Furthermore...

Furthermore, fear of God annihilates all other fears, making one strong in confronting injustice, tyranny, and oppression. Speaking of such people, the Holy Qur’an says: ....theirs is safety; and they are rightly guided. (6:82) And ....So fear not mankind, but fear Me .... (5:44) And ....God is well pleased with them, and they are well pleased with Him; that is for him who fears his Lord.

(98:8) And: But as for him who feared the Station of his Lord and forbade his soul from lust, surely Paradise shall be the refuge. (79:40-41) And the Prophet (S) is reported to have said: من خاف الله اخاف الله منه كل شيء. ومن لم يخف الله أخافه الله من كل شيء. Whoever fears God, He will make all things fear him; whoever is not afraid of God, He will cause him to be afraid of everything.

There are many Qur’anic verses as well as traditions about the merits of being in fear of God; however, for the sake of brevity, we abstain from mentioning all of them here. It must be kept in mind that even in fearing God one must be careful to stay within the bonds of moderation, so that it should not make one lose all hope in the mercy of God; since losing one's hope in the mercy and compassion of God is itself a great sin.

The Qur’an says: ....And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord save those who are astray? (15:56) If the fear of God has been taken to such an extreme, then it must be counterbalanced with raja' or hope in the mercy of God; for, with the aid of the two wings of hope and fear an individual can ascend to the highest levels of human perfection.

The Qur’an refers to this point in these words: Tell My servants I am the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate, and that My chastisement is the painful chastisement. (15:49-50) Self Depreciation or Inferiority Complex This vice, caused by cowardice, is a condition that results when an individual lacking courage to interfere positively in important matters fails to carry out his social responsibilities such as persuading others to perform righteous action and forbidding them from evil deeds.

Treatment of this disease is the same as that which was described in the case of cowardice. The individual affected by this moral vice should know that a true believer in God is never subjected to disgrace, and that God has bestowed honour and dignity on the believer. The Holy Qur’an says: ....honour belongs to Allah and to His messenger and the believers .... (63:8) There is a tradition which says: إن الله فوض إلى المؤمن كل شيء إلا اذلال نفسه.