Chapter: On Fear and Hope

باب الخوف والرجاء — خوف اور امید کے بارے میں

بَابٌ: الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ — This chapter is on the explanation of hope (rajāʾ) and fear (khawf)

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّ بَطْشَ رَبِّكَ لَشَدِيْدٌ ـ

(al-Burūj 85:12)

Vocabulary: inna baṭsha rabbika — indeed the grip of your Lord, His seizing; [root forms:] baṭasha, yabṭishu, baṭshan — to arrest, to seize, to catch hold of, to grip tightly; la-shadīdun — is certainly severe, is intense.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "Surely the grip of your Lord is severe — it is intense."

With God there is delay, but not darkness [i.e. injustice]. He grants some respite, but in the end, when He seizes, then getting free is impossible.

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللهُ نَفْسَهٗ ـ وَاللهُ رَءُوْفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ ـ

(Āl ʿImrān 3:30)

Vocabulary: wa yuḥadhdhirukumu'llāhu nafsahu — and Allah warns you of His own Self; wa'llāhu raʾūfun bi'l-ʿibādi — while Allah is very compassionate and merciful, kind, to His servants. Do not do such deeds that He who is the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Compassionate and Merciful, should manifest Himself in the attribute of the Overpowering (Qahhār) and the Compeller (Jabbār).

Translation: Allah Most High says: "(See,) Allah warns you of His own Self (and of His wrath), while He is compassionate and merciful to His servants."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمٰٓؤُا ـ

(Fāṭir 35:28)

Vocabulary: innamā yakhsha'llāha — only they fear Allah; min ʿibādihi — among the servants of Allah; al-ʿulamāʾu — those who are scholars, who know God, who have some knowledge. Only those fear Allah who know Allah; the more they know, the more they fear.

Translation: And Allah Most High said: "Among the servants of God, only those fear Allah who have some knowledge."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: يٰٓأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوْا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيْمٌ يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّآ أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكٰرٰى وَمَا هُمْ بِسُكٰرٰى وَلٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللهِ شَدِيْدٌ ـ

(al-Ḥajj 22:1–2)

Vocabulary: yā ayyuha'l-nāsu — O people!; ittaqū rabbakum — fear your Lord, beware of His wrath, adopt taqwā; inna zalzalata'l-sāʿati — for the earthquake of the Resurrection, the quaking of the Last Hour; shayʾun ʿaẓīmun — is a great thing; yawma tarawnahā — (what will that day be like?) on that day you will see the quake; tadhhalu — will forget; kullu murḍiʿatin — every nursing mother; ʿammā arḍaʿat — the one she used to suckle: (out of terror) she will forget that child of hers; wa taḍaʿu kullu dhāti ḥamlin ḥamlahā — and every pregnant woman will drop her burden, that is, out of terror her pregnancy will miscarry; wa tara'l-nāsa sukārā — and you will see people in a state of intoxication; sukārā — plural of sakrān: drunk, senseless; wa mā hum bi-sukārā — although they will not have drunk; they are not intoxicated; wa lākinna ʿadhāba'llāhi shadīdun — but the punishment of God is severe and harsh.

Translation: Allah Most High says: "O people! Fear God, for the quaking of the Resurrection is a very great thing. On that day you will see that (quake) — (out of its terror) the nursing mother will forget her child, and pregnant women will miscarry, and you will see people stupefied and out of their senses, (intoxicated,) although they will not have drunk (they will not be intoxicated) — but the punishment of Allah is severe."

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالٰى: قُلْ يٰعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ أَسْرَفُوْا عَلٰٓى أَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَةِ اللهِ ـ إِنَّ اللهَ يَغْفِرُ

الذُّنُوْبَ جَمِيْعًا ۔ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ ۔

(al-Zumar 39:53)

Vocabulary: qul — O Messenger, say; yā ʿibādiya — O My servants! [The word ʿibād is also used in the sense of attendants and slaves. It is possible that by the "my" of yā ʿibādiya Allah Most High is meant, and it is possible that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is meant, and that by ʿibād are meant slaves, or those who obey and are bondsmen. And it is possible that he was commanded to say yā ʿibādiya in his capacity as the deputy (wakīl) of the Divine]; alladhīna asrafū ʿalā anfusihim — who have wronged their own selves, who have ruined themselves, who have been extravagant and gone beyond the limit; lā taqnaṭū — do not despair, do not lose hope; min raḥmati'llāh — of the mercy of Allah; inna'llāha — surely Allah; yaghfiru'dh-dhunūba jamīʿan — forgives all sins, grants forgiveness, hides them in the skirt of His mercy; innahu huwa'l-ghafūru'r-raḥīm — surely He is the Forgiving, the Merciful; He forgives sins and, out of mercy and generosity, grants ranks and nearness.

