The benefits of the saying of the Exalted: ((Those who do not believe in it hasten for it, and those who believe are fearful of it, and they know that it is the truth. Indeed, those who dispute concerning the Hour are in extreme error.))

Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the deniers of the Hour hasten for it, asking: "When?" The intended meaning of their saying "When?" is denial, as the Mighty and Majestic said: [Al-Jathiyah: 25].
Among the benefits of the noble verse is that the believer in the Hour is fearful of it, based on His saying: But they are fearful of it, meaning they are afraid with a fear that drives them to work for it, not merely a fear of panic, but a fear that drives them to work for it. This is the beneficial fear, whereas mere panic is not sufficient.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the indication of the preference of the side of fear, because Allah the Exalted praised those who fear the Hour. This issue is a point of disagreement among the people of spiritual practice and knowledge: which is better, for a person to let the side of fear prevail or the side of hope? Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "His fear and his hope should be equal, so whichever prevails, its owner is destroyed", because if the side of fear prevails, the person falls into despair of the mercy of Allah, and if the side of hope prevails, he falls into security from the scheme of Allah, and both are dangerous for the person. Some scholars said: When intending to do a bad deed, meaning when intending to commit a sin, the side of fear should prevail so that he does not fall into it, and when performing an act of obedience, the side of hope should prevail. This is very good, because when intending to commit a sin, if the side of fear does not prevail, he falls into it, and when performing an act of obedience, if the side of hope does not prevail, he does not become enthusiastic about the obedience. So we say: Giving preference to one of the two sides, fear or hope, depends on the state of the person. In the state of intending to commit a sin, the side of fear prevails, and in the state of performing an act of obedience, the side of hope prevails, so that he does not despair of the mercy of Allah and lose hope in the spirit of Allah, so the side of hope prevails, and this hope is based on the fact that when Allah makes it easy for him to perform the act of obedience, his hope in Allah becomes greater and more certain, so Allah the Exalted is in accordance with his good opinion of Him. These are two opinions.
The third opinion is: In the state of illness and the nearness of death, the side of hope should prevail so that he dies while having a good opinion of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and in the state of health, the side of fear should prevail, because when a person is healthy, he has some arrogance and extravagance, and he may commit sins and be negligent of obligations, so the side of fear prevails here. For this reason, it came in the hadith: And the common people say: Two blessings are denied: health in the bodies and security in the homelands. This is not correct. The correct one is: And he was not idle except because he was rich, because the poor person is not idle; he works, toils, and earns. So many people are cheated in these two blessings because they do not profit from them. So this is a third opinion: In the state of illness, the side of hope prevails, and in the state of health, the side of fear prevails. But the middle opinion, which we referred to, is the second opinion: When he intends to commit a sin, let the side of fear prevail, and when he performs an act of obedience, let the side of hope prevail. Yes.