The Believer Between Fear and Hope
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Your Eminence: Would you please speak, even briefly, about the promise and the warning in the Shari'ah of Allah? You have touched upon this in your answer to this listener.
Answer:
Yes, the promise and the warning are found in the Noble Book and the pure Sunnah. The promise instills good opinion of Allah, for it is the promise to the monotheists; He promised those who die upon tawhid (the oneness of Allah) forgiveness, mercy, and Paradise. He warned the sinners of the Fire; He warned the sinners of the Fire. It is obligatory for the Muslim not to despair and not to feel secure; he should be between hope and fear. For Allah has censured those who feel secure and those who despair. He, the Exalted, said: [Al-A'raf: 99]. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : [Yusuf: 87] [Az-Zumar: 53].
It is obligatory for the one who is accountable, whether male or female, not to despair, not to lose hope, and not to feel secure. Rather, he should be between hope and fear. He should fear Allah, beware of sins, strive in repentance, and ask Allah for pardon. He should not feel secure from the stratagem of Allah, lest he persist in sins and be lax. However, he should beware of the sins of Allah, fear Him, and not feel secure. Rather, he should be between fear and hope, hold a good opinion of his Lord, but not feel secure, nor despair or lose hope. Rather, he should fear and beware, not despair or lose hope. So, no despair, no loss of hope, and no feeling secure from the stratagem of Allah. But between these two, he worships Allah between fear and hope, holds a good opinion of his Lord, and hopes for His mercy while fearing His punishment, anger, and retribution because of his sins and evil deeds.
This is the obligation upon the believer: to be between hope and fear in his journey to Allah. But in the state of illness, hope and good opinion of Allah should predominate. And in the state of health, some of the Salaf (the earliest generations) held that the aspect of fear should predominate, so that he may beware and keep his distance from sins.
In any case, it is obligatory to proceed to Allah between hope and fear, with no feeling of security and no despair. May Allah guide them all. Yes.
The presenter : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Your Eminence: Would you please speak, even briefly, about the promise and the warning in the Shari'ah of Allah? You have touched upon this in your answer to this listener.
Answer:
Yes, the promise and the warning are found in the Noble Book and the pure Sunnah. The promise instills good opinion of Allah, for it is the promise to the monotheists; He promised those who die upon tawhid (the oneness of Allah) forgiveness, mercy, and Paradise. He warned the sinners of the Fire; He warned the sinners of the Fire. It is obligatory for the Muslim not to despair and not to feel secure; he should be between hope and fear. For Allah has censured those who feel secure and those who despair. He, the Exalted, said:
Then did they feel secure from the plan of Allah? But no one feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people.
أَفَأَمِنُوا مَكْرَ اللَّهِ فَلا يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْخَاسِرُونَAnd do not despair of the mercy of Allah.
وَلا تَيْئَسُوا مِنْ رَوْحِ اللَّهِdo not despair of the mercy of Allah
لا تَقْنَطُوا مِنْ رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِِIt is obligatory for the one who is accountable, whether male or female, not to despair, not to lose hope, and not to feel secure. Rather, he should be between hope and fear. He should fear Allah, beware of sins, strive in repentance, and ask Allah for pardon. He should not feel secure from the stratagem of Allah, lest he persist in sins and be lax. However, he should beware of the sins of Allah, fear Him, and not feel secure. Rather, he should be between fear and hope, hold a good opinion of his Lord, but not feel secure, nor despair or lose hope. Rather, he should fear and beware, not despair or lose hope. So, no despair, no loss of hope, and no feeling secure from the stratagem of Allah. But between these two, he worships Allah between fear and hope, holds a good opinion of his Lord, and hopes for His mercy while fearing His punishment, anger, and retribution because of his sins and evil deeds.
This is the obligation upon the believer: to be between hope and fear in his journey to Allah. But in the state of illness, hope and good opinion of Allah should predominate. And in the state of health, some of the Salaf (the earliest generations) held that the aspect of fear should predominate, so that he may beware and keep his distance from sins.
In any case, it is obligatory to proceed to Allah between hope and fear, with no feeling of security and no despair. May Allah guide them all. Yes.
The presenter : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.