Hujjat al-Islām Imām al-Ghazālī (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Know that the reality of fear (hawf) is the qalb (the heart) feeling pain and burning due to the danger of falling into an undesirable situation in the future. Certainly, this arises from the occurrence of sin. Sometimes, fear also comes from knowing the attributes of exalted Allah that necessitate fear. The most complete and perfect form is this. For whoever knows exalted Allah necessarily fears Him; for this reason, exalted Allah says in al-Fāṭir 35:28:
'Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.'
Exalted Allah called His servants to fear only Him, and in al-Baqara 2:40:
'So fear only Me.'
He praised and described the believers with fear in al-Naḥl 16:50:
'They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.'
Exalted Allah made fear a condition for the perfection (kamāl) of iman (faith), and in Āl ʿImrān 3:175:
'So do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are believers.'
Exalted Allah promised two gardens to the one who fears His station. In al-Raḥmān 55:46:
'But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens.' One of these is the garden of maʿārif (gnoses) in this world, and the other is a beautiful and adorned garden in the Hereafter.
For the one who fears the station of his Lord, Allah has made Paradise a refuge. In al-Nāziʿāt 79:40-41:
∃
'But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the nafs (the lower self) from [unlawful] inclination, then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.'
In his "Qawāʿid," Ahmad Zarrūq (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Khashya (awe) is among the causes of action. Khashya is such a reverence that is accompanied by hayba (awe-inspiring majesty). Fear is the discomfort of the qalb due to the vengeance of exalted Allah, the Lord of the Worlds."
Fear manifests itself in the one who, upon realizing the outcome, weeps with sobs. The person stands by his duty and does not expose or throw his nafs to deviation and sin; rather, he does not remain in places that would lead him to evil and corruption, but advances. The Sufi then progresses in the maqām (spiritual station) of fear and is adorned with the noblest of the adornments of the muqarrabīn (those brought near). At that point, he transitions from the appearances of fear, that is, from the world of bodies to the world of spirits. This state becomes anxiety for the ʿārif (gnostic), and only the people of purity attain it.
Describing this station, our master ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī (may Allah have mercy on him) relates from Sayyida Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya (may Allah have mercy on her): "When she remembered Hell, she would weep much and become sorrowful. When Hell was mentioned, she would sometimes faint. The place of her prostration would become like a small pool from her tears. It was as if Hell had been created only for her. The secret of this fear was her belief that all calamities other than Hell were easy. All misfortunes except being distanced from exalted Allah seemed trivial to her."
The Sufis see that only after fear is instilled in their qalb can they drink from the cup of love. Whoever's taqwa (God-consciousness) is not like this does not even know what makes him weep. One who has not seen the beauty of Yusuf (peace be upon him) cannot understand the pains of Yaʿqub (peace be upon him).
The truly fearful is not the one who weeps and wipes his eyes, but the one who abandons (sins) that necessitate punishment for himself.
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "Fear only departs from a ruined qalb."
There are many levels among those who fear. Ibn ʿAjība (may Allah have mercy on him) divided these levels into three classes and said: "The fear of the generality is from punishment and missing out on reward; the fear of the elect is from reproach and losing proximity; and the fear of the elect of the elect is being veiled due to the occurrence of lack of adab (proper conduct)."
Notes
- Al-Arbaʿīn fī Uṣūl al-Dīn, p. 196
- Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf, p. 74
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, p. 60
- Miʿrāj al-Tashawwuf ilā Ḥaqāʾiq al-Taṣawwuf, p. 6
- Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf, p. 74