It
is very difficult to cover all that is said in the Qur'an and the Hadith about
the importance of fear of Allah. It may, however, be understood that fear of
Allah is an essential step towards all spiritual advancement. The Prophet
(Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said:
"Fear
of Allah is the root of all wisdom".
Hadhrat
lbn `Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) used to weep so much with the fear of Allah that
he lost his eyesight. He said to somebody watching him:
"You
wonder at my weeping. Even the sun weeps with the fear of Allah."
On
another occasion, he is reported to have said:
"Even
the moon weeps with His fear."
The
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) once passed by one of the Sahabah who was
reciting the Qur'an. When he came to the verse:
"And
when the heaven splitteth asunder and becometh rosy like red hide", (LV:
37)
the
hair of his body stood on end, and he was nearly choked, with excessive
weeping. He would cry and say:
"Alas;
what will happen to me on the day when even the Heaven splitteth asunder. Woe
is me!"
The
Prophet (Sallallaho alai-he-wasallam) said to him:
"Your
crying has made even the angels weep".
Once
an Ansari sat and wept after Tahajjud, saying:
"I
cry to Allah for protection from the fire of Hell".
The
Prophet (Sallallaho alai he wasallam) said to him:
"You
have made the angels weep today".
Hadhrat
Abdullah bin Ravvahah (Radhiyallaho anho) was once weeping. His wife also began
to weep on seeing him in this condition. He enquired of her:
"Why
are you weeping?"
She
replied: "Whatever makes you weep makes meP weep too".
He
said: "The idea that I hive .to cross the bridge of Siraat across Hell
makes me weep. I don't know whether I shall be able to cross over or fall into
Hell".
Zurarah
bin Aufa was leading the Salaat in a musjid. When he recited the verse:
"For
when the Trumpet shall sound; Surely that day will be a day of anguish"!
(LXXIV: 8 & 9)
he
fell down and expired. People carried his body to his house.
Khulaid
was saying his Salaat. During his Qiraat, when he reached the verse:
"Every
soul will taste of death" (111: 185)
he
began to repeat it again and again. He heard a voice from a corner of the room
saying:
"How
often are you going to repeat this verse? Your recitation has already caused
the death of four Jinns".
It
is reported about another Sheikh that (while reciting the Qur'an) when he
reached the verse:
"Then
are they returned unto Allah, their Lord, the Just, is not His the
Command?" (VI:62)
he
gave out a cry, shivered and breathed his last.
There
are many stories of this type. Fudhail, a famous Sheikh, says:
"Fear
of Allah leads to everything that is good".
Shibli,
another Sheikh of high position, says:
"Whenever
I have felt Allah's fear in me, I have found a fresh door of knowledge and
wisdom opened for me".
In
a Hadith, it is said:
"Allah
says; 'I do not impose two fears on my slave. If he does not fear me in this
world, I shall give him fear in the next, and if he fears me in this world I
shall save him from all fears in the Hereafter".
The
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) says:
"All
things fear a person who fears Allah, while every-thing is a source of fear to
him who fears somebody other than Allah."
Yahya
bin Ma'az (Rahmatullah alaih) says:
"If
a man fears Hell as much as he is afraid of poverty then he may enter into
Paradise."
Abu
Sulaiman Daarani (Rahmatullah alaih) says:
"There
is nothing but ruin for a heart that is devoid of fear of Allah."
The
Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) says:
"The
face that gets wet with the smallest drop of tear from the fear of Allah is
safe from entrance into the fire of Hell."
He
also said:
"When a Muslim shivers with the fear of
Allah, his sins fall away from him like the falling leaves of a tree.
The
dear Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) has said:
"A
person weeping with fear of Allah cannot go to Hell until milk goes back into
the teats (which is an im-possibility)".
Hadhrat
Uqbah bin Amir (Radhiyallaho anho) once in-quired of the Prophet (Sallallaho
alaihe wasallam).
"What
is the way to salvation?"
He
replied: ''Hold your tongue, stay indoors and cry over your sins."
Hadhrat
A'ishah (Radhiyallaho anha) once inquired of the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam).
"Is
there anybody among your followers who will go to Paradise without
reckoning?"
"Yes,"
replied the Prophet, "the person who often cries over his sins."
There
is another Hadith, in which my dear Master, Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe
wasallam) has said:
"No
drop is more dear to Allah than two drops; a drop of tear shed in the fear of
Allah, and a drop of bloodshed in the path of Allah."
It
is said in a Hadith that seven persons would be under the shade of the Arsh on
the day of judgement. One of them would be the person who remembered Allah when
all alone by himself, and tears flowed from his eyes with awe of Allah and in
repentence for his sins.
Hadhrat
Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho anho) says:
"One
who can weep should do so, and one who cannot should make the appearance of a
weeping person."
It
is reported of Muhammad bin Munkadir (Radhiyallaho anho) that, when he wept, he
smeared his tears over his face and beard saying:
"I
have heard that the fire of Hell does not touch the place touched by these
tears."
Thabit
Banani was suffering from a disease of the eyes. His doctor said to him:
"Your eyes would be all right, provided you do not weep in future. He
replied: "What is the good of an eye if it cannot shed tears."
Yazid
bin Maisarah (Rahmatullah alaih) says:
'There
can be seven reasons for weeping viz., extreme joy, insanity, extreme pain,
horror, artifice, intoxica-tion and fear of Allah. A single tear shed in the
fear of Allah is sufficient to quench oceans of fire (of Hell)." Hadhrat
Ka'ab Ahbar (Radhiyallaho anho) says:
"By
FIim who holds my life in His (hands), I love to weep for fear of Allah, with
tears flowing down my cheeks, rather than spend a mountain of gold in
charity"
There
are numerous other sayings of the Saints and other pious people, indicating
that weeping because of the fear of Allah, and over one's sins, is very
effective and beneficial in attaining spiritual elevation. We should not, however,
lose hope in Allah. His Mercy is all-embracing. Hadhrat `Umar (Radhiyallaho
anho) says:
"If
it be announced on the Day of Judgement that all except one individual shall go
to Hell, my expectation of the Mercy of Allah would make me hope that I may be
that chosen one. Again, if it be announced on that day that all except one
individual shall go to Paradise, then my sins would make me fear that I may be
that condemned one."
It
is therefore necessary that we should combine fear and hope together in our
hearts. Especially when the time of death is approaching, we should have more
hope than fear. The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) says:
"None
of you should die, except with a strong hope in the Mercy of Allah."
When
Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal (Radhiyallaho anho) ap-proached his end, he sent for his
son and asked him to read to him the Ahaadith that induce hope in Allah and His
Mercy.
0 comments :
Post a Comment