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In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu
The Station of Fear
Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah
Madarij us Salikeen
AlJumuah 12/1426H
Translated by Uwaymir Anjum
From among the stations of worshipping Allah and seeking His help is the
station of fear.
Fear is one of the most important stations on the path and most
beneficial for the heart. Fear is an obligation upon everyone, Allah
said, "So fear them not, and fear Me alone, if you are believers."
[3:175] (The actual word used for fear in this verse is 'khawf.')
Another verse says, "And Me alone you all should fear," [2:40] the
actual word being a derivative of 'rahba.' And, "So do not fear people,
but fear Me," [5:44] the actual word in Arabic being 'khashya.'
Different connotations of these various terms in Arabic for fear will be
discussed shortly.
Allah has praised those who possess the attribute of fear saying, "And
such (are the believers) who are humbled by the fear of their Lord..."
[23:57]
Fear (of Allah's displeasure or punishment) is not only for grave
sinners, but also for the pious, observant believers, as in the
following hadeeth: Aisha said, "O Messenger of Allah, is the verse "And
those who dispense their charity while their hearts fear that to their
Lord they must return" [23:60] referring to someone who commits
fornication, drinks alcohol and steals and still fear Allah? The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "No, O daughter of as-Siddiq,
but it refers to one who fasts, perform salah and gives charity, and
fears that it may not be accepted from him." (Tirmithi) Al-Hasan,
commenting on this, said, "By Allah, they (the Companions) obeyed Him
and strove hard in it, yet they feared it might be rejected. A believer
combines righteousness with fear in his heart, while a hypocrite
combines evil with impunity."
The terms 'wajal,' 'khawf,' 'khashya' and 'rahba,' are used in the
Qur'an to refer to what we have translated as ‘fear', but they are not
synonyms. Abul-Qasim al-Junayd said, "Al-khawf is the anticipation of
punishment." Another scholar said, "Al-khawf is the moving of the heart
upon the cognizance of that which is feared."
The word khashya is more specific than khawf, for it is specific to the
true knowers of Allah - as Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, said, "Truly,
those who fear Allah from among His servants are the knowers." [35:28]
Hence, khashya. is fear associated with the intimate knowledge (ma'rifa)
of Allah-as the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "I am most
mindful of Allah among you, and most intense in fearing Him." (Bukhari,
Muslim) Khawf is movement in its essence, while khashya is
concentration, stillness, and holding of breath. For example, someone
who sees a fierce enemy or a flood or something like that has two
states: first, movement in order to flee from it, and this is the state
of khawf. Second, his stillness in a place safe from the danger-and this
is khashya.
Ar-Rahba means the urge to run away from the danger-which is the
opposite of ar-Raghba, which means the urge of the heart to journey
towards that which it likes.
Al-Wajal is the trembling of the heart upon the cognition or remembrance
of someone whose power or punishment one fears.
Al-Haybah is fear associated with awe and glorification, and its
greatest form is that which occurs in association with love and intimate
knowledge (ma'rifa).
Al-Khawf, then, is for the common believers, while al-kbashya is for the
scholars with profound knowledge, while at-haybah is for those nearest
to Allah. The extent of one's fear for Allah is proportional to one's
knowledge, both formal and experiential, of Allah. As the Prophet,
sallallahu alaybe wa sallam, said, "I am the most knowledgeable of Allah
among you, and most intense in His khashya." In another narration of the
same hadeeth, the word used is khawf instead of khashya.
The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, also said, "if you knew what
I know, you would laugh little and weep much, and would not enjoy
intimacy with women, and would go out wandering in the wildernesses and
praying to Allah." (Ahmad)
When faced with his object of fear, a man with khawf turns to fleeing
and grabbing, while a man with khashya seeks the support of knowledge.
For example, when a lay person is faced with an illness, he seeks to
protect himself (and seeks someone who could help) while a skilled
physician turns to investigating the illness and the cure.
Abu Hafs says, "Al-khawf is Allah's lash with which He straightens up
those fleeing from His door." He also said, "Al-khawf is a lamp in the
heart, with which the good and the evil inside of the heart can be
seen-and everyone you fear from, you run away from him, except
Allah-when you fear Him, you run towards Him for refuge."
Hence, the one who fears Allah is a refugee towards His Lord's [mercy]
from his Lord's [displeasure] .
Abu Suleiman said, "Whenever fear (of Allah) departs a heart, it is
ruined." Ibraheem ibn Sufyan said, "When fear of Allah resides in
hearts, it burns away the sources of lust and eradicates worldly
attachments. " Thun-Noon said, "People will stay on the path so long as
they have (Allah's) fear when this fear leaves them, they will go
astray."
Fear, however, is not the end in itself, but a means towards an end.
When that end, Allah's ultimate pleasure, is attained, there is no need
for fear. As Allah says to the people of Paradise: "there is no fear
upon them, nor do they grieve."
Fear is associated with actions, while love is connected with being and
attributes. When the believers enter the Realm of Allah's eternal
blessings, their love will multiply, while their fear will disappear.
Hence, the place of love is higher and nobler than the place of fear.
The true and praiseworthy fear is that which stops a person from the
prohibitions of Allah. But when fear exceeds this boundary, it may bring
hopelessness and despair.
Abu Uthman said, "Sincerity of fear is vigilance from sins, open and
secret." I also heard Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah honor his
soul, say, "The praiseworthy fear is that which prevented you from the
prohibitions of Allah."
The author of al-Manazil, Shaykh al-Harawi, said, "Al-khawf, or fear, is
to do away with careless sense of security by envisioning the great news
(of the Last Day)."
He further said, "The beginning of fear is the fear of punishment, and
this kind of fear is sufficient to establish the soundness of one's
faith. It is born out of one's affirmation of the warning (of Allah's
punishment), recognition of one's transgressions and consideration of
the punishment." Thus, fear is preceded by cognition and knowledge for a
man cannot fear what he does not know.
Two more things are related to fear: the thing or occurrence that is
feared, and the way that leads one to it. Lack of knowledge of either of
these leads to a concomitant lack of fear. If one does not know that a
certain act leads to a feared outcome or he knows so but does not know
the value or might of that which he claims to fear, one does not really
have true fear. Similarly, an active awareness of the punishment or loss
that one fears, not just a passive and abstract knowledge of it, is an
indication of the sincerity of fear and sound faith.
Another praiseworthy category of fear is to fear returning to the state
of sinfulness and heedlessness after one has attained closeness to Allah
and sincere fear of His displeasure- for if one feels unduly secure in
one's state, it is likely that one will go back to the state of
sinfulness.
Balancing Fear with Hope
The heart in its journey towards Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is like a
bird whose head is love, and hope and fear are its two wings. When the
head and the two wings are sound and healthy the flight of the bird is
good, but when the head is cut off, it immediately dies, and when either
or both wings are deficient, the bird cannot properly fly and may become
victim of any hunter or snare. The righteous predecessors preferred to
strengthen the wing of fear during good times when heedlessness is
feared, and to strengthen the wing of hope at times of calamity and when
near death.
Some have said that it is better to strengthen fear more than hope
because when vain hopes overcome a person he is ruined. Others say that
the best of situations is a complete balance of hope and fear with
overwhelming love, for love is composite,while hope is a sharpener and
fear a driver.
http://www.islaam. com/Article. aspx?id=664
Allah Knows Best
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