O You Who Believe

13)

"O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]."

[Aal-e-Imran 3:102]

Fear Allah as He should be feared. Imam Ali (R.A) said; "Fear Allah and you will have no cause to fear anyone else."

Fear of Allah, Taqwa is fundamental teaching of Islam. Allah assured the rewards of Taqwa at various points in Qur'an;

"And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out."

"And whoever fears Allah, He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward."

Fearing Allah how He should be feared can also be called as fearing Allah when one is alone.

Infront of people, anyone can pray and act pious but when a person is alone and no one is watching him, then if he fears Allah, then he has feared Allah how Allah should be feared.

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) said to the Sahaba (R.A): “I certainly know people of my ummah who will come on the Day of Resurrection with good deeds like the mountains of Tihaamah, but Allaah will make them like scattered dust.”

Sahaba (R.A) said: O Messenger of Allaah, describe them to us and tell us more, so that we will not become of them unknowingly.

He said: “They are your brothers and from your race, worshipping at night as you do, but they will be people who, when they are alone, transgress the sacred limits of Allah.” 

(Ibn Majah 4245)

The question that may arise is; just like a person cannot thank Allah enough for all the blessings of life, then how can a person fear Allah how He truly should be feared?

The answer to the question is in Surah Taghabun;

"So fear Allah as much as you are able..."

[Surah Al-Taghabun 64:16]

Hence, the fear of Allah in solace is the true form of Taqwa and it should be done to the maximum extent because Allah wants to see if His servant will fear Him when he is alone. If yes, then the servant has succeeded in fearing Allah how Allah should be feared and for those who fear Allah only for show and forget Allah when they are alone are the transgressors and they have failed to fear Allah how He should be feared.

"Then We will save those who feared Allah and leave the wrongdoers within, on their knees."

[Surah Al-Mariam 19:72]

The second part of the verse clarifies the fact that Allah wants us to die in submission to Him (i.e die as Muslims) because He wants to see us in Jannah.

The first question in the grave is about God.

"Who is your God?"

If a person answers this question correctly (which is only possible if he submitted his will to Allah in his life), the rest of the questions along with the trials will become easier for him but if he fails to answer this question (i.e he dies in submission to his nafs rather than to Allah), he is destroyed. The saddest part is that there is no return and the disbeliever will wish he was dust.

But alas, everyone has to stand next to Allah for accountability.

Allah wants the best for us and He wants to make trials easy for us hence by saying not die except as Muslims, Allah means He wants to make the hereafter easier for us and He wants to see us in Jannah.

Muaz (R.A), when he saw the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) for the last time, asked, "Ya Rasul Allah, what is the best deed that brings us closer to Allah?"

Prophet Muhammad (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) replied, "Don't die except your tongue is soft with the remembrance of Allah."

Dying as a Muslim doesn't simply mean being a Muslim. It means submission to One Allah. The whole life a believer should testify that he submitted his will to Allah and only then will he be known as a Muslim. Only if his whole life represented him as a submitter and an obedient servant, can he go to Jannah.

Things we learnt:

> We can fear Allah how He should be feared by fearing Him at the maximum extent and primarily by fearing Him in solace.

> The thought of 'No one is watching me so it's okay if I do this haraam thing' should never cross a believer's mind because Allah is always watching and fear of Allah in loneliness or solace is the biggest test for a believer.

> Our life should testify that we are Muslims. Our deeds, our lifestyle, our methodologies should testify that we are Muslims so that when we die, it can be said that he/she died as a Muslim.

> Islam is not inherited. It is learnt and implemented in life. Only the implementation gives proof that the person is a Muslim, not the inheritance.

A/N: Why does it look like we learnt half of the things under the heading: 'Things we learnt'? >.<

May Allah guide us to the right path. Ameen.
Wama alayna illal balaghul mubeen.