How should Allah be loved and feared?

Question: How should Allah be loved and feared?

ANSWERJust as love is of different kinds, so is fear. The love of Allah is different from the love of parents, children, a wife, and the nature. Likewise, the fear of Allah is a far cry from the fear of enemies. It is declared in the Qur’ân al-karîm, “Fear Allah as He should be feared” (Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân, 102).
The fear felt for Allah the way He wants is termed taqwâ. Taqwâ is to believe in Allah, to love Him, to be a servant to Him, that is, to observe His commandments and prohibitions. It is not taqwâ to fear enemies, for enemies are not believed in. Nor do they have the authority to put people in Hell or Paradise. One fears enemies only because they may do harm. Then there is a world of difference between these two types of fear. Again, it is declared, “If you have believed, do not fear them [enemies], but fear Me” (Sûrat-u Âl-i ‘Imrân, 175).
A lover is afraid of upsetting his or her beloved in any way. Not only we must love our Rabb much, who has created us from nothing and has conferred various favors upon us, but also we must be very much afraid of losing this love. As a matter of fact, the Qur’ân al-karîm purports:
(Fear Allah! Know that Allah’s torment is extremely severe.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 196]

(Fear Allah, so that you can attain to salvation.) [Sûrat-ul-Mâ’ida, 100]

Fearing Allah should not be supposed like fearing a cruel person. It is the fear combined with reverence and love. In poems which lovers wrote to their darlings there are many couplets telling about similar fear in them. A lover who regards his darling much higher than himself does not deem himself worthy of this love and explains his feelings in such a fear.

Certainly, the fear of Allah is out of the question for disbelievers. As for the Believers, they must love Allah greatly and be very much afraid of becoming a disbeliever so that they can get the taste of îmân. A hadîth-i sharîf declares:
(A person who loves Allah and His Messenger more than everything else, who loves only those whom Allah loves, and who is afraid of becoming a disbeliever more than he is afraid of being burnt in fire relishes îmân.) [Bukhârî]

Most of the scandals and crimes arise mainly from lack of chastity. Most people cannot refrain themselves from indulging in the things of the wrong path even though they may know the result of being unchaste. The remedy that can lead them to right path in the face of this strong feeling is an educational and ethical matter. Religion means ethics. A person who fears Allah cannot be unchaste. Consequently, it must be our primary duty to try to teach our children the fear of Allah.

In order to fear Allahu ta’âlâ, one should know Him very well. To know Allahu ta’âlâ well, we must learn His grandness and attributes. To fear Allah is a matter of knowledge, work, and effort. It will not emanate from a vacuum.

The wings taking people to happinessFear of Allah and love of Allah are like two wings taking people to salvation and happiness. Our master the Prophet said:
(If a person fears Allah, everything fears him. If he does not fear Allah, he fears everything.) [Abushshaikh]

(The wisest of you is the one who fears Allah most and who observes commandments and prohibitions best.) [Ibni Muhbar]

(The extent of a person’s intellect will be evident in the extent of his fear of Allah.) [I. Mâwardî]

A Believer who obeys Allahu ta’âlâ’s commandments loves his Rabb immensely. It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:

(The Believers’ love of Allah is very strong.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 165]

(A Believer is such that his heart feels fear when the name of Allah is mentioned.) [Sûrat-ul-Anfal, 2; Sûrat-ul-Hajj, 35]

It is not possible for people to love or fear what they do not know. Those who love Allah much and know Him well fear Him very much. Since the one who knows Him best is our master the Prophet, he is certainly the one who fears Him most. As a matter of fact, he stated:
(It is I who, among you, fear Allah most.) [Bukhârî]

After prophets, people who know Allahu ta’âlâ best are savants, who are prophets’ inheritors, and those who are close to them. It is purported in the Qur’ân al-karîm:
(Only ‘ulamâ’ fear Allah among His servants.) [Sûrat-u Fâtir, 28]

(Those who obey Allah and His Messenger and those who fear Allah and guard themselves against violating His commands are the ones that will be saved on the Day of Judgement.) [Sûrat-un-Nûr, 52]

When our master the Prophet was asked concerning the people mentioned in the sixtieth verse of Mu’minun Sûra that reads (in English) “Their hearts beat with fear as they will return to their Rabb” whether they are thieves or fornicators, he answered:
(They are the ones who perform namâz, who fast, and who give zakât. And they fear whether their acts of worship have been accepted.) [Tirmudhî]

