FEAR OR LOVE ALLAH? As-Salaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh!

PLEASE READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AND DON'T READ IT PARTIALLY. This question arises in the mind of some slaves of Allah: "Should we LOVE or FEAR ALLAH?" When one tries to find the answer in the Qur'an he gets the answer: "BOTH". Whatever the Qur'an mentions is TOTALLY CORRECT being the Word of Allah. But I just want to provide an explanation. Let me make it quite clear in the beg inning itself that neither am I scholar nor my intention is to deliver a fatwa ( i.e. religious verdict); I am just a student. The Qur'an [Surah Aali 'Imraan (3:175)] mentions: "And fear them and not but FEAR Me..." Hence we conclude that we should FEAR Allah. But on the other hand the Qur'an [S urah al-Baqarah (2:165)] also mentions: "And those who have believed (i.e. the believers) are EXTREME in the LOVE of ALL AH..." The Arabic word used in the above verse of the Qur'an is 'ashadd' meaning 'extre mely' or 'extreme'. When I asked this question to one of the scholars from Deobandi school of though t whose name was Mufti Abdur Rahmaan Naigaonwi, the President of Jamiat al-Ulama a al-Hind, Jalna District, Jalna, Maharashtra, India, he put forth a parable to answer this question by mentioning: "A father is CRUEL to be KIND." But when I, again, asked him: "Should the LOVE of Allah be MORE as compared to the FEAR of Allah?" So he said: "YES." So the LOVE for Allah should be MORE than His Fear in the heart of his believers . Previously, I used to consider that Mercy and Love are two distinct characterist ics of Allah but later on I realized that these two Qualities of Allah CANNOT be separated and hence, they are INTER-RELATED. Where there is LOVE, there is MERCY and where there is MERCY, there is LOVE. So we conclude that a believer should possess FEAR as well as LOVE for Allah in his heart but the LOVE for Allah should be MORE than anything and everything els e as the Qur'an [Surah at-Taubah (9:24)] mentions: "Say: If they be your fathers and your sons and your brothers and your spouses a nd your (close) relatives and your riches which you have compiled and trade whos e decline you fear and houses which you like are MORE LOVEABLE to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His Cause then wait till Allah brings about H is Command: and Allah does not guide the community of disobeying people." Here the Qur'an emphasizes LOVE for Allah and His Messenger and striving in His

Cause and NOT on Fear, and those who lack the LOVE for Allah and His Messenger, Muhammad (may peace be upon him) and striving in His Cause, the Qur'an WARNS suc h people. Furthermore, our Beloved Prophet (may peace be upon him) said which is mentioned in Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Faith (Kitab al-Imaan), Volume 1, Book 1, Hadith 14: "Narrated Anas: The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: None of you will have (true) Faith till he LOVES me more than his father, his children and all mankind ." In another narration, the Beloved Prophet (may peace be upon him) said which is mentioned in Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Faith (Kitab al-Imaan), Volume 1, Book 1, H adith 15: "Narrated Anas: The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of Faith: 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle (may peace be upon him) becomes MORE LO VABLE than anything else. 2. The one who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake. 3. The one who hates to revert to atheism (disbelief or Kufr) as he hates to be thrown into the fire." Here,our concludeProphet (may peace been laid on LOVEthe Allah (in thethan Fear. and we Beloved that EMPHASIS has be upon him) (in by Hadith) MORE Qur'an) So LOVE should be MORE. "Verily, We offered the Trust to the heavens, and the earth, and the mountains; but they refused to undertake it and were afraid of it and (later on) man (i.e h uman) undertook it: verily, he was unjust and ignorant: That Allah may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women and polytheistic men and polytheistic women and that Allah may turn (in Mercy) towards the believing men and believing women; and Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." While commenting on these verses of the Qur'an [Surah al-Ahzaab (33:72-73)], Muf ti Abdur Rahmaan Naigaonwi said that it was our and Allah's Beloved Prophet, Ada m (may peace be upon him) who undertook the Trust for the SAKE OF ALLAH'S LOVE. So we understand that how much is LOVE important. A scholar from Barelwi school of thought whose name was Mufti Muhammad Akmal men tioned in his programme 'Al-Haadi' on ARY QTV: "Some lecturers (who deliver speeches) make people FEAR Allah SO MUCH that even a person who is performing good deeds start thinking that however much I try to be good yet I cannot be saved from the punishment. Let me remind that the Fear w hich is mentioned in the Qur'an is NOT TO KILL the slaves but to make them incli ne towards good deeds. Excess Fear as well as excess hope of Allah's Mercy - bot h of them are DANGEROUS." When I asked Mufti Abdur Rahmaan Naigaonwi about these statements of Mufti Muham mad Akmal, so he (Mufti Abdur Rahmaan Naigaonwi) CONFIRMED what he (Mufti Muhamm ad Akmal) said even though they are from different schools of thought. The reason, which I think, that the Holy Qur'an describes the FEAR of ALLAH is t o maintain "humbleness" in the slaves of Allah and prevent them from transgressi ng. If Qur'an would not have described the Fear of Allah then people even after committing MAJOR SINS like shirk (i.e. considering someone equal to Allah), rape

