Reminder Series

The Pearls of Islam

17th January 2011 12 Safar 1432 Volume 3 Issue 3 by Samee Siddiqui

Love, Fear and Hope

As a Muslim who strives to better oneself, these words should encompass the three most significant emotions that a believer has towards his Lord. A famous scholar has likened the believers heart to that of a bird. One wing of the bird is hope, it is our expectation from Allah, that he will forgive us and he will reward us with Jannah. The second wing of the bird is fear, our fear of the punishment of Allah if we do not do our best to strive to please him:

And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, Lord of the Throne of Glory [(85):14-15] And fear a Day (of Judgment) when a person shall not avail another, nor will intercession be accepted from him nor will compensation be taken from him nor will they be helped [(2):48]
If the two wings of the bird are not in balance then it cannot fly closer to its Lord - so both hope and fear should be felt by a believer in their correct proportions. Allah says in the Quran Call upon Him with Fear and Hope. [(7): 56] and Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in Fear and Hope.[(32): 16] For example if we have sinned previously, often we lose hope and fear that there is no chance of Allahs forgiveness gracing ourselves. We should not lose hope in Allah and be quick in our repentance: Verily your Lord is

quick in Punishment and verily He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Giver of Mercy. [(7): 167]
However if our hope transgresses its limits and we do not fear our Lords punishment we will risk losing this world and the hereafter. As an example we look to the story of the man with two gardens in Surah Kahf,

And he had property (or fruit) and he said to his companion, in the course of mutual talk: "I am more than you in wealth and stronger in respect of men." And he went into his garden while in a state (of pride and disbelief) unjust to himself. He said: "I think not that this will ever perish."And I think not the Hour will ever come, and if indeed I am brought back to my Lord, (on the Day of Resurrection), I surely shall find better than this when I return to Him."[(18):34-36]
The mans lack of fear eventually led to his gardens being destroyed by Allah. We must take care to learn from this example, that our own lack of fear does not risk the destruction of the gardens that we are promised in the hereafter. Lastly the head of the bird, giving it direction in its flight towards Allah is love, it stems from our recognition that Allah is our one and only Lord.

O man! What has made you careless about your Lord, the Most Generous? Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion. [(82): 6-7]
We study the gifts that Allah has bestowed upon us in medicine daily, learning essential parts of physiology that in the vast majority of the population are fully functional. Should we not love The One who has bestowed these gifts on us? We sin yet Allah allows every person to complete their term on earth, keeping our hearts beating and maintaining our body functions thus granting us numerous opportunities to repent. The root for our hope and fear should be remembrance of the rewards in Jannah (Paradise) and the pain of Jahanum (Hellfire) as well as the Day of Judgement. In this remembrance and the love of for our lord we will Inshallah come closer to Allah the Almighty.