Guide-to-Sound-Creed-A-Book-on-Muslim-Creed-and-Faith

Principle 1: Belief in Allah, Mighty and Exalted be He
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Ismi'it Ibn RMi' says:
"To feel secure from the plan ofAllah is <strong>to</strong> persistently perpetrate a
sin while having hope that Allah will forgive it."
Scholars maintain that despair is a complete loss of hope in getting relief or
acquiring a happy end. It is opposite <strong>to</strong> feeling secure from the plan ofAllah. Both
acts are grave sins.
A believer should not excessively feel afraid of Allah so that he may fall a
prey <strong>to</strong> despair of His mercy. Moreover, he should not excessively have hope
so that he may feel secure from Allah's punishment. Rather, the believer should
espouse hope with fear, and obediently act upon Allah's commands. Allah,
Exalted be He, says:
'~ •• they used <strong>to</strong> hasten <strong>to</strong> good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and
fear, and they were <strong>to</strong> Us humbly submissive."
And He says:
(Qur'an: Al-Anbiya: 90)
"Those whom they invoke seek means of access <strong>to</strong> their Lord,
[striving as <strong>to</strong>] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for
His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment ofyour
Lord is ever feared:'
(Qur'an: Al-Isra:57)
A servant of Allah, by combining fear of and hope in Allah, will be
motivated <strong>to</strong> take every beneficial means. By keeping hope in Allah's mercy,
he will hasten in doing good deeds, and by experiencing fear, he will swiftly
work on abandoning sins out of fear of Allah. Ifhe experiences despair of
Allah's mercy, he may, thus, cease doing good, and if he feels secure from
Allah's punishment, he may turn lax in observing his duties and, therefore,
rush in<strong>to</strong> perpetrating evil deeds.
Scholars have said:
"Whosoever worships Allah by according Him reverent love only is a Sufi,
and whosoever worships Him by according Him extreme awe only is, thus
retainingKharijites' belief. Similarly, he is aMUTtI whosoever worshipsAllah
by only retaining hope in His mercy. As for he who combines love, fear and
hope, he is certainly a true believer as depicted in the Ever-Glorious Quriln,
'Those whom they invoke seek means ofaccess <strong>to</strong> their Lord, [striving as
<strong>to</strong>] which ofthem would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy andfear
His punishment•. : (Qur'an: Al-Ism: 57)."