Page 74 - Fear of Allah
P. 74

FEAR OF ALLAH

            outward display of over confidence. Such attitudes are in complete
            opposition to the spirit and the message of the Qur'an.
               True Muslims fear Allah and strive to punctiliously abide by His
            commands. One of the finest examples of this is the Muslim women
            who lived in the time of our Prophet (saas). The female believers of
            the time embraced Almighty Allah's command regarding covering
            their heads with great enthusiasm and desire, and immediately
            obeyed. The following is narrated from Hazrat Aisha regarding the
            excellent behavior of women at the time when the verses regarding
            the headscarf were revealed:
               When the verse "they should …draw their head-coverings across their
               breasts." was revealed, they tore their capes and covered themselves with
               those." (Ibn Kathir, Commentary on the Hadith and the Holy Qur'an
               Tefsiri, Vol. 11, p. 5880)

               The Muslims who came after also obeyed this command with
            great enthusiasm and determination.


               Fear based upon ignorance

               Allah is well acquainted with people's circumstances and every
            hope, prayer and thought that goes through their minds. This being
            so, what needs to be done is to turn to Allah with sincerity and to
            seek His friendship. A sincere inner fear produces a predisposition
            that will ensure submission, encourage a state of positive morality
            and progress towards gaining Allah's love.
               The fear of the people who do not live by the religion however, is
            different. Their sense of fear is temporary. When they are tested
            with a difficult situation, they remember Allah's wrath and fear the
            consequences. However, no sooner does Allah save them from their
            predicament, than they revert to their previous state of denial. With

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