, robbery, murder etc. have hoped for Allah's Mercy instead of feeling guilty an d ashamed. For SUCH people, Allah NEEDS to be Revengeful. Allah DOES NOT get pleasure NEITHER He loves to punish His righteous slaves as t he Qur'an [Surah an-Nisaaaa' (4:147)] states: "What Allah has to do with your punishment (i.e. by punishing you) if you be gra teful and have Faith; and Allah is All-Appreciating, All-Knowing." So we can conclude that He is NOT pleased to punish His good slaves. Since Allah is All-Appreciating, He accepts even our good deeds which are not wo rth accepting. He ACCEPTS any good which He finds in us however much small it ma y be and REWARDS us WITHOUT MEASURE. Our Beloved Prophet (may peace be upon him) said which is mentioned in Saheeh Muslim, Book of Remembrance (Kitab az-Zikr), Book 35, Hadith 6592: "Anas ibn Malik reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Al lah is (even) pleased with His servant who says 'Al-Hamdu lillah' (i.e. Thanks a nd Praise be to Allah) while taking a morsel of food and while drinking." So Allah LIKES to ACCEPT good deeds however much small they may be. He DOES NOT wastes the good deeds of any believer as the Qur'an [Surah Aali 'Imraan (3:171)] mentions: "And Allah DOES NOT wastes the reward of the believers." As for those slaves who committed SINS, they SHOULD REPENT. And what our Beloved Prophet (may peace be upon him) said regarding the one who repents from sinning which is recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Piety and Righteousness (Kitab az -Zuhd), Hadith 4251: "The one who repents from sin is LIKE the one WITHOUT SIN." And the BEST of ALL is that Allah LOVES those who REPENT MUCH as the Qur'an ment ions [Surah al-Baqarah (2:222)]: "Allah LOVES those who REPENT MUCH and He LOVES those who keep themselves pure ( and clean)." To think that Allah does not LOVE you is AGAINST the Qur'an [Surah Hood (11:90)] since it mentions: "Verily, my Lord is Most Merciful, Most LOVING." The Qur'an [Surah al-Burooj (85:14)] also mentions: "And He is the Most Forgiving, the MOST LOVING."

Let us analyze whom does Allah LOVE: The Qur'an [Surah al-Baqarah (2:222)] mentions: "Allah LOVES those who REPENT MUCH (i.e. at-tawwaabeen) and He LOVES those that keep themselves pure (and clean) (i.e. al-mutatahhireen)." The Qur'an [Sural Aali 'Imraan (3:76), Surah at-Taubah (9:4 & 7)]:

"Allah LOVES the righteous (i.e. al-muttaqeen)." The Qur'an [Surah Aali 'Imraan (3:134 & 148), Surah al-Baqarah (2:195), Surah al -Maaaidah (5:13 & 93), ] also mentions: "Allah LOVES the righteous (i.e. al-muhsineen)." The Qur'an [Sural Aali 'Imraan (3:146)] also mentions: "Allah LOVES those who patiently persevere (i.e. as-saabireen)." The Qur'an [Sural Aali 'Imraan (3:159)] also mentions: "Allah LOVES those who put their trust (in Him) (i.e. al-mutawakkileen)." The Qur'an [Sural al-Hujuraat (49:9), Surah al-Maaidah (5:42) & Surah al-Mumtaha nah (60:8)] also mentions: "Allah LOVES those that deal justly (i.e. al-muqsiteen)." And lastly the Qur'an [Surah as-Saff (61:4)] mentions: "Allah LOVES those that fight in His Cause as though they are a cemented structu re (i.e. al-lazeena yuqaatiloona fii Sabeelihii saffan ka-annahum bunyaanum-mars oos)." Without LOVE, God CANNOT be God and without LOVE, a believer CANNOT be believer. The Qur'an [Surah ash-Shuuraa (42:27)] mentons: "And if Allah would enlarge the provision for His slaves (then) verily, they wil l transgress (all bounds) in the earth, and therefore He sends (the provision) i n the proportion He wills..." Now from the verse of the Holy Qur'an, we come to know that to prevent the slave s from transgressing, He sends the provision in the proportion He wills. Similarly, to keep the slaves in control and to prevent them from transgressing, Allah makes His slaves FEAR Him. For that purpose, I think, FEAR of Allah is ne eded. And this Fear is ONLY UPTO THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD. For the righteous slaves of A llah, in the herafter, there will NO FEAR AT ALL as the Qur'an [Surah az-Zukhruf (43:67-68)] mentions: "The Day when friends will be foes to each other except the righteous. (Allah wi ll say to them), 'My slaves, on this Day, there will NO FEAR for you NOR will yo u greive.' " Our Beloved Prophet (peace be uon him) said which is mentioned in Saheeh Muslim, Book of Destiny (Kitab al-Qadr), Book 37, Hadith 6626: "Abu Huraira reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: When Allah created the creation as He was upon the Throne, He put down in His Book: V ERILY, MY MERCY PREDOMINATES MY WRATH." Here too, we come to know that Allah Himself has made HIS MERCY (and LOVE) PREVA IL OVER HIS WRATH.

