Way of The Seekers — Page 96
96 THE said that God will treat His servant as he expects to be treated. Therefore, no system which breeds despair could be called Islamic. We should also be very watchful about fear. It must never exceed hope which should outweigh fear. Fear certainly is part of faith but is never as big a part as hope. Allah says: 1 shall inflict My chastisement on those concerning whom I so determine; but My mercy encompasses all things. (7:157). In the heart of the faithful, hope should, therefore, dominate over fear. The heart of a believer is full of hope. He is afraid but not as much as he is hopeful. He is convinced that God will not be so harsh as to let him perish. In truth he is afraid not because he doubts God’s mercy but because of his own faults. His hope proceeds from his faith in divine grace. Is it not true that our faults appear insignificant when compared to the grace of God? In other words, if a believer fears God because of his Self- Sufficiency. If he fears God because of his own weakness, let him not forget that Allah’s might is overwhelmingly greater than his weakness. In either case, hope reigns supreme, for the source from which it springs is stronger than that of fear. But it must be remembered that hope is for those who submit, not for those who rebel. You cannot continue doing whatever you please and yet hope to win God’s grace; for that would be rebellion and there can be no hope for the rebellious. Indeed hope is only for those who submit. Also remember, the believer fears God not because he is not sure he will not be able to perform a certain action or that he will be punished if he does not perform it. He is afraid because he is not too sure if the course he is following will really lead him to success. Nor does he fear because of his failure to act in a certain manner and of the consequent punishment. He is afraid that he will not be able to win divine grace if he fails to perform the action as God expects him to do.