«خوف اللَّه وخشية عقابه. وهذا إنّما يثبت بتصديقه في وعده ووعيده، والإيمان به وبكتابه وبرسوله. وهذا السبب يقوى بالعلم واليقين، ويضعف بضعفهما.»
Ibn al-Qayyim, Ṭarīq al-Hijratayn wa Bāb as-Saʿādatayn, ed. al-Iṣlāḥī, 2/589Translation (ours)The fourth: fear of Allah and dread of His punishment. This only becomes firm by believing Him in His promise and His threat, and by believing in Him, His Book and His Messenger. It grows stronger with knowledge and certainty, and weaker as they weaken.
When you are walking toward the sin, the nafs whispers: “Allah is the Most Generous, the Most Forgiving.” True. But He described Himself in one breath as forgiving and severe:
Qur'anغَافِرِ ٱلذَّنۢبِ وَقَابِلِ ٱلتَّوْبِ شَدِيدِ ٱلْعِقَابِ
Qur'an, Ghāfir 40:3Sahih International“The forgiver of sin, acceptor of repentance, severe in punishment.”
Qur'anوَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَٱلدَّوَآبِّ وَٱلْأَنْعَٰمِ مُخْتَلِفٌ أَلْوَٰنُهُۥ كَذَٰلِكَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى ٱللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ٱلْعُلَمَٰٓؤُا۟ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ غَفُورٌ ﴿٢٨﴾
Qur'an, Fāṭir 35:28Sahih International“And among people and moving creatures and grazing livestock are various colors similarly. Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Forgiving.”
The word here is khashyah (خشية): fear that comes from knowing who Allah is. The ʿulamāʾ meant here are not only people with many books. Ibn Kathīr explains:
Tafsirإنما يخشاه حق خشيته العلماء العارفون به؛ لأنه كلما كانت المعرفة للعظيم القدير العليم الموصوف بصفات الكمال المنعوت بالأسماء الحسنى، كلما كانت المعرفة به أتم والعلم به أكمل، كانت الخشية له أعظم وأكثر
Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, ed. Sāmī as-Salāmah (Dār Ṭaybah), 6/544, on Fāṭir 35:28Translation (ours)“Only the ʿulamāʾ who truly know Him fear Him as He deserves to be feared, because the more complete one’s knowledge of the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, described with every attribute of perfection and the Beautiful Names, the greater and deeper one’s khashyah of Him becomes.” In the same place he quotes Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: “Khashyah is what stands between you and disobeying Allah.”
Hadithوَرَجُلٌ طَلَبَتْهُ امْرَأَةٌ ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ وَجَمَالٍ فَقَالَ إِنِّي أَخَافُ اللَّهَ
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 660Translation (ours)Among the seven whom Allah shades on the Day there is no shade but His: “a man called by a woman of position and beauty, and he said: I fear Allah.”
Read Abu Amina Elias’s translation ↗ Qur'anوَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِۦ وَنَهَى ٱلنَّفْسَ عَنِ ٱلْهَوَىٰ ﴿٤٠﴾ فَإِنَّ ٱلْجَنَّةَ هِىَ ٱلْمَأْوَىٰ ﴿٤١﴾
Qur'an, an-Nāziʿāt 79:40-41Sahih International“40But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, 41Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.”
The drill: read the warning
Part one: read these slowly. Several describe the people of the Fire in general. Read them to fear the road that leads there, not to despair.
Hadithنَارُكُمْ جُزْءٌ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنْ نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ. قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، إِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَافِيَةً. قَالَ فُضِّلَتْ عَلَيْهِنَّ بِتِسْعَةٍ وَسِتِّينَ جُزْءًا، كُلُّهُنَّ مِثْلُ حَرِّهَا
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 3265Translation (ours)“Your fire is one part of seventy parts of the fire of Jahannam.” It was said: O Messenger of Allah, this fire would have been enough. He said: “It has been made sixty-nine parts greater, each of them like its heat.”
Read Sunnah.com’s translation ↗ Hadithإِنَّ أَهْوَنَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَرَجُلٌ تُوضَعُ فِي أَخْمَصِ قَدَمَيْهِ جَمْرَةٌ يَغْلِي مِنْهَا دِمَاغُهُ
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6561Translation (ours)“The person of the Fire with the lightest punishment on the Day of Resurrection is a man under the arch of whose feet an ember is placed, and his brain boils from it.” That is the lightest.
Read Abu Amina Elias’s translation ↗ Qur'anمَّثَلُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ ۖ فِيهَآ أَنْهَٰرٌۭ مِّن مَّآءٍ غَيْرِ ءَاسِنٍۢ وَأَنْهَٰرٌۭ مِّن لَّبَنٍۢ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُۥ وَأَنْهَٰرٌۭ مِّنْ خَمْرٍۢ لَّذَّةٍۢ لِّلشَّٰرِبِينَ وَأَنْهَٰرٌۭ مِّنْ عَسَلٍۢ مُّصَفًّۭى ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَمَغْفِرَةٌۭ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ كَمَنْ هُوَ خَٰلِدٌۭ فِى ٱلنَّارِ وَسُقُوا۟ مَآءً حَمِيمًۭا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَآءَهُمْ ﴿١٥﴾
Qur'an, Muḥammad 47:15Sahih International“Is the description of Paradise, which the righteous are promised, wherein are rivers of water unaltered, rivers of milk the taste of which never changes, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of purified honey, in which they will have from all [kinds of] fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, like [that of] those who abide eternally in the Fire and are given to drink scalding water that will sever their intestines?”
