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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