Having Hope in Allaah The Almighty - II

It is rare for one to benefit from his faith if his heart is full of
evil, just as seeds cannot grow in saline water or a swamp. The
slave's hope can be compared to that of a farmer's. Only if a
farmerseeks good, fertile soil, sows quality seeds in it, waters it
and takes good care of it, can he thenwait for the favour of Allaah
The Almighty. This is real hope.
On the other hand, if the farmer were to implant his seeds in a
swampy, slanted area where water cannot reach, it would be ridiculous
of him to expect any result or hope for anything to grow there. Also,
if the farmer were to plant good seeds in goodsoil, but it is above
ground level and on a hilly slope so that watercannot reach it; he
certainly cannot hope for plants to grow there, but he might indulge
in wishful thinking.
Hope means waiting eagerly for results after one has exerted all
efforts and employed all possible means available to them. Therefore,
one should exert oneself in performing acts of obedience and worship
and then wait for the bounties from AllaahThe Almighty to make him
steadfast, to protect him from deviating until he dies, and to guard
him from misguidance until he leaves this world and meets a Lord Who
is pleased withhim.
The person with hope is someone who has been consistent in his acts of
obedience and fulfils the implications of faith. He hopes that Allaah
The Almighty will not cause him to stray from the straight path; he
hopes that Allaah The Almighty will accept his good deeds and not
reject them; he hopes that Allaah The Almighty will reward him
doubly.This is a person who can be said to have exerted all possible
efforts, and who can then hope for the mercy of his Lord.
Conversely, someone who habitually indulges in immoral acts, fails to
water his heart with obedience, and does not curb his pleasures and
lusts, and then hopes for the forgiveness and mercy of Allaah The
Almighty, is adeceived fool. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
{Andthere followed them successors who inherited the Scripture [while]
taking the commodities [i.e. unlawful gains and pleasures] of this
lower life and saying, 'It will be forgiven for us.'} [Quran, 7: 169]
In the Quran, Allaah The Almightytells us what the ungrateful
disbeliever said, whom Allaah TheAlmighty blessed with a garden: (what
means): {I do not think the Hour will occur. And even if I should be
brought back to my Lord, I will surely find better thanthis as a
return.} [Quran, 18: 36] This was a case of wishful thinking on his
part.
Hope is a cure that two types of people require:
1. Those who have reached the state of despairing from the mercy of
Allaah The Almighty, to the point that they have given up worshipping
Him, concluding that it is fruitless and useless.
2. Those whose fear has overwhelmed them to the point that they have
caused harm uponthemselves and their families; such fear transgresses
the limits permitted in Islam, and thus these people must correct
themselves and be balanced by also having hope in Allaah The Almighty.
Talking to some people about hope can cure and motivate them; however,
it does not cure those deceived sinners who thinkthat they possess
hope, but in fact are only wishful thinkers because they wish for the
forgiveness of Allaah The Almighty whilst not doing enough acts of
worship. Talking about hope with such people would only cause an
increase in their transgression and make them stray even further. The
only way to help them is to severely admonish them into refraining
from sinning – which is a very important point that we must all pay
attention to.
Some of the scholars said, "The person admonishing others should be
kind and look to the areas of weakness and disease in people and
address them, aimingto cure each person according to his level and
situation; but nowadays, one should not address matters from the hope
perspective, but rather exaggerate in terrifying them. The admonisher
should only mention the virtues of having hope and how one can attain
it inorder to attract the hearts." Thus, one should scare people, but
not to the level of making them feel despair, as 'Ali said,"The true
scholar is the one who does not make people give up on the mercy of
Allaah, nor make them feel secure from His wrath." - - ▓███▓
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