Qur'anإِنَّ شَجَرَتَ ٱلزَّقُّومِ ﴿٤٣﴾ طَعَامُ ٱلْأَثِيمِ ﴿٤٤﴾ كَٱلْمُهْلِ يَغْلِى فِى ٱلْبُطُونِ ﴿٤٥﴾ كَغَلْىِ ٱلْحَمِيمِ ﴿٤٦﴾
Qur'an, ad-Dukhān 44:43-46Sahih International“43Indeed, the tree of zaqqum 44Is food for the sinful. 45Like murky oil, it boils within bellies 46Like the boiling of scalding water.”
Qur'anإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا سَوْفَ نُصْلِيهِمْ نَارًۭا كُلَّمَا نَضِجَتْ جُلُودُهُم بَدَّلْنَٰهُمْ جُلُودًا غَيْرَهَا لِيَذُوقُوا۟ ٱلْعَذَابَ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًۭا ﴿٥٦﴾
Qur'an, an-Nisāʾ 4:56Sahih International“Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our verses - We will drive them into a Fire. Every time their skins are roasted through We will replace them with other skins so they may taste the punishment. Indeed, Allah is ever Exalted in Might and Wise.”
Qur'anهَٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ ٱخْتَصَمُوا۟ فِى رَبِّهِمْ ۖ فَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ قُطِّعَتْ لَهُمْ ثِيَابٌۭ مِّن نَّارٍۢ يُصَبُّ مِن فَوْقِ رُءُوسِهِمُ ٱلْحَمِيمُ ﴿١٩﴾ يُصْهَرُ بِهِۦ مَا فِى بُطُونِهِمْ وَٱلْجُلُودُ ﴿٢٠﴾ وَلَهُم مَّقَٰمِعُ مِنْ حَدِيدٍۢ ﴿٢١﴾
Qur'an, al-Ḥajj 22:19-21Sahih International“19These are two adversaries who have disputed over their Lord. But those who disbelieved will have cut out for them garments of fire. Poured upon their heads will be scalding water 20By which is melted that within their bellies and [their] skins. 21And for [striking] them are maces of iron.”
Qur'anخُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ ﴿٣٠﴾ ثُمَّ ٱلْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ ﴿٣١﴾ ثُمَّ فِى سِلْسِلَةٍۢ ذَرْعُهَا سَبْعُونَ ذِرَاعًۭا فَٱسْلُكُوهُ ﴿٣٢﴾
Qur'an, al-Ḥāqqah 69:30-32Sahih International“30[Allah will say], "Seize him and shackle him. 31Then into Hellfire drive him. 32Then into a chain whose length is seventy cubits insert him."”
The graveوَأَمَّا الْكَافِرُ، أَوِ الْمُنَافِقُ، فَيَقُولُ لاَ أَدْرِي، كُنْتُ أَقُولُ مَا يَقُولُ النَّاسُ. فَيُقَالُ لاَ دَرَيْتَ وَلاَ تَلَيْتَ. ثُمَّ يُضْرَبُ بِمِطْرَقَةٍ مِنْ حَدِيدٍ ضَرْبَةً بَيْنَ أُذُنَيْهِ، فَيَصِيحُ صَيْحَةً يَسْمَعُهَا مَنْ يَلِيهِ إِلاَّ الثَّقَلَيْنِ
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1338Translation (ours)“As for the disbeliever, or the hypocrite, he says: I do not know, I used to say what the people said. It is said to him: You neither knew nor followed. Then he is struck with a hammer of iron, one blow between his ears, and he lets out a scream heard by everything near him except the two races (jinn and humans).”
Read Abu Amina Elias’s translation ↗ The drill: know who you would be disobeying
Part two: sit with seven of His Names that show His might, and finish each sentence for this sin.
ٱلْعَزِيزُ
Al-ʿAzīz: The Almighty. No one overpowers Him and no one escapes Him.
ٱلْجَبَّارُ
Al-Jabbār: The Compeller. His will is done, whatever anyone wants.
ٱلْقَهَّارُ
Al-Qahhār: The Subduer. Every creature is under His control, including my desire.
ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ
Al-Mutakabbir: The Supreme in greatness. Disobeying Him is never small.
ٱلْقَوِيُّ
Al-Qawiyy: The All-Strong. Nothing tires Him or slips past Him.
ٱلْمَتِينُ
Al-Matīn: The Firm. His grip does not loosen.
ٱلْمَلِكُ
Al-Malik: The King. I am in His kingdom while I sin, using His gifts.