The fear of Allah is highly useful for sustenance as well. Our master the Prophet declared, “The sustenance of a person whose capital is the fear of Allah comes to him without trading or capital,” and then recited [the second and third verses of Talaq Sûra, which purport] “Whoever fears Allah, He grants a way out for him and sends him sustenance from places which he does not expect.” (Tabarânî)

The fear of Allah is a great blessing that makes people attain endless bliss. It is purported in âyât (verses):
(There are two Paradises for the person who fears his Rabb.) [Sûrat-ur-Rahman, 46]

(He who fears Allah receives warning.) [Sûrat-ul-A’lâ, 10]

(Fear only Me.) [Sûrat-ul-Baqara, 40]

(Do not fear human beings but fear Me.) [Sûrat-ul-Mâ’ida, 44]

Furthermore, it is declared in ahâdîth:
(The sins of a person whose heart shivers with the fear of Allah fall off just like leaves falling off a tree.) [Bayhaqî]

(He who remembers his sins and cries over them will enter Paradise without any questioning.) [I. Ghazâlî]

(He who weeps out of the fear of Allah will not enter Hell.) [Nasâî]

(If you feared Allah thoroughly, you would attain knowledge that does not contain ignorance.) [Ibni Sunnî]

The love of Allah is one of the conditions of îmân. The following ahâdîth declare:
(Îmân is to love Allah and His Messenger more than everything else.) [I. Ahmad]

(You will not be considered to have îmân unless Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to you than everything else.) [Bukhârî]

Why did she become Muslim? LADY ZAYNAB EVELYN COMBOLD - (G.B.)

I am frequently asked why I became a Muslim. I am the daughter of a renowned family, and my husband also is well-known and rich. To those who ask me why I became a Muslim, I reply that I do not know for certain when the light of Islam rose in my soul. It seems to me as if I have been a Muslim forever. This is not something strange at all. For Islam is a natural and true religion. Every child is born as a Muslim. If it is left to itself, it will choose Islam, none else. As a European writer observes, "Islam is the religion of people with common sense."
 
If you made a comparative study of all religions, you would immediately see that Islam is the most perfect, the most natural, and the most logical. Owing to Islam, many complicated problems of the world are solved easily and mankind attains peace and tranquility. Islam always rejects the dogma that human beings are born sinful and that they have to expiate for it in the world. Muslims believe in Allah, who is one. In their eyes, Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad Mustafa 'salawatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain' are human beings like us. Allahu ta'ala has chosen them as Prophets to guide people to the right way. For doing penance, for asking for forgiveness, or for praying, there is no one between Allahu ta'ala and the born slave. We can supplicate Allahu ta'ala on our own any time, and we are responsible only for what we have done.

The word 'Islam' means both 'to surrender oneself to Allahu ta'ala' and 'to have belief in Muhammad 'alaihis-salam'. 'Muslim' means 'a person who lives in peace and happiness with all beings.' Islam is based on two fundamental facts:
 

1) That Allahu ta'ala is one, and that Muhammad 'alaihis-salam' is the final Prophet He has sent.
 

2) That humanity should be entirely freed from superstitions and unfounded dogmas. The Hajj, one of the (five) tenets of Islam, has a great impact on people. What other religion contains a form of worship as sublime as Islam's pilgrimage, which brings together hundreds of thousands of Muslims from all four corners of the world regardless of their classes, races, countries, colors and rank positions, and makes them put on the (uniformal garb called) Ihram and prostrate themselves with one accord before Allahu ta'ala? It is a certain fact that Muslims' worshiping together at these blessed places where the great Prophet 'sall-Allahu ta'ala 'alaihi wa sallam' announced Islam, struggled against Islam's enemies, exerted himself with great determination and firmness, will attach them to one another with stronger affections, whereby they will try to find solutions for one another's problems, and they will once again take an oath to cooperate along the way shown by Allahu ta'ala. Another use of the Hajj is that thereby Muslims all over the world meet one another, know one another's problems, and teach their personal experiences to one another. All Muslims assemble at the place whereto they turn their faces during their worships at home, and, all in one mass, one body in the presence of Allahu ta'ala, they surrender themselves to Him.

Seeing the Hajj once would suffice as an evidence to prove the greatness of Islam. Here is Islam, and I have been enjoying the pleasure and satisfaction of having entered this great religion. 


from the book: WHY DID THEY BECOME MUSLIMS?

