This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Abu Hamza Abdul Khaliq Siddiqi's book Sahi Fazail-e-Amaal.
Faith is between fear and hope, meaning one fears Allah’s punishment and hopes for His Paradise. No matter how many good deeds a believer performs, he is always afraid that perhaps his good deeds have not been accepted by Allah and that his end may be bad.
Abu Uthman said that continuing to commit sins and then hoping for salvation is a sign of misery.
Scholars have said that in a state of health, one should keep fear dominant over the heart, and at the time of death, one should have more hope in His mercy and kindness.
Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, established a chapter in his Sahih in the “Book of Softening the Hearts” ”باب الرجاء مع الخوف“ titled “The chapter on having hope (in mercy) along with fear of Allah.”
Anyway, Allah Almighty described the qualities of the believers by saying:
﴿تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ﴾
“They stay away from their beds, praying at night to their Lord, fearing His punishment and hoping for His Paradise.”
Reference: (32-As-Sajda:16)
Despairing of Allah’s mercy is the characteristic of disbelievers. This is why Prophet Yaqub (peace be upon him), when he told his sons to go to Egypt and find out about Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) and his brother Benjamin, also taught them not to despair of Allah’s mercy, because only disbelievers despair of His mercy. Thus it is stated:
﴿يَا بَنِيَّ اذْهَبُوا فَتَحَسَّسُوا مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَيْأَسُوا مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ﴾
“O my sons! Go and search for Yusuf and his brother and do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, no one despairs of Allah’s mercy except the disbelieving people.”
Reference: (12-Yusuf:87)
Those who had committed sins like polytheism, murder, and harming the Hashimi Messenger Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and intended to embrace Islam but feared that their sins might not be forgiven, Allah, the Most Glorious and Most High, who is Most Merciful and Forgiving, commanded His Messenger to give glad tidings to them and all His servants of His vast mercy and great forgiveness, that they should not despair of Allah’s mercy, for He forgives all the sins of His servants because He is the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. Thus it is stated:
﴿قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾
“(O my Prophet!) Say to My servants who have transgressed against themselves (by committing sins), do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
Reference: (39-Az-Zumar:53)
“Allama Shawkani, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote in the exegesis of this verse that this verse is the most hopeful verse in the Qur’an. In it, Allah addressed His servants and forbade them from despairing of His mercy even if they have exceeded limits in committing sins, and further honored them by saying that He forgives all sins.”
Reference: Tafsir Fath al-Qadeer: 565/2
“Hafiz Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote that this noble verse invites all sinners to repentance and informs that Allah forgives all sins of the repentant, no matter how numerous they are, even if they are like the foam of the sea.”
Reference: Tafsir Ibn Kathir: 493/1
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Noble Messenger (peace be upon him) say:
”قال الله تعالى: يا ابن آدم إنك ما دعوتني ورجوتني غفرت لك على ما كان فيك ولا أبالي يا ابن آدم لو بلغت ذنوبك عنان السماء ثم استغفرتني غفرت لك ولا أبالي يا ابن آدم إنك لو أتيتني بقراب الأرض خطايا ثم لقيتني لا تشرك بي شيئا لأتيتك بقرابها مغفرة.“
“Allah says: O human! As long as you call upon Me and have good hope in Me, I will forgive you regardless of your deeds, and I will not mind. O son of Adam! If your sins reach the heights of the heavens and then you ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you and will not mind. O son of Adam! If you come to Me with sins as much as the earth and do not associate anyone with Me, I will come to you with forgiveness as much as the earth.”
Reference: Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Book of Supplications, No: 3540 – Sahih Hadith Series, No: 128,127
Have good expectations of Allah and be hopeful of His mercy and forgiveness. Sayyiduna Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said that he heard the Noble Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) say three days before his death:
”لا يموتن أحدكم إلا وهو يحسن الظن بالله عز وجل.“
“None of you should die except in a state of having good expectations of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Paradise, Chapter on having good expectations of Allah at death, No: 7231
A person should always do good deeds because no one knows when death will come, while at the time of death, a person should have hope in Allah’s forgiveness and mercy, which is impossible without faith and righteous deeds. Furthermore, Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ﴾
“Do not die except in a state of Islam.”
Reference: (3-Al Imran:102)
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
”لو يعلم المؤمن ما عند الله من العقوبة ما طمع بجنته أحد ولو يعلم الكافر ما عند الله من الرحمة ما قنط من رحمته أحد.“
“If a believer knew the punishment and torment that Allah has prepared for the disobedient, he would not hope for Paradise. And if a disbeliever knew the mercy of Allah that is with Allah, he would never despair of Paradise.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim, Book of Repentance, Chapter on the vastness of Allah’s mercy and its overcoming His anger, No: 6979
Sayyiduna Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say:
لو يعلم الكافر بكل الذى عند الله من الرحمة لم ييأس من الجنة ، ولو يعلم المؤمن بكل الذى عند الله من العذاب لم يامن من النار
“If a disbeliever knew how vast Allah’s mercy is, he would never despair of Paradise. And if a believer knew what punishments are with Allah, he would never be fearless of Hell.”
Reference: Sahih Bukhari, Book of Softening the Hearts, Chapter on hope with fear, No: 6469
These blessed hadiths mention Allah’s punishment so that a person tries to avoid it, and also mention His vast mercy so that a person hopes for His forgiveness and mercy. This mercy will be for those who obey Him, and the punishment will be for those who disobey Him. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
لا يلج النار رجل بكى من خشية الله حتى يعود اللبن فى الضرع
“A person will not enter the fire of Hell who is prevented by the fear of Allah, even if the milk returns to the udders.”
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi, Chapter on the virtue of hardship in the way of Allah, No: 1633.
Allama Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, declared it “Sahih.”
Reference: Al-Mishkat, No: 3828.
Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
ان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم دخل على شات ، وهو فى الموت ، فقال: كيف تجدك؟ قال: والله يا رسول الله انى ارجوا الله وإنى أخاف ذنوبي . فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يجتمعان فى قلب عبد فى مثل هذا الموطن ، إلا أعطاه الله ما يرجوا و آمنه مما يخاف
“The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) went to a young man near death and asked: ‘What do you feel?’ He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah! By Allah, I am afraid and hopeful of Allah’s mercy.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘At that moment when fear and hope gather in a person’s heart, Allah grants according to hope and protects according to fear.’”
Reference: Sunan Tirmidhi, Book of Funerals, No: 983. Sunan Ibn Majah, Book of Asceticism, Chapter on mentioning death and preparing for it, No: 4261.
Allama Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, graded it Hasan.O storms, proceed carefully in this land,
We have lit the lamps of hope.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
Three things save a person:
● Fear of Allah secretly and openly.
● Moderation between poverty and wealth.
● Acting with justice and fairness between anger and pleasure.
Reference: Sahih Al-Jami’ As-Saghir No: 3039. As-Silsila As-Sahihah, No: 1802.
