He pursues (vain things), coveting in vain, and his hopes are also futile. To persist in living in this way prevents the influx of divine grace into the servant's qalb (the heart), causes him to become distant from good, and inevitably leads him to be subject to Allah's deception (makr). Thus, by continuing in this manner, he hastens the punishment that will befall him. Such a person is deceived, deluded, and is a possessor of istidrāj (gradual entrapment by means of blessings). (Ādābī, 80)
Fear (khawf) is proportionate to the amount of sin. If hope (rajāʾ) without action were correct, then the good and the wicked would be equal in this matter. (Ādābī, 81)
The things the servants should fear (maḥāʾif al-ʿibād): First, one should fear that Allah, by looking at the good deeds with which He boasts of His servants, does not lead them to injustice and enmity; thus, one should supplicate (dua) to Allah and entreat Him.
Second, one should fear the arrogance that comes from possessing Allah's blessings and being ungrateful for His blessings, which prevents one from shukr (gratitude).
Third, one should fear istidrāj through blessings and that this state may become permanent.
Fourth, one should fear that on the Day of Resurrection (qiyāma), something for which he hoped for reward and did not count among his sins in his acts of obedience may be brought forth by Allah as something he did not account for. Fifth, one should fear the sins that remain between himself and Allah. Sixth, one should fear that people may follow him.
Seventh, one should fear what will happen in the remainder of his life.
Eighth, one should fear being punished in this world (dunyā) immediately and being chastised before death.
Ninth, one should fear that Allah knows him and in which register his name is written in the Umm al-Kitāb (the Preserved Tablet, Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ). (Ādābī, 98)
The sign of fearing Allah is to abandon everything that Allah finds detestable. The sign of having a good opinion (ḥusn al-ẓann) of Allah is the intensity of striving in obedience to Allah. (Ādābī, 145)
The sign of sincerity in hope (rajāʾ) is that the seeking is intense and that one exerts great effort to attain what is hoped for. (Ādābī, 146)
For the believer, in reciting the Qur'an: When he reads a verse (āya) of mercy and reward, he says, "This is for the pure ones other than myself." When Allah gazes upon such a person, due to his weakness, anxiety, trembling, and inability to be at peace between fear and hope (khawf-rajāʾ), He has mercy on him. Thus, the feeling of hope (rajāʾ) is stirred in the servant's qalb, and he remembers Allah's blessings and how He has transferred him from a bad state to a good one. He recalls his own evils, and after committing evil, Allah's...