy has overcome or preceded His anger. As for you, you are a place of suspicion. Whenever you look at yourself, the side of fear should prevail, so that this side carries you to leave the forbidden and perform the acts of obedience. How many opinions is this? Three.
The fourth opinion: In a state of health and vigor, the side of fear should prevail. And in a state of illness, especially chronic illness where a person thinks he is near his end, the side of hope should prevail, so that he dies while being good in his opinion of Allah the Almighty. And Allah the Exalted is according to the opinion His servant has of Him. And the reality is that a person should, in our view, look at his condition. If he sees himself leaning toward hope, and it carries him to negligence in acts of obedience and to committing the forbidden, he must rein it in and return it to the side of fear. And if fear prevails over his opinion of himself until he is on the verge of despairing that Allah has accepted his obedience, or that he has performed an obedience that pleases his Lord, then here the side of hope should prevail, the side of hope should prevail. And the person whom Allah the Almighty guides is the doctor of his own soul; he knows himself. Then the author said:
"You see it between contraction and expansion, the two that are the poles of the horizon of its sky".
"You see it between contraction and expansion, the two that are the poles of the horizon of its sky"
He means that his heart is between contraction and expansion. When does it expand? When there is hope. And it contracts when there is despair and fear. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding the one who travels to the Almighty: does hope prevail or does fear prevail? Because if hope prevails, he falls into a danger, which is security from the plot of Allah. And if fear prevails, he falls into a danger, which is despair of the mercy of Allah. So he is between two dangers. Imam Ahmad said: "It should be that his fear and his hope are equal, so whichever of the two prevails over the other, its owner is destroyed".
Some scholars compared it to a bird flying between two wings: the wing of hope and the wing of fear. If one of them tilts, it falls and drops. Some scholars distinguished and said: It should be that when his soul prompts him to sin, the side of fear prevails. Why? So that he does not fall into it, because his soul may carry him to hope, and he will say, "I will commit the sin, for Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." And when he performs obedience, the side of hope should prevail, the side of hope, because when he performs obedience, he should not say, "It will not be accepted from me," but rather he should give preference to the side of acceptance, which is the side of hope, so that he is good in his opinion of Allah the Almighty. These are two opinions.
The third opinion says: It should be that hope and fear are based on the difference in direction. So if you look at your actions, the side of fear should prevail, whether they are obedience or sin. And if you look at the favor of Allah, the side of hope should prevail, because the side of hope prevails, for Allah the Exalted has written a book with Him that His mercy has overcome or preceded His anger. As for you, you are a place of suspicion. Whenever you look at yourself, the side of fear should prevail, so that this side carries you to leave the forbidden and perform the acts of obedience. How many opinions is this? Three.
The fourth opinion: In a state of health and vigor, the side of fear should prevail. And in a state of illness, especially chronic illness where a person thinks he is near his end, the side of hope should prevail, so that he dies while being good in his opinion of Allah the Almighty. And Allah the Exalted is according to the opinion His servant has of Him. And the reality is that a person should, in our view, look at his condition. If he sees himself leaning toward hope, and it carries him to negligence in acts of obedience and to committing the forbidden, he must rein it in and return it to the side of fear. And if fear prevails over his opinion of himself until he is on the verge of despairing that Allah has accepted his obedience, or that he has performed an obedience that pleases his Lord, then here the side of hope should prevail, the side of hope should prevail. And the person whom Allah the Almighty guides is the doctor of his own soul; he knows himself. Then the author said:
"You see it between contraction and expansion, the two that are the poles of the horizon of its sky".