And it is related of him that he once came upon a large group of worshipers who had shriveled up from worshiping, like worn-out water skins. "Who are you?" he asked. "We are worshipers," they answered. "Why do you worship?" he asked. They replied, "God put the fear of hell in us, and we were afraid." So he said, "It is incumbent upon God to save you from what you fear."
Then Jesus passed on and came upon others who were even more worshipful. He asked, "Why do you worship?" and they replied, "God gave us a longing for paradise and what He has prepared there for His friends. That is what we hope for." So Jesus said, "It is incumbent upon God to give you what you hope for."
Then he passed them by and came upon others who were worshiping and said, "Who are you?" They said, "We are lovers of God. We worship Him not out of fear of hell or longing for paradise, but out of love for Him and to His greater glory." So Jesus said, "You are truly the friends of God, and it is with you that I was commanded to live." And he resided among them.
This story is excerpted from the book "The Muslim Jesus" by Tarif Khalidi. The book presents in English the largest collection of the sayings and stories of Jesus in Islamic literature.
NOTE: Loving God selflessly, neither out of fear of hell nor out of greed for paradise, was a sentiment ascribed to early Sufis-for example, the famous woman mystic Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya (d. 185/801), who was seen walking the streets of Baghdad with a bucket of water in one hand and a flaming torch in the other.
When asked why she did so, she replied, "I want to quench the fires of hell with the water and burn down paradise with the torch, so that people can come to love God selflessly, neither out of fear of the one nor out of greed for the other."
Re: Jesus pbuh said, "The lover of God loves hardship."
Worshipping out of love alone, is a concept alien to Islam and innovated by certain Sufis, as the article says. In Islam we worship with a combination and most importantly a balance, of love, hope, and fear.
format_quote Originally Posted by Muslim Woman
NOTE: Loving God selflessly, neither out of fear of hell nor out of greed for paradise, was a sentiment ascribed to early Sufis
neither out of fear of hell
We are told to fear hell, and to call upon Allah with fear, in the Qur'an:
And fear the Fire, which has been prepared for the disbelievers. (3:131)
And if they had believed and feared Allah , then the reward from Allah would have been [far] better, if they only knew. (2:103)
Beautified for those who disbelieve is the life of this world, and they ridicule those who believe. But those who fear Allah are above them on the Day of Resurrection. And Allah gives provision to whom He wills without account. (2:212)
Call upon Him with fear and hope. (7:56)
Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope. (32:16)
nor out of greed for paradise,
We are told in the Qur'an what some of the deeds are of those who will enter into into Jannah (eg Surah al-Mu'minoon ayahs 1-11), so that we can do them. And Rasoolullah told Muslims to pray for Jannah (Paradise) and in particular for Jannatul Firdous:
...if you ask Allah for anything, ask Him for the firdaus, for it is the last part of Paradise and the highest part of Paradise, and at its top there is the Throne of Beneficent, and from it gush forth the rivers of Paradise.” Bukhari (Book #93, Hadith #519)
Does that mean we are greedy? No. Allah tells us to ask of Him, as much as we like, for his stores are unreserved. Asking Him, making du'a to Him, is one of the greatest forms of worship. It is a sign of humility, not of greed. And look at this hadeeth: "Verily, the person who does not ask Allah, Allah gets angry at him." (At-Tirmidhi, Saheeh al Jaami 2418)
So it is wrong to say that wanting Paradise (or anything else for that matter) is greed.
"I want to quench the fires of hell with the water and burn down paradise with the torch, so that people can come to love God selflessly, neither out of fear of the one nor out of greed for the other."
If Allah wanted us to come to Him through love alone, He would have said so. And there is a reason for Allah to create paradise and create hell, and it is not for any Muslim to think that it shouldn't have been created, or that they need burning or quenching, for this is to doubt Allah's Wisdom and Knowledge.
I must mention that we are also told to hope:
Call upon Him with fear and hope. (7:56)
Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope. (32:16)
Verily, those who have believed, and those who have emigrated (for Allah's Religion) and have striven hard in the Way of Allah, all these hope for Allah's Mercy. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. (2:218)
How should we not believe in Allah and that which hath come unto us of the Truth. And (how should we not) hope that our Lord will bring us in along with righteous folk? (5:84)
Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment. Indeed, the punishment of your Lord is ever feared. (17:57)
So We responded to him, and We gave to him John, and amended for him his wife. Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive. (21:90)
"Verily! We really hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we are the first of the believers." (26:51)
And also love:
And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah . But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah . And if only they who have wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain] that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is severe in punishment. (2:165)
Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.(3:31)
Real love and devotion to God is in submitting to His commands. This is because truly loving God should lead to loving what He loves.
There are some threads/posts on the subject of love, fear and hope here, and there may be others I haven't found:
Stunningly beautiful adhaan from the Dome of the Rock in Masjid ul Aqsa Download (right click and choose "save target/link as").
This is a clear message for mankind in order that they may be warned thereby, and that they may know that He is only One God, and that those of understanding may take heed (14:52)
Indeed Allah knows, and you know not (16: 74, part)
Re: Jesus pbuh said, "The lover of God loves hardship."
Sister Insanah you are right but that hope and fear is connected to love.
Worship or Ibada is excessive love for someone. It means: a feeling of profound love and admiration.
You worship someone when you admire the qualities of the worshiped. When you love someone at an extreme level, you become obsessed with the person that you are always thinking about him. You become extra careful about your actions because you are conscious about your beloved whether your act would be disliked by him or not. If it is disliked by him then you avoid it in fear of losing your beloved. If it is admired by him then you enjoy doing it to make him happy and satisfied. This is the highest form of love, dedication and worship which should only be given to Allah, but some people give it to others as well.
Allah (swt) says:
2:165 Yet there are men who take (for worship) others besides Allah, as equal They love them as they should love Allah. But those of Faith are overflowing in their love for Allah. If only the unrighteous could see, behold, they would see the penalty: that to Allah belongs all power, and Allah will strongly enforce the penalty.
Although we do perform the basic commands of Al Ibadah but our Ibadah should also contain our extreme love and admiration for Allah together with extreme humility. We should love Allah with extreme adoration (Tatayum) because that is the uppermost level of love. The lowermost level is the interest because the heart is the first to become interested in the beloved, then affection comes after the interest and then the love which leads to the extreme adoration.
Loving someone without submitting to him is not really worshipping him. Allah must be worshipped with both love and submission because neither love nor submission alone is applicable to Allah and only Allah deserves the complete love and submission.
So its common sense that if you really love someone with such an extreme love then ofcourse you will get rewarded by him. Thats why Allah created heaven and hell. So ya I agree that note at the end about burning down paradise and hell was a bit too much/innovated. other than that its all good.
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We are told to fear hell, and to call upon Allah with fear, in the Qur'an:neither out of fear of helltold Muslims to pray for Jannah (Paradise) and in particular for Jannatul Firdous:
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