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God
says, "Do not take two gods. He is only One God. So
dread Me alone."
(Sura an-Nahl: 51)
Fear of God is one of
the essential attributes of a believer. Because, it is fear
of God that draws a person nearer to God, makes him attain a
deeper faith, enables him to conduct himself responsibly
towards God every moment of his life, and nurtures his
dedication to values of the Qur'an. The fact that the good
morals God expects from His servants come with the fear of
God is reaffirmed by the Prophet Muhammad (saas) in these
words:
Fear God wherever you
are; if you follow an evil deed with a good one you will
obliterate it; and deal with people with a good disposition.
(At-Tirmidhi)
Failure to understand
the real meaning of fear of God causes some to confuse it
with other kinds of mundane fears. However, fear of God
differs greatly from all other type of fear.
The Arabic word used in
the original text of the Qur'an (khashyat) expresses
overwhelming respect. On the other hand, the Arabic word
used in the Qur'an to refer to worldly fears (hawf)
expresses a simple kind of fear, as in the fear one feels
when faces with a wild animal.
A consideration of the
attributes of God leads to a better understanding of these
two kinds of fear, both expressed by different words in
Arabic. Worldly fears are usually caused by a potential
threat. For example, one may fear being murdered. However,
God is the All-Compassionate, the Most Merciful and the Most
Just. Therefore, fear of God implies showing respect to Him,
the All-Compassionate, the Most Merciful and the Most Just,
and avoiding exceeding His limits, rebelling Him and being
of those who deserve His punishment.
The consequences that a
fear of God has on people make this difference apparent.
Faced with a deadly danger, a person panics; seized with
hopelessness and desperation, he fails to exercise his
reason and discover a solution. Fear of God, however,
actuates wisdom and adherence to one's conscience. Through
fear of God, a person is motivated to avoid that which is
evil, corruptive, and likely to cause either physical or
mental harm to him. Fear of God fosters wisdom and insight.
In a verse of the Qur'an, God informs us that it is through
fear of God that wisdom and understanding is acquired:
You who believe!
If you have fear of God, He will give you a criterion (by
which to judge between right and wrong) and erase your bad
actions from you and forgive you. God's favour is indeed
immense.
(Sura al-Anfal: 29)
Worldly fears cause man
anxiety. Fear of God, however, not only gives rise to
increased spiritual strength, but also to peace of mind.
It is through fear of God
that man avoids those evil actions displeasing God. A verse
of the Qur'an states,
"...God
does not love anyone vain or boastful." (Sura an-Nisa':
36).
A God-fearing person
strives diligently to abstain from boasting, and to engage
rather in actions to earn God's love. For that reason, fear
of God and love of God are mutually exclusive.
Fear of God, in fact,
removes the obstacles to drawing nearer to God and earning
His love. Foremost of these obstacles is one's lower self.
From the Qur'an, we learn that there are two aspects of the
soul; the one inspiring evil and mischief, and the other,
guarding against every inclination to evil.
...the self and
what proportioned it and inspired it with depravity and a
fear of God, he who purifies it has succeeded, he who covers
it up has failed.
(Sura ash-Shams: 7-10)
Struggling against this
evil, and not giving in it, requires spiritual strength.
This strength derives from fear of God. A God-fearing person
is not enslaved by the selfishness of his soul. The awe he
feels for God draws him away from thoughts and deeds
unworthy of His pleasure. A verse of the Qur'an informs us
that only those who fear God will take heed of the warnings
imparted to them:
You can only warn
those who act on the Reminder and fear the All-Merciful in
the Unseen. Give them the good news of forgiveness and a
generous reward.
(Sura Ya Sin: 11)
Man's striving must be
to feel a more profound fear of God. To effect this noble
sentiment, he must reflect upon God's creation and recognize
the supreme artistry and power represented in its every
detail. His thinking must enable him to attain a better
grasp of His grandeur and add to his awe. Indeed, God
commands us:
You
who have fear! Have fear of God with the fear due to Him and
do not die except as Muslims.
(Sura Al 'Imran: 102)
So
have fear of God, as much as you are able to, and listen and
obey and spend for your own benefit. It is the people who
are safe-guarded from the avarice of their own selves who
are successful.
(Sura at-Taghabun: 16)
The more a believer
fears God, the more loving he becomes. He better
acknowledges the beauty of God's creation. He acquires the
ability to recognize the multitude of people, nature,
animals, and in everything around him, as reflections of
God's sublime attributes. Consequently, he comes to feel a
deeper love for such blessings, as well as for God, their
Creator.
A person who grasps this secret also knows what love of God
is. He loves God, over and above anything else, and
understands that all beings are the work of His creation. he
loves them in accordance with God's pleasure. He loves
believers who are submissive to Him, but feels aversion for
those who are rebellious towards Him.
The true love that makes
man happy, brings him joy and peace, is love of God. Other
forms of love, felt for beings other than God, are, in the
words of the Qur'an, love peculiar to idolaters, and
consistently leads to anguish, sorrow, melancholy and
anxiety. The idolaters' love and the love believers feel for
God are compared in a verse as follows:
Some people set
up equals to God, loving them as they should love God. But
those who believe have greater love for God...
(Sura al-Baqara: 165)
Published
with the kind permission of Harun Yahya
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