How can we Balance Hope and Fear? Count your blessings to increase hope in Him. Count your shortcomings to increase fear in Him.
Sometimes our sins and forgetfulness block our way to God and we do not find an overwhelming longing for Him. How can we increase our hope and fear of Allah if we do not feel this in our hearts? By calculating the bounties that Allah has given you to increase your hope in Him, such as His Generosity, Mercy and Patience. And when you remember your shortcomings and deficiencies in your worship, then fear of Allah will be opened in your heart.
One of the ways to attain hope and fear is to gain knowledge of His ﷻ attributes. When you remind yourself of His Greatness, and that you will return to Him ﷻ this will increase you in fear of Allah ﷻ and when you remind yourself that Allah’s ﷻ Mercy precedes His Wrath, this will help you to attain hope.
A believer’s condition should vary between hope and fear so that he becomes like a bird with two wings; one wing for hope and the other for fear. Striking a balance between hope and fear so the bird can fly; it cannot fly with just one wing.
So step 23 to Allah ﷻ is to attain hope and fear and to monitor yourself by it — do you have the right balance of fear and hope in Allah ﷻ?
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Article inspired by Shaykh Zaqir’s classes
