.” This is because despair of Allah’s mercy betrays a bad opinion of Him and ignorance of the vast reach of His mercy and forgiveness, while feeling secure from Allah’s plan stems from ignorance of Allah and His power, misplaced self-confidence, and self-admiration. The lesson is that a servant must always stand between fear and hope: when fear takes hold, he should not despair or lose heart but should still hope for Allah’s mercy; and when hope rises, it must not carry him so far that he feels safe from punishment.
Some of the early generations recommended that, in times of good health, a believer strengthen the side of fear, but in sickness and at the moment of death he strengthen the side of hope.
When the heart keeps its balance between fear and hope, it is moved to righteous deeds, kept away from sin, and motivated to repent. If that balance is upset so that the heart inclines to only one side, action is paralyzed, the path of repentance is obstructed, and destruction follows.
What Allah has told us about earlier nations that neglected the side of fear until His punishment descended on them is a powerful reminder to the believers. Look at the people of Hud who said to him, “It is all the same to us whether you preach or are not among the preachers; this is only the tradition of the former peoples, and we shall not be punished,” but they rejected him, so We destroyed them.⦗1⦘
Fear and hope are among the greatest forms of worship and must be devoted sincerely to Allah alone; neglecting either of them undermines pure monotheism and corrupts one’s creed.
- Associating partners in love
As noted earlier, fear of Allah must be coupled with love of Him, for worship based on fear alone is the very foundation of the Kharijite way. Love, however, is the pivot of the religion of Islam: when one’s love of Allah is complete, Islam itself is perfected, and when that love is deficient, a person’s monotheism is likewise diminished.