The philomel of soul is ever-desirous of the rose;
Don't you ever presume fighting others is its real cause!

Ceaselessly it hovers round it, like a moth,
looking for a shelter where they could enjoy some repose.

 

I now know that the lovely rose has told none of its secret,
It always yearns for the philomel, like a budding rose.

 

From strangers that nymph has hidden her cheeks;

Unrequited love puts up with the thorn, never gets the rose.

Infatuated, the poor lover paces the road to his beloved;
Craving for the sweetheart, the lover himself dissolves.

Allah will be seen in Paradise

Question: Will the blessings of Jannah (Paradise) be only for the body? Will Believers see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter and in Paradise?

ANSWERIt is wrong to assume that the blessings of Paradise are only for the body. Once a soul starts making progress in the world, it will carry on its progress even after it leaves the body and also until the Day of Judgement. In Paradise the body will be reconstructed so as to lead an eternal life and will be different from the one on earth. Life after death will start with the reunion of that exalted soul and that physical body modified for eternity. In Paradise the body and the soul will have very different blessings and pleasures. People with loftier spiritual acumen will give priority to the pleasures of the soul in Paradise as well. The pleasures of the soul will be much more different and much more than the enjoyments of the body. Seeing Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl (Beauty) will be the ultimate and sweetest pleasure for the soul.

Relishing the pleasures in Paradise does not necessarily require having undergone troubles beforehand because the construction of the body in Paradise will not be like the construction of the earthly physical body. The earthly body is created with a construction which is good for a temporary life. It can last approximately one hundred years. The body we will have in Paradise will have a construction which will last forever. The similarity between the two is like the similarity of a person to his or her reflection in the mirror. The human mind cannot visualize the creatures in the Hereafter. The mind can comprehend only the things which it perceives through the sensory organs and can visualize only things which are similar to them. It would be tragically misleading to pass judgement on the pleasures and flavors of Paradise, which we do not know at all, by comparing them to worldly pleasures, which are what we know in the name of enjoyment. It is null and void to draw analogy for the unknown from the known.

It is possible (jâiz) to see Allahu ta’âlâ with the eyes of the head in this world, but no one ever has. During the Mi’râj (The Prophet’s ascension from Jerusalem to the heavens), our master the Prophet went into the next world and saw Him in the next world.

At the gathering place (mahshar) on the Day of Judgement, Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen by disbelievers in His Wrath and Glory, that is, as a Punisher, and by pious Muslims in His Kindness and Beauty, that is, as a great blessing and pleasure. In Paradise He will be seen in His attribute of Jamâl (Beauty).

The Holy Qur’an declares clearly that in the Hereafter Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ before and after they enter Paradise:
(Faces shining brightly [Believers] on the Day of Resurrection will look at their Rabb.) [Sûrat-ul-Qiyâmah, 22-23]

The purport of a well-known hadîth-i sharîf is as follows:
On a fourteenth night (of the lunar month), our master the Prophet looked at the full moon and said:
(As you see that moon in the sky clearly, you [Believers] will see your Rabb in such a clear manner [in Paradise].) [Bukhârî, Muslim, Ibni Mâja, Tirmudhî, Abû Dawud, Nasâî, Imâm-i Ahmad, Ibni Huzayma, Ibni Hibbân]

Our master Rasûlullah explained the phrase “even more than it” that appears in the 26th verse of Yûnus Sûra, which purports as follows, “For those who do good deeds is Husnâ [Paradise] and even more than it” as ru’yat (seeing Allahu ta’âlâ) and stated, “You will see your Rabb clearly on the Day of Judgement as you see the full moon” (Bukhârî).
Disbelievers will be deprived of the blessing of seeing Allah in His attribute of Jamâl. The purport of an âyah (Qur’anic verse) is as follows:
(They [disbelievers] will be deprived of seeing their Rabb [in His attribute of Jamâl] on that Day.) [Sûrat-ul-Mutaffifîn, 15]

Seeing Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl is a great favor, which is superior to all favors in Paradise. Disbelievers will be debarred from this great favor because they will not enter Paradise. Disbelievers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Wrath. But this seeing will not be a favor, but a great torment.

