Even if there is no room for delving in this discourse deeper...

Even if there is no room for delving in this discourse deeper, but still we will hint at certain issues in order to bring about more comprehension of the hadith s which have been narrated in regard to fear of Allah and also bringing about a deeper effect of fear of Allah in the heart and soul. The Essence of Fear and Dread of Allah One of the questions which are treated is what the reality of fear is and what causes play a role in giving rise to it and what effects does it leaves behind?

Do fear and awe differ from one another? These discussions largely involve lexical aspects; in order to comprehend fear and awe of Allah and the difference between these two, a lot of ayat s and hadith s will be discussed. With regard to the application of fear and awe in the ayat s and hadith s, there is no considerable difference to be noticed and in some instances these two have been used interchangeably.

Once man has perceived and felt the greatness of Allah, a feeling of self-abasement, servility, humility and modesty appears in him. This state and psychological reaction has been embedded in the nature of man. (Of course, this state and reaction is not confined to man, the other living creatures also have this feeling vis-à-vis those that are stronger than them.) Usually, this state is also called awe and in reality fear is employed in place of awe.

When man perceives the greatness of another one, even if he poses no danger and harm to him, he feels in himself the feeling of humility and lowliness, as if he has lost his being. Sometimes, fear denotes fear of harm which is directed at man—usually fear has been used in this sense—naturally the application of fear in regard to Allah implies dread of the divine retribution and requital which are likely to be earned as a result of man’s bad works.

With regard to the saints [ awliya’ ] of Allah and people who have attained higher levels of servitude and obedience of Allah, their fear sometimes arises as a result of paying heed to the majesty of Allah and sometimes due to the possibility of being deprived of the beatific vision of Allah [ liqa’ Allah ] because the beatific vision of Allah and presence in his divine realm is not a definite and certain matter and is likely to either disappear or never occur at all.