Fear in Islam

Fear in Islam, is a major believes that should be put in every Muslims mind. Fear Allah, fear of crime, fear of punishment from God, fear of disbelief, fear of hypocrisy, fear of wrong doing, fear of creating sins, kufur, shirk and more. Fear is related to a Muslim's relationship to Allah and that can clearly be seen in the five daily prayers, which belong to the indispensable pillars of Islam. In the course of this liturgy, a Muslim will prostrate himself before Allah up to 34 times a day. Anyone who has seen a Muslim prostrating is impressed. The curve of his bent back during prayer is the best commentary on the word "ISLAM" which translated means surrender, submission or subjugation. These words sound very pious and describe the total submission of a Muslim to Allah. In looking at several of these categories, Islam was described as a religion of fear. To their understanding, Muslims lives in fear.

To the unbelievers understanding; “the Quran tells them that they should fear Allah. Not only do they fear their God but they are deathly afraid of being eternally damned by an angry Allah. Their religion does not give much assurance of salvation. The only Muslims guaranteed a place in Heaven is those who die in a Jihad or those who die while on a pilgrimage to Mecca. They hope they will be allowed into Heaven, but there is no certainty. This is why Islam is the apex of a "works" religion. They must do all that the Koran tells them to do if they are going to have any chance of getting into Heaven.”

Yes, that is what they scarily understand. However, to those who really understand the meaning of obedient, then they should understand the concept of God. If not it is just adhere to the employer, president, king or his/her family.

But fear does not mean fear to enemy, wild animal, devil, Satan, ghost, or even human being but fear that relates to God. If we do not fear God, it means we have no respect to our Creator. He was the one who give us life, He was the one who provide us with 5 senses and He was the one who will bring death and even to bring us back alive in the Hereafter. He had given us His instruction, advice, teaching, education, understanding, guidance and warning that we must follower and at the same time obeys on whatever instruction and commands that He had given us and on the other hands, avoid or forbid whatever He prohibited and warned.

 If we neglect, not following His instructions, injustice, create sins and against His wills means that we do not fear Him, in other words, we actually does not respect God who had created us, who had given us the life on this universe.

 So indirectly we have made a wrong interpretation in understanding the concept of divinity. Because Love as what they claim all this while, is not what it really meant to us because without realized that they have rejected all the instructions that God has ordered them to do. To believe in God and understand what is really Love, we must understand the concept of God. Have we done whatever God asked us or instruct us to do? If not, then no point of saying that you love God, as at the other hand you are rejecting God’s will.

 How should we prove that our love to God, if we still doing all the wrong and bad things, and at the same time we confess that we understand what is Love?

Love between man and women, mother and child, friends to friend is totally different than what is Love to the Creator. Anyone who takes Islam seriously can expect to be stigmatized in the eyes of many in the prevailing society. The current situation presents us with a challenge.

What wisdom and guidance can we receive from the Qur’an and the words of the Prophet? 
How can we deal with the reactivity now directed toward Muslims and Islam itself? 
How do we avoid adopting reactive or defensive postures? 
And how can we protect ourselves from the contagion of ignorance and human negativity?

The hatred, fear, and violence that we see manifesting in the world will cause us to ask many questions. What meaning shall we read in these events? What are the root causes of evil? What should our response be? Where shall we turn to find answers and guidance?

Do they seek something other than the religion of God, while all creatures in the heavens and earth submit, willingly or even uwillingly and to Him will be brought back. Say: We believe in Allah and in what has been revealed To Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes, And in the books of Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, From their Lord. We make no distinction between one and another And to God do we surrender our will. If anyone desires a religion other than surrender, It will never be accepted, and in the hereafter Such a person will be in the ranks of those at a loss. (3:83) 

It would seem clear that we are being invited to a kind of submission which is the message brought by previous prophets and as broad as the natural order itself. It is telling us that religion cannot be an expression of our individual ego. In other words, true religion does not serve anyone’s exclusive sense of entitlement or superiority, nor can it be motivated by any hatred or fear, nor any of the forces of separation. The authentic, primordial religion can only be about perfecting our human nature (fitrah), becoming conscious of God, and not allowing ourselves to be dispersed into following the false gods which are the creations of human negativity. The idols of self-righteousness, power, and greed are what corrupt our human nature. 

Turn your face toward the primordial religion (Dini Hanifah), according to the innate nature (fitra) with which He has made humankind; do not allow what God has made to be corrupted. That is authentic religion (Dinul Qayyim), but most people do not understand. Turn in repentance to Him and remain conscious of Him: sustain prayer (salah/solat) and do not be among those (mushrikin) who worship false gods in place of God, those who split apart their religion and create sects—each group separately rejoicing in what it has! (30:30-32) 
The perspective of Islam is the perspective that puts the Divine Reality, not the human ego, at the center. We live within a reality that is sustained by God, and our own human nature will find its fulfillment only in relation with God. We are asked simply to turn and remain conscious of God, establish regular prayer, and not promote divisiveness in the name of religion.


The arc of return calls us to make a journey from darkness and toward the light. The immediate darkness we face around us is the imaginary world created by human ignorance, fear, self-righteousness, and hatred. We must not succumb to the mass heedlessness and self-hypnotism which presents itself to us, mostly through the mass media, as the so-called real world.


It is our responsibility to find and act upon the knowledge that can guide us in that journey. This means establishing the truth of tauhid within our own minds and hearts.


written by: Perihatin