فَأَمَّا مَن طَغَىٰ ﴿٣٧﴾ وَآثَرَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا ﴿٣٨﴾ فَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىٰ ﴿٣٩﴾ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ ﴿٤٠﴾ فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىٰ ﴿٤١
So as for he who transgressed, and preferred the life of the world,Then indeed, Hellfire will be [his] refuge. But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.
To create fear of Allah in our hearts, we should often think about death and standing before Allah. The fear of Allah will enable us to refrain from sins and anything which displeases Allah. This is taqwa.
The Quran outlines many nations that were destroyed. It highlights the death and detailed description of the evil abode for the sinners. Read how the nations before were destroyed. Read about the punishment of the grave. Read about how people will be on the day of Qiyamah and how they will cross the sirat (bridge). When a person ponders on these things, it will create fear, and this should be the case for believers.
The power of these verses will affect those who understand the Quran more so. Therefore, we all must understand the words of the Quran. Many read these verses unaware of the reality.
Look at the sahaba, they were guaranteed Jannah but despite that they had deep fear of Allah. Once in a gathering the Prophet ﷺ mentioned those who are guaranteed Jannah, amongst them was Abu Bakr r.a. Sometime later, Abu Bakr r.a saw a bird flying and he said; If only I was like you and no reckoning. And, this was a person who was given glad tidings of Jannah! We are not guaranteed Jannah and there will be reckoning for us. How then can we waste time in this dunya not focusing on the reality and what is to come.
How to develop fear of Allah within our hearts;
- Constant dua to Allah. Just as we make dua for health, wealth, and children, similarly we need to make dua to be granted taqwa. Below is a dua mentioned in Tirmidhi. Read and learn it:
اللَّهُمَّ اقْسِمْ لَنَا مِنْ خَشْيَتِكَ مَا تَحُولُ بِهِ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ مَعَاصِيكَ، وَمِنْ طَاعَتِكَ مَا تُبَلِّغُنَا بِهِ جَنَّتَكَ،
O Allah, grant us such fear that is a barrier between us and acts of disobedience; and such obedience as will take us to Your Jannah (Tirmidhi)
- Stay in the company of those who fear Allah. Avoid the company of those who constantly talk and focus on dunya. They are those who will divert you from the truth.
- Read the Quran with meaning, read the stories of the past nations and their destructions.
- Ponder on the greatness of Allah and His power. It does not even take a blink of an eye for Allah to destroy us, our status, our position, our wealth, and our life.
Become conscience of Allah. Fear Allah out of love for Allah. One will not disobey whom he truly loves.
Above is a summary from Shaykh’s jumuah speech on 11/09/20 in Harlow Islamic Centre. Click here to listen to the full audio (Audio no.81) – Not updated yet
