Fearing Allah

Question:
Is it correct to argue that if a Muslim obeys Allah's commandments and tries to be at his ethical best, He need not be afraid of Him? After all, He is very beautiful and kind to mankind, and it is suggested that he loves a 70 times more than a mother loves her child.

My friends disagree. They say that we must be afraid of Him in all cases. Kindly comment in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Response:
A Muslim should ideally be in a state of 'baina al-khaufe wa ar-rija' (between fear and hope). We should always be fearful for consequences of our bad deeds, in the Hereafter, and be hopeful of forgiveness and good rewards for our good deeds.

If we stop fearing Allah, we are likely to become casual and carefree in the matter of religion, like the Jews of the time of the prophet, alaihissalaam.

And if we shun hope in His mercy, we will not have the confidence to seek His forgiveness and mercy, and Satan will pounce upon us and take us away towards the wrong path leading to Hell.

Fear of Allah should not be like the fear of a lion, a snake, or a cruel man. Fear of Allah is based on the concern that if we are not going to behave properly we will lose His love. There can be no greater loss for an individual than to lose the possibility of being loved by the Almighty and to be graced by His mercy. If we continue sinning, we are in danger of losing His love. That is what we must fear. If we repent (do taubah) sincerely after we have committed a sin, He is there to forgive us. That is what He
promises us and that is where our hope lies.

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