Such great scholars as Imâm-i Shâfi’î and Imâm-i Mâlik, who were madhhab owners, said, “This âyah is proof that Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in His attribute of Jamâl. If the case were otherwise, it would not have been said, “Disbelievers will not be able to see.” It is not said “no one” but said “Disbelievers will not be able to see.” (Hazin)
The 143rd verse of A’râf Sûra reveals that Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm wanted to see Allahu ta’âlâ. This is also another proof that Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen, for it would be out of place, even ignorance, for a prophet to request something impossible from Allahu ta’âlâ. It is contrary to prophethood not to know proper and improper things about Allahu ta’âlâ.

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî states:
“Ahl as-Sunnah scholars declared unanimously that Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be seen in the world” (Vol. I, Letter 283).

Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlid-i Baghdâdî states:
“A person who says that he or she has seen Allahu ta’âlâ in this world is a zindîq. The observation of awliyâ’ through the eyes of their hearts is not ru’yat but shuhûd” (I’tiqâd-namâ).

Also, Hadrat Imâm-i Ghazâlî says, “It is not possible to see Allahu ta’âlâ in the world” (Ihyâ).

Since it is impossible to see Allahu ta’âlâ in the world, Hadrat Âisha said, “He who says that the Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ has told a lie” (Bukhârî).

Some exalted scholars, such as Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî, Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlîd-i Baghdâdî, and Hadrat Sayyid ‘Abdulqâdir-i Ghaylânî, said that our master the Prophet saw Allahu ta’âlâ during the Mi’râj but this seeing was not a worldly seeing but a seeing that took place in the next world.

Sayyid ‘Abdulqâdir-i Ghaylânî, who was a mujtahid scholar in fiqh and hadîth branches and who was one of the greatest of awliyâ’, stated:
“We believe that the Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ with the eyes of the head on the Mi’râj Night and that this seeing was not through his heart or in his dream. For Jâbir bin ‘Abdullah reported that our master the Prophet said, ‘I certainly saw my Rabb’ and ‘I saw my Rabb at Sidratu-l-Muntahâ. It was such that His nûr became manifest for me,’ concerning the 13th and 14th verses of Najm Sûra, which reads (in English), “Verily, he had previously seen Him yet another time near Sidratu’l-Muntahâ.”
Hadrat Ibni Abbas expresses in the tafsîr of Isrâ Sûra that Allahu ta’âlâ showed Himself to His beloved [Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm] on the Mi’râj Night. He further states: “The Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ with worldly eyes twice on the Mi’râj Night. Hullat was for Hadrat Ibrâhîm; kalâm, for Mûsâ ‘alaihis-salâm; and ru’yat, for Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm” (Gunya).
[Hullat means friendship; kalâm, speaking; ru’yat, seeing with the eyes of the head.]

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî writes the following:
On the Mi’râj Night, that Sarwar [Master of Prophets, Best of Humankind] saw his Rabb not in this world but in the next world because that Sarwar transcended the usual limits of time and place on that night. He found eternity in the past and eternity in the future as a moment. He saw the beginning and the end as a dot. He saw on that night those people who are to enter Paradise thousands of years later in the state that they entered and were living in Paradise. Look! Seeing in that grade is not like seeing in the world. It is a seeing taking place in the next world. To say, “He saw Him in the world,” is a metaphoric expression. Because he went there from this world and saw Him and came back to this world again, it was described as “He saw Him in the world.” (Vol. I, Letter 283)

Allahu ta’âlâ cannot be seen in the world. If this blessing were attainable in this world, Hadrat Mûsâ would have seen Him before anybody else. Our master the Prophet was honored with this good luck during the Mi’râj. Yet it did not happen in this world. He went into Paradise. He saw Him there. That is, he saw Him in the Hereafter. While being in the world, he went out of the world, went into the next world, and saw Him. (Vol. III, Letter 17)
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî explains the 17th verse of Najm Sûra, which purports, “His eyes did not swerve, nor did they exceed the limit,” as “On the Mi’râj Night, he never took his eyes off Allahu ta’âlâ.” And he also declares that he saw Allahu ta’âlâ in the next world with worldly eyes. (Vol. I, Letter 129)
Hadrat Mawlânâ Khâlîd-i Baghdâdî says:
“The Messenger of Allah saw Allahu ta’âlâ during the Mi’râj. But this seeing was not like seeing in the world” (I’tiqâd-nâma).

Seeing Him in a dream is not seeing Him in the world. Our master the Prophet related in a hadîth-i sharîf written in Al-Jâmi’ As-Saghîr that he saw Allahu ta’âlâ in his dream. There are also those among Islamic scholars who saw Him in their dreams.

