Fear (of Allah)

Imam Al-Nawawi’s Riyad-us-Saliheen
Chapter 50
Fear (of Allah)

Allah, the Exalted, says:

“And fear none but Me”. (2:40)

“Verily, (O Muhammad (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam)) the Grip (punishment) of your Rubb is severe”. (85:12)

“Such is the Seizure of your Rubb when He seizes the (population of) towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful, (and) severe. Indeed in that (there) is a sure lesson for those who fear the torment of the Hereafter. That is a Day whereon mankind will be gathered together, and that is a Day when all (the dwellers of the heavens and the earth) will be present. And We delay it only for a term (already) fixed. On the Day when it comes, no person shall speak except by His (Allah’s) Leave. Some among them will be wretched and (others) blessed. As for those who are wretched, they will be in the Fire, sighing in a high and low tone”. (11:102-106)

“And Allah warns you against Himself (His punishment)”. (3:30)

“That Day shall a man flee from his brother. And from his mother and his father. And from his wife and his children. Every man that Day will have enough to make him careless of others”. (80:34-37)

“O mankind! Fear your Rubb and be dutiful to Him! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour (of Resurrection) is a terrible thing. The Day you shall see it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling, and every pregnant one will drop her load, and you shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet they will not be drunken, but severe will be the Torment of Allah”. (22:1,2)

“But for him who fears the standing before his Rubb, there will be two Gardens (i.e., in Jannah)”. (55:46)

“And some of them draw near to others, questioning. Saying: `Aforetime, we were afraid (of the punishment of Allah) in the midst of our families. So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire. Verily, we used to invoke Him (Alone and none else) before. Verily, He is Al-Barr (the Most Subtle, Kind, Courteous, and Generous), the Most Merciful.”. (52:25-28)

396. `Abdullah bin Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam), the truthful and the receiver of the truth informed us, saying, “The creation of you (humans) is gathered in the form of semen in the womb of your mother for forty days, then it becomes a clinging thing in similar (period), then it becomes a lump of flesh like that, then Allah sends an angel who breathes the life into it; and (the angel) is commanded to record four things about it: Its provision, its term of life (in this world), its conduct; and whether it will be happy or miserable. By the One besides Whom there is no true god! Verily, one of you would perform the actions of the dwellers of Jannah until there is only one cubit  between him and it (Jannah), when what is foreordained would come to pass and he would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell until he enter it. And one of you would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell, until there is only one cubit between him and Hell. Then he would perform the acts of the dwellers of Jannah until he would enter it.”
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

397. Ibn Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Hell will be brought on that Day (the Day of Resurrection) with seventy bridles; and with every bridle will be seventy thousand angels, pulling it”.
[Muslim].

398. Nu`man bin Bashir (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “The least tortured man on the Day of Resurrection is one underneath whose feet will be placed two live coal, and his brain will be boiling, and he would think that he is the most tortured, while he is the least tortured”,
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

399. Samurah bin Jundub (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Prophet of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Among the people of Hell are there those who will be emersed in fire to their ankels, some to their knees, some to their waists, and some to their throats”.
[Muslim].

400. Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) as saying, “Mankind will stand before Allah, the Rubb of the worlds (on the Day of Resurrection), some of them will stand submerged in perspiration up to half of their ears”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

401. Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) delivered a Khutbah to us the like of which I had never heard from him before. He said, “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much”. Thereupon those present covered their faces and began sobbing.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration is: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) heard of something about his Companions upon which he addressed them and said, “Jannah and (Hell) Fire were shown to me and I have never seen the like of this day in good and in evil. If you were to know what I know, you would laugh little and weep much”. His Companions experienced such suffering on that day that had no equal. They covered their faces and began to weep.
[Al-Bukhari].

402. Al-Miqdad (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “On the Day of Resurrection, the sun will come so close to people that there would be left only a distance of one Meel”. Sulaim bin `Amir said: By Allah, I do not know whether he meant by “Meel”, the mile of the distance measure or the stick used for applying antimony powder to the eye. (Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) is, however, reported to have said:) “The people then will be submerged in perspiration according to their deeds, some up to their ankles, some up to their knees, some up to the waist and some will have the bridle of perspiration (reaching their mouth and nose) and, while saying this Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) pointed to his mouth with his hand”.
[Muslim].

403. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “The people will perspire on the Day of Resurrection and their perspiration will be seventy cubits down in the earth and it will reach up to their ears (they will be bridled with it)”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

404. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: We were in the company of Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) when we heard a bang. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said. “Do you know what this (sound) is?” We said, “Allah and His Messenger know better.” He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “That is a stone which was thrown into Hell seventy years before and it has just reached its bottom”.
[Muslim].

405. `Adi bin Hatim (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Everyone of you will speak to his Rubb without an interpreter between them. He will look to his right side and will see only the deeds he had previously done; he will look to his left and will see only the deeds he had previously done, and he will look in front of him and will see nothing but Fire (of Hell) before his face. So protect yourselves from Fire (of Hell), even by giving half a date-fruit (in charity)”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

406. Abu Dharr (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “I see what you do not see and I hear what you do not hear; heaven has squeaked, and it has right to do so. By Him, in Whose Hand my soul is, there is not a space of four fingers in which there is not an angel who is prostrating his forehead before Allah, the Exalted. By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little, weep much, and you would not enjoy women in beds, but would go out to the open space beseeching Allah”.
[At-Tirmidhi].

407. Abu Barzah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “Man’s feet will not move on the Day of Resurrection before he is asked about his life, how did he consume it, his knowledge, what did he do with it, his wealth, how did he earn it and how did he dispose of it, and about his body, how did he wear it out.”
[At-Tirmidhi].

408. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) recited, “That Day it (the earth) will reveal its news (about all that happened over it of good or evil).” (99:4). Then he (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) inquired, “Do you know what its news are?” He was told: “Allah and His Messenger know better”. He said, “Its news is that it shall bear witness against every slave man and woman they did on its back. It will say: `You did this and this on such and such day.’ Those will be its news.”
[At-Tirmidhi]

409. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “How can I feel at ease when the Angel of the Trumpet, (Israfil) has put his lips to the Trumpet and is waiting for the order to blow it”. He (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) perceived as if this had shocked his Companions, so he (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) told them to seek comfort through reciting: `Hasbunallah wa ni`mal-Wakil [Allah (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of  affairs (for us)]”.
[At-Tirmidhi].

410. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) saying, “He who is afraid of the pillage of the enemy, sets out in the early part of the night; and he who sets out early, reaches his destination. Be on your guard that the commodity of Allah is precious. Verily the commodity of Allah is Jannah”.
[At-Tirmidhi].

411. `Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) saying, “The people will be assembled on the Day of Resurrection barefooted, naked and uncircumcised”. I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Will the men and the women be together on that Day; looking at one another?” Upon this Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, “O Aishah, the matter will be too serious for them to look at one another”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].