Assalaamu alaykum Warahamatulahi Wabarakaatahu!
Love, Fear and Hope
The Three Essential Ingredients for Eeman
One of the most beautiful things about the concept of worship in
Islaam is the truly unique way in which it incorporates the feeling of love,
fear and hope within the hearts of the worshippers of Allah. Understanding
how to combine these three qualities into the worship (ibaadah) of Allah is
one of the most essential things that every Muslim must grasp, not least
because every sect which has drifted from the Straight Path has strayed in
the aspect of worship. The deviation of the other religions in this regard
is clear for all to see: "God is love! Jesus is love!" say the Christians,
denying the fact that Allah should be feared too. As for the Jews, their
hearts were filled only with hope; hope that the Fire will never touch them,
since they were the "Promised People".
In Islaam however, no worship is complete without the presence of all
three qualities: love of Allah, hope in His Mercy and fear of His
Punishment. Contemplate the opening Soorah of the Qur'aan - Soorah
al-Faatihah - and you will see this for yourself.
Aayah 1: "All praise [and thanks] is for Allah, Rabb of all the
worlds."
In this opening aayah (verse) of the Qur'aan, we have LOVE of Allah
and every time we recite this aayah we are testifying to our love for Allah.
How is that you ask?
It is because in the aayah, we are acknowledging that Allah is our
Rabb and the Rabb of all the worlds. Rabb is usually translated as 'the
Lord', but this translation does not do justification to this name of Allah
and all the meanings this name carries. In reality, Rabb means that Allah is
the Creator of everything; He sustains and nourishes everything; He gives
life and Death; anything good that we have is from Him; everything is
dependant on Him and nothing can happen unless He wills it. Furthermore, for
the Muslims He - the Rabb - in the One who has guided us to the Truth and
given us good morals and manners.
Thus when we testify that Allah is our Rabb, then we are acknowledging
that He is the One who has given us so many blessings - so many that if we
try to enumerate His blessings, we would be unable to do so. So how could we
not but LOVE Him?
After all, we all love those who show kindness towards us or present
us with gifts. And therefore the Messenger of Allah (salla-allahu alaihe
wa-sallam) encouraged the exchange of gifts between Muslims because it helps
to strengthen ties and develop love for one another.
He (salla-allahu alaihe wa-sallam) said, "Give gifts to one another,
you will come to love one another."[1]
So imagine the LOVE we should have for our Rabb who has given us
everything: nice families, shelter, security, food, health and above all the
Guidance of Islaam and the Sunnah. We should be overwhelming in our love for
Him. That is why we praise Him and thank Him and say,
"All praise (and thanks) is for Allah, Rabbil-'aalameen."
Aayah 2: The Rahmaan (Merciful) and the Raheem (Mercy-Giving) ."
In the first aayah of Soorah al-Faatihah, Allah mentioned He was the
Rabb. In this aayah two more of His beautiful names are mentioned:
ar-Rahmaan and ar-Raheem.
Ar-Rahmaan means that He is the Most Merciful. Ar-Raheem means that He
is the Giver of Mercy, in other words His actions are full of Mercy and He
shows Mercy to His creation.[2]
When we mention these two names of Allah, then we have HOPE. Since He
is the One who is full of Mercy, and we hope He will forgive our mistakes
and shortcomings. We should never loose hope, because Allah says in the
Qur'aan,
"O My slaves, who have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of the
Mercy of Allah, Verily Allah forgives all sins (except sins). Truly He is
Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful" [39: 53]
The need to have FEAR in our worship is shown by the next aayah of
Soorah al-Faatihah.
Aayah 3: "King/Master of the Day of Judgement."
When we recite this aayah, we remind ourselves of the Day of Judgement
- that awful Day, when all of humanity shall stand before Allah ... naked,
uncircumcised and barefooted. People will appear drunk though they are not.
On that Day, every person will stand before Allah and account for his sins,
knowing that not even the smallest action which he did is hidden from Allah:
"So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it. And
whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom shall see it." [Soorah 99
: 7-8]
So when we recite this third aayah of Soorah al-Faatihah, we remind
ourselves of this Judgement and accountability and that should bring about
in us a sense of fear - that maybe our evil actions will be too great and we
will be responsible for them - May Allah protect us from such a fate. Then
the next verse goes on to say:
"You alone we worship."
i.e. we single out Allah for our worship. And how do we worship Him?
With LOVE, HOPE and FEAR. And in order to achieve these qualities, we need
Allah's assistance, so we say then,
"We seek Your Aid."
(TO CONTINUE)
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