Chapter: Hope along with Fear. Sufyan said: There is no verse in the Qur'an more severe for a person than:

The reciter: Chapter: Hope along with Fear. Sufyan said: There is no verse in the Qur'an more severe for a person than: .

The Shaykh : His statement: "Chapter: Hope along with Fear" — Hope is the expectation, the expectation of the mercy of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and fear is the fear of the punishment and retribution of Allah. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) say that it should be that fear and hope are equal in the state of a person's journey to his Lord. They said that if hope predominates, he falls into security from the scheme of Allah, and if fear predominates, he is at risk of despairing of the mercy of Allah. Do you understand? An example of this is: a person prays the prayer, and he is between two things: either he fears that it will not be accepted, or he hopes that it will be accepted. He commits sins, and he is between two things: he is afraid of these sins, and he hopes for the mercy of Allah. So the scholars say that it should be that his fear and his hope are equal, and the cause is what I pointed to: if fear predominates, he is at risk of despair, and if hope predominates, he is at risk of security. The common people, according to their repelling of blame, let hope predominate. If he is asked why he does this, he says: "Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Do the causes of forgiveness and mercy." And the people of zeal and strictness let the side of fear predominate, so you find them fearing for the person, and perhaps they despair of the mercy of Allah guiding him to the truth. And some of the scholars said: Rather, we should let hope predominate, because Allah the Exalted said in the Holy Hadith: So if Allah is according to your opinion of Him, then have a good opinion of Him, and let the side of hope predominate. They said: And this is indicated by the fact that Allah said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So He began with hope and then followed with warning. And some of the scholars said: It should be that in the side of obedience, he lets the side of hope predominate, and in the side of sin, when he intends it, he lets the side of fear predominate. Because if he performs obedience, it should be that hope predominates that Allah will accept it from him, and if he intends sin, it should be that he lets the side of fear predominate in order to stay away from it and not do it. He should not let the side of hope predominate at that time, because if he lets the side of hope predominate, he will proceed. So these are three opinions. The fourth opinion is that it should be that in the state of illness, he lets the side of hope predominate, and in the state of health, he lets the side of fear predominate. Because it came in the hadith: And the sick person is closer to death than the healthy person, even though lifespans are in the hand of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, but this is the general rule. So these are four opinions. And what should be is that a person should be the doctor of himself. If he sees in himself a leaning toward evil, let him let the side of fear predominate. And if he sees in himself strength for obedience and leaving sins, let him let the side of hope predominate, that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, will firm him and reward him for his work. As for Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), he said: "Fear and hope are like the wings of a bird. If one of them lowers, the bird falls, and if they are equal, the bird holds on" It should be that his fear and his hope are equal, so whichever of them predominates over the other, its owner is destroyed.