Hadrat Imâm-i Nawawî says, “The meaning of the statement ‘The eyes cannot reach Him’ that appears in the 103rd verse of An’âm Sûra is ‘The eyes cannot comprehend or encompass the essence of His Dhât.’ Otherwise, ru’yat is haqq (truth, fact).”

On the basis of 103rd verse of the An’âm Sûra, which reads (in English), “The eyes cannot reach Him,” some of the heretical sects asserted that it was impossible to see Allah in both the world and the Hereafter. However, the Qur’ân al-karîm and ahâdîth make it known that their assertion is wrong. (Baydâwî)
Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says the following when he explains the 103rd verse of the An’âm Sûra:
“Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter and in Paradise” (Vol. III, Letter 44 and 90).

Hadrat Imâm-i A’zâm says:
“Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in the Hereafter” (Fiqh-i Akbar).

The Qur’anic verse, “He who is blind in the world will be blind in the Hereafter, too,” refers to disbelievers. Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ in the Hereafter. (Barîqa)
Those who are devoid of îmân in the world will be devoid of ru’yat in the Hereafter. (Madârik)
In the Hereafter Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ before and after they enter Paradise. (Nuhbat-ul-La’âlî)
Ahl as-Sunnat scholars declare unanimously that Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ, but disbelievers will not see Him in Hell. There is consensus on that Allahu ta’âlâ will be seen in the Hereafter. Those who disbelieve it argue that:
“There are five conditions to be met for being able to see something: (1) the seen must be in a place; (2) it must be opposite the one who sees it; (3) it must not be too close or too distant; (4) the rays coming out the eyes must reach the seen; (5) it is also a condition that there should be light between the seen and the seer. These conditions, however, cannot be a matter of discussion for Allah, so it is impossible to see Him.”

These conditions are worldly restrictions. The affairs of the next world, however, are nothing like the worldly affairs. A blind person who is in the western part of the world can see an ant that is in the eastern part of the world by Allahu ta’âlâ’s omnipotence. One must not doubt His omnipotence.

Furthermore, there is not an Islamic scholar who says that He will be seen as an object or with delimitation within any given limit.

Hadrat ‘Abdulhaqq-i Dahlawî says:
“As Allahu ta’âlâ is known in the world in an incomprehensible manner, so He will be seen in the Hereafter in an incomprehensible manner” (Takmîl-ul-Îmân).

Also, Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says:
“In Paradise Believers will see Allahu ta’âlâ without a direction, without a mode, without likening Him to anything, and without finding any reminiscence in Him” (Vol. I, Letter 266).

TWO REQUIERMENTS OF LOVE

Love necessitates that you love the friends of your darling and disklike the enemies of the darling. This love and this enmity are not within the power of faithful lovers; they cannot help themselves. This happens by itself without striving, without taking pains. The friend’s beloved ones seem beautiful, and His enemies seem ugly and evil. Also, the love that occurs within those who are seized by the pretty appearance of the world entails the same requirements. Unless the person who says that he loves keeps away from the enemies of his darling, he is not regarded as a man of his word. He is called a hypocrite, that is, a liar.

Shaikh-ul-Islam Abdullah Ansari ‘quddisa sirruh’ says, “One day Abul Huseyn bin Sam’un offended my teacher Husri. Since that day my heart has been feeling unfriendly towards him.” It will be appropriate here to mention a famous saying of the great, “If you are not offended by the one who offends your master, a dog is better than you are.” These two principles of love are declared in the Qur’an and hadiths ^[1]. As is understood from these ayat-i-kerimas ^[2], it causes a man to be away from Allahu ta’ala to feel sympathy for the enemies of Allahu ta’ala.

Unless there is enmity, there will be no love. Yet one should not let this enmity be perverted into hostility towards the Ashab-i-kiram ^[3], for it would mean to pander to the enemies of those great people . Enmity is to be felt towards the enemies. Hostility felt towards friends, as in the example of Rafidis and Shiites, is rejected. Because all the Ashab-i kiram were honoured with attaining our Prophet’s presence and company and his blessed looks, which were nourishment for the heart and soul, they loved one another and felt hostility towards disbelievers.

[1] hadith: a saying of the Prophet (‘alaihi ‘s-salam).
[2] Ayat al-karima: a verse of al-Qur’an al-kerim.
[3] As’hab-i kiram: the Companions of Rasulullah.