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Fatwa CenterCorrect meaning of fearing Allaah
Question
I would like to know about the right mindedness of fearing Allah. It seems that many people I talk to will admit to love of Allah but fall shy of admitting fear of Allah, preferring to quote that Allah is as His servants see Him. But in the Quran in only a very small number of Ayats are we told to love Allah but in a very great number we are told to fear Allah. Of course I have great love for Allah but isn't it important to also fear Allah as Allah commands us so much in the Quran? Shouldn't a Muslim live between fear and Hope. I so often hear such Muslims who only admit to love of Allah justify their sins or disobedience to Allah by claiming oh I am weak and Allah is Merciful, should we not also fear Allah's punishment? And if we love Allah so much shouldn't we striving to make Allah pleased with us?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
Allaah ordained His creation to love Him, have hope in Him and fear Him, and this is what the Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention, and the pious people did. Allaah Says describing them (what means): {And [mention] Zakariyyaa (Zechariah), when he called to his Lord, “My Lord, do not leave me alone [with no heir], while You are the best of inheritors.” So We responded to him, and We gave to him Yahya (John), and amended for him his wife. Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us.} [Quran 21:90] The verse means that there is no contradiction between fear, hope, and thinking well of Allaah.
Allaah Says (what means): {…But fear Me, if you are (true) believers.} [Quran 3:175]. Makhool Ad-Dimashqi 
who was an outstanding scholar from Damascus among the generation which followed the Companions 
said, “Whoever worships Allaah with love only, will eventually come out of the fold of Islam.”
The praised fear is that which urges the person to do good and refrain from doing evil, whereas the fear which makes the person despair from Allaah’s mercy is certainly dispraised.
The excuse of some people who persist in their disobedience to Allaah while claiming to be weak and that Allaah is the Most Merciful, is not sound. This is nothing but an evil excuse which the devil whispered to them as he lured them to disobey Allaah and commit what entails His wrath, because how could a person claim to love Allaah while he persists in disobeying Him? For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 88278.
The matter is as the questioner mentioned, may Allaah enable her to do good; a believer should combine between loving Allaah and fearing Him, as Allaah mentioned about His Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention.
Allaah Knows best.
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