Translation: Allah Most High says: Say: O My servants who have greatly wronged themselves! Do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Allah forgives all sins; surely He alone is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى : وَرَحْمَتِيْ وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۔

(al-Aʿrāf 7:156)

Vocabulary: wa raḥmatī — and My mercy; wasiʿat kulla shayʾ — it has room for every thing; there is space in it for everything; it encompasses everything.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: And in My mercy there is room for all.

قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى : فَلَا يَاْمَنُ مَكْرَ اللّٰهِ اِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْخَاسِرُوْنَ ۔

(al-Aʿrāf 7:99)

Vocabulary: fa-lā yaʾmanu makra'llāh — so [none] become heedless of, and feel safe from, the plans and trials of Allah; illa'l-qawmu'l-khāsirūn — except those people who are to fall into loss, in whose portion loss is written, who are ruining and destroying themselves.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: So none consider themselves safe from the plan of Allah except those who are to suffer loss.

قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى : اِنَّهٗ لَا يَايْئَسُ مِنْ رَّوْحِ اللّٰهِ اِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُوْنَ ۔

(Yūsuf 12:87)

Vocabulary: innahu lā yayʾasu — for [none] despair and lose hope; min rawḥi'llāh — of the mercy of God; illa'l-qawmu'l-kāfirūn — except the disbelieving people.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: For none despairs of the mercy of Allah except the disbelievers.

قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى : وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيْكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضٰى ۔

(al-Ḍuḥā 93:5)

Vocabulary: wa — and; la — certainly, surely; sawfa — soon; yuʿṭīka — will give you; rabbuka — your Lord, your Sustainer; fa — then; tarḍā — you will be pleased.

Translation: And Allah Most High says: And soon your God will give you so much that you will be pleased (you will be delighted

— O noble Prophet! Do not worry; your religion will spread through the whole world. Five times a day the adhān (call to prayer) will be given; drums will be sounded in your name; prayers will be offered in congregation, and there will be a display of those devoted to your name. Your religion will be for all nations and will abrogate all religions. You are the Seal of the Prophets; after you there will be no prophet. Many impostors will claim prophethood, but none will succeed. Your religion will be in accord with human nature (fiṭra) and will provide for all human needs. On the Day of Resurrection you will be the first to come out of the earth. All the prophets will cry "myself, myself", while you will cry "my community, my community", and in the Divine court you will intercede for all. In Paradise, you and your community will enter first of all. In the severe thirst and dryness of the Day of Resurrection you will give people to drink from the water of Kawthar. In short, God will give you so much that you will be pleased).

Ḥaḍrat Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (may Allah have mercy on him) [reading uncertain] was asked by a man which verse in the Qurʾān expresses the greatest hope. The Imām said: People say it is lā taqnaṭū min raḥmati'llāh ["Do not despair of the mercy of Allah"]; but with us, the People of the House (Ahl al-Bayt), the verse that gives the greatest hope is wa la-sawfa yuʿṭīka rabbuka fa-tarḍā ["And soon your Lord will give you, and you will be pleased"]. We have complete certainty that if even a single member of the community remains in Hell or enters it, the Beloved of God ﷺ will never be pleased.

عَنْ اَبِيْ ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ﷺ اِنِّيْ اَرٰى مَالَا تَرَوْنَ اَطَّتِ السَّمَاءُ وَحُقَّ لَهَا اَنْ تَئِطَّ مَافِيْهَا قَدْرُ اَرْبَعِ اَصَابِعَ اِلَّا وَمَلَكٌ وَاضِعٌ جَبْهَتَهٗ سَاجِدًا لِلّٰهِ تَعَالٰى ۔ وَاللّٰهِ لَوْتَعْلَمُوْنَ مَا اَعْلَمُ لَضَحِكْتُمْ قَلِيْلًا وَلَبَكَيْتُمْ كَثِيْرًا وَمَا تَلَذَّذْتُمْ بِالنِّسَاءِ عَلَى الْفُرُشِ وَلَخَرَجْتُمْ اِلَى الصُّعُدَاتِ تَجْاَرُوْنَ اِلَى اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰى ۔

(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who said: a ḥasan [sound] ḥadīth.)