In another Hadith, the Beloved, Lovely and Merciful Prophet (peace be upon him) said which is mentioned in Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Monotheism (Kitab at-Tauheed) , Volume 9, Book 93, Hadith 595: "Narrated Abu Huraira that Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said, 'Allah said : If My slaves LOVES the meeting with Me, I too LOVE the meeting with him; and i f he dislikes the meeting with Me, I too dislike the meeting with him.' " So LOVE to MEET Allah and LOVE Him too. But Fear to disobey Him, Fear to make Hi m Angry. And ALLAH gives GOOD NEWS to His slaves in the Qur'an [Surah Maryam (19:96)]: "Verily, those (slaves) who have believed and performed good deeds, very soon wi ll Ar-Rahmaan (i.e. Allah) bestow on them LOVE." A scholar from Jamiat E Ahl E Hadis mentioned in his programme 'Fazail E Aamal' on the topic 'Allah se Mohabbat' Sanaullah Madani: on Peace TV Urdu known as Shaikh "Those who LOVE Allah have the Good News," and he quoted these verses of the Qur 'an [Surah Yuunus (10:62-64)]: "Behold, on the Friends of Allah, shall be no Fear nor shall they grieve. Those who believed and used to perform good deeds. For them is Good News in the world and in the hereafter..." At last I wanna, God-willing, clear one misconception that many a times we read in the Qur'an the phrase "fear Allah", the translation of Arabic word "ittaqul-l aah". But is is a WRONG translation. And this has also been CONFIRMED by Mufti A bdur Rahmaan and Dr Israr Ahmad in some of his lectures on Peace TV Urdu. Accord ing to Dr Israr Ahmad, it means "to eschew (evil or Allah's disobedience)". This word is VERY DIFFICULT to be translated. This can be translated in a more a ppropriate sense as "do your duty to Allah" which is MORE CORRECT than the forme r. And there is DIFFERENCE between the Arabic word "qashiyah" and "qauf". The first refers to "the awe of someone due to his honour" and the later means " fear" and this has been mentoned in Maariful Qur'an, the famous commentary of th e Qur'an [See: Commentary of Surah as-Saad (38:22-25) - Urdu version by Mufti Sh afii Usmani, MaarifulQuran.net]. I also did find a good book on the inetrnet which answers more questions, named as 'Fate and Destiny (al-Qadhaa wa al-Qadr)' by Muhammad Metwali ash-Sha'rawi... So download and READ it. LOVE your Lord for HE SURELY LOVES YOU... PLEASE PRAY to Allah for me, my parents, my family, and all the Muslims and the Believrs. May Allah, the MOST LOVING forgive me if there is any inaccuracy in these points ... As-Salaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuh! Email: shees1993@rediff.com

----------------------------------------------------Allah loves at-tawwaabeen (Qur'an 2:222) Allah loves al-mutatahhireen (Qur'an 2:222) Allah loves al-muttaqeen (Qur'an 3:76, 9:4, 9:7) Allah loves al-muhsineen (Qur'an 3:134, 2:195, 3:148, 5:13, 5:93) Allah loves as-saabireen (Qur'an 3:146) Allah loves al-mutawakkileen (Qur'an 3:159) Allah loves al-muqsiteen (Qur'an 49:9, 5:42, 60:8) Allah loves al-lazeena yuqaatiloona fii Sabeelihii saffan ka-annahum bunyaanum-m arsoos (Qur'an 61:4) Allah loves al-muttahhireen (Qur'an 9:108) al-lazeena aamanoo love Allah extremely (Qur'an 2:165) 2:177 (3:14) 3:31 (3:92) (3:103) (5:18) 5:54 (6:76) 9:23 (12:8) The Friends of Allah 10:62-64 -----------------------------------------------------