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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