Vocabulary: innī arā — I see; mā lā tarawna — what you do not see; aṭṭat — creaked.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said: "I see things which you do not see. The sky creaks, and it is fitting that it should creak; there is not a space of four fingers in it but that an angel has placed his forehead there, prostrating to Allah Most High. By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much, and you would not take pleasure in women on beds, and you would go out to high places (to the mountains) to take refuge with Allah." (Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who said this ḥadīth is ḥasan.)

عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ﷺ وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوْقُ اِنَّ اَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهٗ فِيْ بَطْنِ اُمِّهٖ اَرْبَعِيْنَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذٰلِكَ ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذٰلِكَ ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيْهَا الرُّوْحَ وَيُؤْمَرُ بِاَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ يَكْتُبُ رِزْقَهٗ وَاَجَلَهٗ وَعَمَلَهٗ وَشَقِيٌّ اَوْسَعِيْدٌ فَوَالَّذِيْ لَا اِلٰهَ غَيْرُهٗ اِنَّ اَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ اَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتّٰى مَايَكُوْنُ بَيْنَهٗ وَبَيْنَهَا اِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ اَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا وَاِنَّ اَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ اَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتّٰى مَايَكُوْنُ بَيْنَهٗ وَبَيْنَهَا اِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ اَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا ۔

(Agreed upon (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) — Riyāḍ [al-Ṣāliḥīn] of al-Nawawī.)

Vocabulary: khalquhu — his creation; fī baṭni ummihi — in his mother's womb; shaqiyy — wretched, ill-fated; saʿīd — fortunate, blessed.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ related to us — and he is the truthful and the one confirmed as truthful: "The creation of any one of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days as a drop of fluid (nuṭfa); then it becomes like a leech for as many days; then it becomes like a lump of flesh for as many days; then the angel is sent, and he breathes the spirit into it, and he (that is, the angel) is commanded with four things: that he write its provision, its term (of life), and its deeds, and whether it will be wretched or fortunate. So by the One besides whom there is no god, one of you does the deeds of the people of Paradise until there remains between him and Paradise only the distance of an arm's length; then what is written for him prevails over him, and he does the deeds of the people of Hell, and then he enters it. And one of you does the deeds of the people of Hell until there remains between him and Hell only the distance of an arm's length; then what is written for him prevails over him, and he begins to do the works of Paradise, and so he enters it." (Agreed upon.)

عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَدِمَ عَلٰى رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ ﷺ بِسَبْيٍ فَاِذَا امْرَاَةٌ مِنَ السَّبْيِ تَسْعٰى اِذْ وَجَدَتْ صَبِيًّا فِي السَّبْيِ اَخَذَتْهُ فَاَلْزَقَتْهُ بِبَطْنِهَا فَاَرْضَعَتْهُ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ﷺ "اَتَرَوْنَ هٰذِهِ الْمَرْاَةَ طَارِحَةً وَلَدَهَا فِي النَّارِ" ۔ قُلْنَا لَا ، وَاللّٰهِ ! فَقَالَ اَللّٰهُ اَرْحَمُ بِعِبَادِهٖ مِنْ هٰذِهٖ بِوَلَدِهَا ۔

(Agreed upon (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) — Riyāḍ [al-Ṣāliḥīn], al-Nawawī.)

Vocabulary: imraʾa — a woman; sabī — captives; ṣabiyy — a small child; arḍaʿat — she suckled; ṭāriḥa — one who throws.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Captives were brought to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the people saw a woman among the captives running about; when she found her child among the captives, she took him, pressed him to her stomach and suckled him. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do you think this woman would throw her child into the fire?" We said: "No, by God." Then he said: "Allah is more merciful to His servants than this woman is to her own child." (Agreed upon.)

عَنْ اَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ﷺ لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِيْ كِتَابٍ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهٗ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ "اِنَّ رَحْمَتِيْ تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِيْ" وَفِيْ رِوَايَةٍ "سَبَقَتْ غَضَبِيْ" ۔

(Agreed upon (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) — likewise [Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn].)

Vocabulary: lammā khalaqa'llāh — when Allah created; kitāb — a writing; fawqa'l-ʿarsh — above the Throne; taghlibu — will prevail; sabaqat — went ahead, surpassed.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When Allah Most High created the creation, He wrote in a book which is with Him above the Throne: "My mercy will prevail over My anger," and

in one narration: "has gone ahead of My anger (has surpassed it)."

