الرَّجَاءُ وَالْخَوْفُ

Two groups of names, two movements of the heart Lessons 4 to 8 showed two faces of the names: mercy, forgiveness and love on one side; power, majesty and justice on the other. The heart that knows them all feels two movements: hope (ar-rajaa'), turned towards Allah's mercy, and fear (al-khawf), turned towards His majesty and His punishment.

The verses that join them • "Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Most Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment" (meaning of 15:49-50, text below). • "Know that Allah is severe in punishment, and that Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful" (meaning of 5:98). • About the prophets and the pious: "They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment" (meaning of 17:57); "They used to call on Us in longing and in fear" (meaning of 21:90). The Qur'an almost always places the two side by side.

Hope: thinking well of Allah • In a ḥadiith qudsi, Allah says: "I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me" (Bukhari 7405, Muslim 2675). • "Let none of you die without having a good opinion of Allah" (Muslim 2877). • "Do not despair of the mercy of Allah" (39:53, lesson 4); "Only the disbelieving people despair of the mercy of Allah" (meaning of 12:87).

Fear: not thinking oneself safe • "Do they feel secure from the plan of Allah? Only the losers feel secure from the plan of Allah" (meaning of 7:99). • The hadith of the two kinds of knowledge: if the believer knew all the punishment that is with Allah, no one would hope for His Paradise; and if the disbeliever knew all the mercy that is with Allah, no one would despair of His Paradise (Muslim 2755; see also Bukhari 6469) [À VÉRIFIER : numéros et formulation]. • Rightful fear is not panic: it is a reverent fear that keeps one away from sin and pushes one to repent.

The dying young man The Prophet ﷺ visited a young man who was about to die and asked him: "How do you find yourself?" He answered: "I hope in Allah, O Messenger of Allah, and I fear my sins." The Prophet ﷺ said: "These two things do not come together in the heart of a servant at such a moment without Allah giving him what he hopes for and keeping him safe from what he fears" (At-Tirmidhi 983, graded ḥasan; At-Tirmidhi says it is ghariib).

The two excesses • Despair (al-qunuuṭ): believing one is too bad to be forgiven. It is forgetting Al-Ghafuur, At-Tawwaab, Ar-Raḥiim. • False security (al-amn min makr Allaah): continuing to disobey while telling oneself "Allah forgives". It is forgetting Al-'Aziiz, Al-Ḥakam, and confusing hope with carelessness. Scholars say that true hope comes with effort: whoever hopes for a harvest sows.

Love, and the balance at different moments • Several scholars compare the heart to a bird: love (al-maḥabba) is its head, hope and fear are its two wings; if the head is sound and the wings balanced, the bird flies well (an image attributed notably to Ibn al-Qayyim) [À VÉRIFIER : attribution]. • On the balance, scholars hold several views [À VÉRIFIER : présentation des avis]: some say the two should be equal throughout life; others, that fear should dominate in good health, to guard against sin, and hope as death approaches, according to the hadith of Muslim 2877; others again, that one gives more room to one or the other according to the state of the heart (the despairing person needs hope, the careless person needs fear).

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Whoever knows only the names of mercy risks carelessness; whoever knows only those of majesty risks despair. Knowing all the names gives the heart its balance: it moves towards Allah hoping and fearing at the same time. Hope is not mere waiting: it is a good opinion of Allah that pushes one to act, to repent and to return. Fear is not a paralysing terror: it is a reverence that protects. The dying young man sums up the lesson: at the gravest moment, he joins the two in a single sentence, and the Prophet ﷺ announces the best to him. Above both there is love: one does not worship Allah only out of fear of His punishment or desire for His Paradise, but because one loves Him, the One whose most beautiful names one has learned.

Lessons to draw from it • After a fault, do not despair: repent at once, thinking of At-Tawwaab. • Before a temptation, do not tell yourself "Allah will forgive": think of Al-Baṣiir and Al-Ḥakam. • Keep a good opinion of Allah, especially in illness and as death approaches. • Visit the sick and help them to hope in Allah. • Nourish the love of Allah by reflecting on His blessings and His names.

Key points to remember • 15:49-50: the Forgiving, the Most Merciful, and the painful punishment, side by side. • "They hope for His mercy and fear His punishment" (17:57). • "I am as My servant thinks of Me" (Bukhari 7405, Muslim 2675). • The dying young man: hope and fear joined (At-Tirmidhi 983). • Two excesses: despair and false security (12:87; 7:99).

The main message Move towards Allah with two wings, hope in His mercy and fear of His justice, guided by love: neither despair nor false security.

The text: Surah Al-Ḥijr (15), verses 49 to 50 [TEXTE ARABE À INSÉRER : sourate 15:49-50]

The text: Surah Al-Israa' (17), verse 57 [TEXTE ARABE À INSÉRER : sourate 17:57]

Meaning: 15:49-50: "Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Most Merciful, and that My punishment is the painful punishment." 17:57: "Those whom they call upon themselves seek the means of nearness to their Lord, whichever of them is nearest; they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. The punishment of your Lord is truly to be feared." The commentators explain that 17:57 speaks of those whom some people called upon besides Allah (angels, prophets or pious people), who themselves hope and fear [À VÉRIFIER].

Arabic text: deliberately not typed, to avoid any error; it is to be copied from the centre's mushaf (or a verified source) at the place indicated.