Fear, Respect, And Love Of Allah Must Be Together
Some people assume that love of Allah is enough for those who seek to live according to religious morals and earn Allah's good pleasure. However, Allah informs us that His servants who possess superior morals and love Him also have a genuine fear and respect for Him. Every person who acknowledges Allah with all of His attributes and appreciates His greatness, as well as those who have intelligence and a conscience, will fear and respect Allah to the utmost degree. Allah enables such servants, who also abide by His will, to distinguish good from evil and to observe the limits that He has set for humanity. Allah informs us of the blessings He gives the believers in the following verse:
O you who believe. If you fear [and respect] Allah, He will give you discrimination, erase your bad actions, and forgive you. Allah's favor is indeed immense. (Surat al-Anfal, 29)
 So fear [and respect] Allah as much as you are able to, and listen and obey. (Surat at-Taghabun, 16) Spend in the way of Allah. Do not cast yourselves into destruction. And do good: Allah loves good-doers. (Surat al-Baqara, 195) |
For example, such people do not lie. Even if their self-interests suffer a loss, they will worry about not earning Allah's good pleasure and thereby earning His retribution. Therefore, they will act in an honest manner. If they indulge in even a moment's heedlessness and say something that is not right, they will immediately repent and undertake never to repeat that action in the future. Similarly, despite being in great need, they will not try to earn a living through unlawful means because they fear (and respect) Allah.
Every person who does not appropriately fear and respect Allah has his own private boundaries. Even if he is true and honest up to that boundary, he will act according to his own interests beyond it. Those who fear and respect Allah, on the other hand, will never stray from the straight path, regardless of how difficult their situation is. When confronted with any hardship, they immediately turn to Him in complete trust and ask Him to show them a way out.
 It is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself firmly on the Throne.He knows what goes into the earth and what comes out of it,what comes down from heaven and what goes up into it.He is with you wherever you are – Allah sees what you do.
(Surat al-Hadid, 4) |
Allah loves His servants, wills the good for them, is oft-forgiving and merciful, helps them in every instance, and bestows kindness upon His servants without seeking recompense. The idolaters and unbelievers are far away from Allah's mercy. Our Lord, the possessor of infinite justice, provides for His pious servants who possess a genuine heart and true belief in Allah, and will reward them in this world and the Hereafter. Those who insist on unbelief will suffer the pains of Hell.
Those who comprehend our Lord's infinite strength and ability to punish in the Hereafter hold Allah in complete awe and respect. As a result, they are careful not to adopt an attitude that does not earn our Lord's good pleasure. However, on the other hand, as a result of their genuine and faithful love of Allah, hoping Allah will forgive their sins and accept their repentance, they do their best to earn His good pleasure and be rewarded with Paradise for their striving in His path. The Qur'an mentions the believers' morals, as follows:
Those who fear [and respect] their Lord in the Unseen will have forgiveness and an immense reward. . (Surat al-Mulk, 12)
O you who believe. Fear [and respect] Allah the way He should be feared [and respected], and do not die except as Muslims. (Surah Al 'Imran, 102)
Every believer who genuinely loves Allah will feel a great awe for Allah's punishment and, by trying not to lose His love and consent, will strive to earn His good pleasure. Allah says of those believers, who have these morals:
But as for anyone who desires the Hereafter and strives for it with the striving it deserves, being a believer, their striving will be gratefully acknowledged. (Surat al-Isra', 19)
Fear Of Allah Bestows Beauty Of Faith
ADNAN OKTAR: The fear of Allah is the fear of a crazed lover who refrains from displeasing Allah, who fears to be deprived of Allah's consent. A lover refrains from displeasing the beloved because he fears that this will destroy her love: this is what the fear of Allah is like. There is no other meaning in this. He may go to Hell and burn in its fire but what in fact makes him uncomfortable is his failure to express his love for Allah. So, this is how Allah tells the lover what the lover needs. If a person has a deep fear of Allah, he will be very meticulous to obey His commands; he will love Him and behave very respectfully. For example, he will not be self-centered or selfish, but compassionate and caring. He will not give rein to his lower-self or seek his own ends, but he will be forgiving; he will fear Allah and be forgiving to others. For instance forgiveness is a force that fosters love, compassion is a force that fosters love. For the sake of Allah's approval you take care of your beloved, take pains about what he eats and drinks and about the exercises that person should do. This is all a manifestation of one's love for Allah. But the person who does not fear Allah becomes self-centered and selfish thinking only of himself; he becomes unforgiving and reacts harshly when his own interests are at stake. For instance such person would be skeptical, unaltruistic; he would not be generous and would not be able to put his life for Allah when he should. That is to say, lots of negative attitudes piles up on him. But in the case of fear of Allah, every sort of goodness comes upon him; that is to say every sort of goodness that ensure love and beauty fit perfectly on fear of Allah. (Ekin TV, March 2, 2009)
ADNAN OKTAR: All the beautiful aspects and details of the love for Allah come from fear of Allah. For example, patience comes from the fear of Allah and the roots of self-sacrifice, courage, compassion and all favorable attributes come from fear of Allah. Also fear of Allah is at the root of wisdom. That is to say, the minds of people are opened because of their fear of Allah; otherwise they remain closed and become atrophied. The fear of Allah opens the mind, ignites love for Allah and raises it to the heavens insha'Allah, it opens the love of Allah toward eternity. It is a great blessing and creates a passionate love for Paradise and for Allah. In other words, the more one fears Allah, the more intensively he loves Allah and the more of a spirit of a lover fills his soul. When one does not fear Allah, he loses his foresight, his perception, his benevolence, stability. All of his (positive) attributes begin to corrupt, or, Allah forbid, they corrupt entirely. . (Kackar TV, March 12, 2009)