وَعَنْهُ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ﷺ يَقُوْلُ جَعَلَ اللّٰهُ الرَّحْمَةَ مِائَةَ جُزْءٍ فَاَمْسَكَ عِنْدَهٗ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِيْنَ وَاَنْزَلَ فِي الْاَرْضِ جُزْءًا وَّاحِدًا فَمِنْ ذٰلِكَ الْجُزْءِ يَتَرَاحَمُ الْخَلَائِقُ ۔ حَتّٰى تَرْفَعَ الدَّابَّةُ حَافِرَهَا عَنْ وَلَدِهَا خَشْيَةَ اَنْ تُصِيْبَهٗ ۔

(Agreed upon (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) — likewise [Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn].)

Vocabulary: miʾata juzʾ — a hundred parts; fa-amsaka ʿindahu — kept back with Himself; tisʿatan wa tisʿīn — ninety-nine; yatarāḥamu — they show mercy to one another; ḥāfirahā — its hoof, its foot; an tuṣībahu — lest it cause it harm.

Translation: And from him (Abū Hurayra) it is narrated: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: Allah made mercy into a hundred (100) parts; He kept ninety-nine (99) with Himself and sent down one part to the earth. It is because of that one part that creatures show mercy to one another, so much so that an animal lifts its hoof (its foot) off its young out of fear that it might harm it.

عَنْ اَبِيْ هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ عَنْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ ﷺ اَنَّهٗ قَالَ قَالَ اللّٰهُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ اَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِيْ بِيْ وَاَنَا مَعَهٗ حَيْثُ يَذْكُرُنِيْ ۔ وَاللّٰهِ لَلّٰهُ اَفْرَحُ بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهٖ مِنْ اَحَدِكُمْ يَجِدُ ضَالَّتَهٗ بِالْفَلَاةِ وَمَنْ تَقَرَّبَ اِلَيَّ شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ اِلَيْهِ بَاعًا وَاِذَا اَقْبَلَ اِلَيَّ يَمْشِيْ اَقْبَلْتُ اِلَيْهِ اُهَرْوِلُ ۔

(Agreed upon (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) — likewise [Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn].)

Vocabulary: ẓann — supposition, opinion; ḥaythu yadhkurunī — when he remembers Me; la-llāhu afraḥu — Allah is certainly more glad; ḍālla — one's lost thing; shibr — a hand-span; bāʿ — the two hands stretched out; yamshī — walks; uharwilu — I come running.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: "I am in accordance with My servant's thought of Me, and I am with him whenever and wherever he makes mention of Me." By God, Allah is certainly more glad at the repentance of His servant than any one of you who finds his lost she-camel in the wilderness. "And whoever comes one hand-span nearer to Me, I come nearer to him by the distance of a bāʿ (the span between the two outstretched hands); and when he comes walking towards Me, I come running towards him."

عَنْ اَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى : قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ﷺ يَقُوْلُ قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالٰى "يَا ابْنَ اٰدَمَ اِنَّكَ مَادَعَوْتَنِيْ وَرَجَوْتَنِيْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلٰى مَاكَانَ مِنْكَ وَلَا اُبَالِيْ ۔ يَا ابْنَ اٰدَمَ لَوْبَلَغَتْ ذُنُوْبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِيْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ ۔ يَا ابْنَ اٰدَمَ لَوْ اَتَيْتَنِيْ بِقُرَابِ الْاَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيْتَنِيْ لَاتُشْرِكُ بِيْ شَيْئًا لَاَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً ۔ [reading uncertain]

(Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who said: a ḥasan ḥadīth — Riyāḍ [al-Ṣāliḥīn].)

Vocabulary: innaka — surely you; mā daʿawtanī wa rajawtanī — [so long as] you call upon Me and you hold desire and hope [in Me]; wa lā ubālī — and I do not care; law balaghat — if they were to reach; ʿanāna's-samāʾ — the heights of the sky; bi-qurābi'l-arḍ — an earthful.

Translation: Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say that Allah Most High says: "O son of Adam! When you called upon Me and held hope in Me, I forgave you, whatever state you were in, and I do not care. O son of Adam! If your sins were to fill the sky and then you sought forgiveness from Me, I forgave you. O son of Adam! If you came to Me with an earthful of faults and you met Me in such a state that you did not make anything My partner, then I shall come to you with an earthful of forgiveness." (Reported by al-Tirmidhī.)