✨Fearing Allāh Unseen

If īmān (faith) and certainty fill one’s heart, then they will be watchful of Allāh and fear and venerate Him throughout their lives. And this will govern all their actions, whether many or few, big or small and major or minor. And it will take one to the highest level of religion which is the level of ihsān (excellence) and that it as described in the Hadith of Jibreel:
To worship Allāh as if you see Him, for even though you do not see Him, He sees you. [Bukhārī 4777, Muslim 8e]

And there are numerous verses in the Quran that instill fear, apprehension and watchfulness of Allāh Almighty in the heart of the believer. Because the believer believes in the unseen and knows that Allāh is ever watching them. And apprehension is anguish over something unpleasant in the future. Sometimes, it is due to one’s abundant transgressions and sometimes because of one’s knowledge of Allāh’s majesty and grandeur.

And whoever fears and is in awe of Allāh unseen has realized the complete īmān (faith) and complete consciousness of Allāh, and benefits from what Allāh has revealed of light and guidance. Allāh Almighty said:
Al Anbiya (21) 48-49: (48) And We had already given Moses and Aaron the criterion and a light and a reminder for the righteous (49) Who fear their Lord unseen, while they are of the Hour apprehensive.

Hasan Al Basrī, may Allāh have mercy on him, said, īmān (faith) is the faith of the one who fears and is in awe of Allāh Almighty unseen. And he desires what Allāh, the Most High, desires, and leaves what incurs the wrath of Allāh, the Most High. Then Ḥasan recited:
Fatir (35) 28: Only those fear Allāh, from among His servants, who have knowledge.

And those who fear Allāh Almighty unseen are conscious of the cautionary verses of the Quran and shun the places of wrath and torment. Allāh Almighty said:
Fatir (35) 18: You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and have established prayer.

And they are the ones promised victory and power over their adversaries. Allāh Almighty said:
Ibrahim (14) 13-14: (13) And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, “We will surely drive you out of our land, or you must return to our religion.” So their Lord inspired to them, “We will surely destroy the wrongdoers. (14) And We will surely cause you to dwell in the land after them. That is for he who fears My position and fears My threat.”

And they are the ones given glad tidings of the forgiveness of Allāh Almighty and His reward. Allāh Almighty said:
Ibrahim (14) 13-14: (13) And those who disbelieved said to their messengers, “We will surely drive you out of our land, or you must return to our religion.” So their Lord inspired to them, “We will surely destroy the wrongdoers. (14) And We will surely cause you to dwell in the land after them. That is for he who fears My position and fears My threat.”

And they are the ones given glad tidings of the forgiveness of Allāh Almighty and His reward. Allāh Almighty said:
Ya-Sin (36) 11: You can only warn one who follows the message and fears the Most Merciful unseen. So give him good tidings of forgiveness and noble reward.

And their reward is noble and great. Allāh Almighty said:
Al Mulk (67) 12: Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and great reward.

And they are those who regularly turn to Allāh and those with hearts returning in repentance, and the Paradise will brought near for them. Allāh Almighty said:
Qaf (50) 31-33: (31) And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far, (32) [It will be said], “This is what you were promised – for every returner [to Allāh] and keeper [of His covenant]. (33) Who feared the Most Merciful in the unseen and came with a heart returning [in repentance].

And every one of them will have two gardens, just as the Most Merciful described in Surah Ar-Rahman:
Qaf (50) 31-33: (31) And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far, (32) [It will be said], “This is what you were promised – for every returner [to Allāh] and keeper [of His covenant]. (33) Who feared the Most Merciful in the unseen and came with a heart returning [in repentance].

And every one of them will have two gardens, just as the Most Merciful described in Surah Ar-Rahman:
Ar Rahman (55) 46: But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens

Until the Almighty said:
Ar Rahman (55) 60: Is the reward for good [anything] but good?
And their sign is that they put the pleasure of Allāh Almighty over their desires. And they do not transgress His prohibitions while they are alone. Allāh Almighty said:
An Naziat (79) 40-41: (40) But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, (41) Then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge.

For their belief in the unseen drives them to be watchful of Allāh Almighty and fear Him in private. Otherwise, most people are ashamed of committing sins in front of people. But rather the matter is leaving sins while all one is alone. Wuhaib bin Al Ward said, “be careful to not consider Allāh the least significant of those looking at you.”

And reflect on the authentic supplication of the Prophet ﷺ:
O Allāh, I ask You to grant me fear of You in private and in public. [Sunan an-Nasa’i 1305, Grade: Ṣaḥīḥ]

Ibn Rajeb, may Allāh Almighty have mercy on him, said, “The fear of Allāh Almighty unseen and while seen means that the person fears Allāh secretly and publicly and outwardly and inwardly. For most people believe that they fear Allāh – the Most High – in public and while seen. But the matter is fearing Allāh Almighty unseen away from the people’s eyes. And Allāh Almighty has praised those who fear Him unseen”.

And whoever fears Allāh unseen has protected themselves from fault, and has distanced themselves from the circumstances of humiliation, and has preserved their value with Allāh Almighty and with the people. Sulaymān At Taymi, may Allāh have mercy on him, said, “Indeed, a man sins while alone and it becomes a source of humiliation for him”. And some of the wise said, “be more ashamed from yourself than you are of others”. And some of the cultured said, “whoever does something secretly that they are ashamed to do in the open does not value themselves”.

And indeed they have diminished the value of themselves. Because they did what mandates the displeasure of Allāh Almighty upon them. And if Allāh Almighty is displeased with someone, then the people are also displeased with them. And their value drops from the hearts of the people. And only Allāh Almighty owns the hearts. And that is indicated in the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allāh be pleased with him, who said that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
If Allāh loves a servant [of His] He calls Gabriel (peace be upon him) and says: I love so-and-so, therefore love him. He (the Prophet ﷺ) said: So Gabriel loves him. Then he (Gabriel) calls out in heaven, saying: Allāh loves so-and-so, therefore love him. Then the inhabitants of heaven love him. He (the Prophet ﷺ) said: Then acceptance of him is established on earth. And if Allāh hates a servant [of His], He calls Gabriel and says: I hate so-and-so, therefore hate him. So Gabriel hates him. Then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Allāh hates so-and-so, therefore hate him. He (the Prophet ﷺ) said: So they hate him, and then hatred of him is established on earth. [Bukhari 7485, Muslim 2637a]

Abu Ad-Dardaa, may Allāh be pleased with him, said, “a person should be wary that the hearts of the believers hate him without him sensing”. So Al Fuḍail bin Eyād asked Dawood bin Mehrān,” Do you know what this is ?” He replied: “no”, he (Fuḍail) replied, “a person disobeys Allāh while alone, so Allāh places hatred of him in the hearts of the believers without him sensing.”

And Ibn Sammāk wrote advice to one of his brothers and part of what he said: I advise you with the consciousness of Allāh Almighty, who is with you while you are alone and your overseer in the open, so keep Allāh Almighty in your mind at all times, in your night and your day. And your love of Allāh Almighty is in accordance to your nearness to Him and how much you appreciate Him. Know that you are under His Eye and that you do not leave His authority to someone else’s authority, and not from His dominion to someone else’s dominion. So magnify your appraisal of Him, and increase your awe of Him.

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