The term 'FEAR of Allah', can 'Fear' be used?

Assalamualaikum w.b.t,

A few weeks back, I had an interesting conversation between a few friends over drinks. A friend was intrigued to know my process of istiqomah and the story behind my process of changing. He asked a question (which I cant remember exactly what) probably it was one of those question "why are U covering Urself" or something like that, that made me answer "Cause I fear Allah". As I continued talking, another friend barged in the conversation and stated out that using the term 'Fear Of Allah' is wrong and it shouldn't be used and I stumbled and got a lil bewildered. He stated out that using the term 'FEAR' of Allah seakan-akan saying Allah to macam something that could eat Us alive, describing yang Allah tu jahat or scary in some ways (maybe?) that's why he said that using the term 'FEAR' is wrong, not sekali but berkali-kali penuh dengan confidence.

In my position, my knowledge is pretty little, tak sehebat mana pun. I'm still learning and seeking knowledge. I wanted to flip cause I thought deep in my heart, I know I made sense and I was right but I just listened to his explanation and thought to myself its alright, I'm gonna go home and do my research and find the right hujah. He sounded so confident though he dint really have the exact hujah but only the fact that he heard about this 'fact' in his Uni. Kalau dia sendiri tak de hujah, apatahlah lagi myself. I could not defend myself but only stood with patience and could not wait to go home and find the truth and find out if I was the one who got it wrong or he did.

I went home and for days and weeks I thought about it. One thing that I am so blessed with is that, I trust my guts. I know when something I cant let go, I cant take my mind off, I know something is wrong. I googled for a hadith or anything in the Quran that relates to 'Fear of Allah' and Hey! I found them...

1)  And believe in what I reveal, confirming the revelation which is with you, and be not the first to reject Faith therein, nor sell My Signs for a small price; and fear Me, and Me alone.
( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #41)

2) And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you (The towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear Allah."
( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #63

3) So We made it an example to their own time and to their posterity, and a lesson to those who fear Allah.
( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #66)


4)  Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and even worse in hardness. For among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #74)

5) For Hajj are the months well known. If any one undertakes that duty therein, Let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness, nor wrangling in the Hajj. And whatever good ye do, (be sure) Allah knoweth it. And take a provision (With you) for the journey, but the best of provisions is right conduct. So fear Me (al-taqwa wa ittaqooni), o ye that are wise. S. 2:197

6) O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared (ittaqoo Allaha haqqa tuqatihi), and die not except in a state of Islam. S. 3:102 Y. Ali

7) And according to a hadith... On the authority of Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junada and Abu Abdul Rahmaan Muaadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with both of them) from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said, “Fear Allah wherever you are. And follow up a bad deed with a good deed and it will wipe it out. And behave towards the people with a good behaviour.” (Recorded in al-Tirmidhi)

 

 

and the list goes on and on...

 

 

Still, I wasn't done.. I still wanted more. As I searched for more suddenly I remembered in one of my Islamic Studies class in Uni, my Ustaz mentioned 'taqwa'.. what is Taqwa? He defined as 'Fear'. Fear of nothing, of no one BUT Allah S.W.T.
"Sayyiduna Ali (R.A) defined Taqwa as being the ‘fear of Jaleel (Allah), acting upon the tanzeel (Quran), being content with qaleel (little), and preparing for the day of raheel (journeying from this world)." If we couldn't use 'Fear' what should we replace it with other than taqwa? 'Respect'? Langsung tak sesuai. To me, the context of 'Respect' can only be used upon other humans or such but not Allah. For instance, respecting someone... Yes, I respect the people around me but how about when they're out of my sight? Will I still behave? We respect our parents tapi ada jugak kadang-kadang when they are not around, we misbehave. Tak akan nak guna term 'Respect' for Allah? Here's my own definition of FEAR of Allah S.W.T...

I Fear Allah because he owns everything in this world. He owns me, my heart and the whole entire universe. When I die, it's to Him whom I go back to, The Almight (SWT). I Fear Allah because we as humans are His servants. Dalam setiap manusia, especially in a Muslim perlu ada sifat 'kehambaan', the feeling of strive to serve Allah S.W.T better. Furthermore, for say we as students, we were assigned with an assignment tapi ended up last minute tak cukup perfect our assignment and we know it damn well if it isn't perfect enough we may fail. We FEAR of failing. Itu lah concept dia! We fear of the concequences of each act we put up with. I fear of my sins that will lead to Jahanam. I fear I am not good enough for Allah to satisfy Allah after all He has given me. So why not use the word Fear? I Love Allah and I Fear of His punishments of my own sins that I have created, I Fear I am not worthy in Allah's sight and tak dapat His barakah and keredhaan and I Fear not being able to reach the goal of Jannah.

I attended this week's Islamic Studies class and asked my Ustaz regarding this small issue and got all that I needed.  Alhamdulillah with the help of some infos from my Ustaz and this is all that I could sum it up with. Plus, I consulted my sister, KakFa this morning and wanted to hear her view on the term 'Fear Of Allah' still the similar answer that I received from her as well. So, Alhamdulillah! Im satisfied. We all have our own definition of terms. Fear or other words. It's what U define it to be and what fits the term. Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the thirst of wanting to know more and finding the truth and seeking for the right hujah. Lepas ni, when someone jumps up with a statement which I feel tak masuk akal or something new, first thing I'm gonna ask is "Where's ur hujah?" "Do U have a specific hadith that says so?" "Is it written in the Quran?" "Is it in a sunnah?" If U cant answer me, pergi find ur hujah and get ur facts right and then talk to me and explain. I dont mind being corrected, in fact please correct me when I'm wrong. I'd love to learn but when correcting a statement, make sure U have pure concrete facts and deliver the correction full of humbleness as U know Ur statement is not concrete enough. Have the right hujah, dont just spoon feed someone with statements, especially those who are still in search of knowledge. I'm not always right, You are not always, We are not always right. We're just humans and not even close to having the traits of Rasulullah s.a.w. Every step we take is a learning process no matter how old we are.

So, if someone corrects Ur statement and leaves U confuse and U can't find the right words to counter back, its okay... Keep calm, stay patient and go home and do Ur research and find whatever U can. It's not to just claim and prove that Ur right but take it as a way of educating Urself too. So, I thank this friend of mine because of him I wanted to search and seek the truth and Hey! Alhamdulillah, I know a lil more now, I gained something but most of all, I thank Allah, it could have just been a conversation that I could not even bother to be intrigued to seek but with His will, he made me thirst to know more and not just swallow what people spoon me with. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah.

Jazakallah Khair,
Wassalam
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Poison Stares

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

Hello, Holiday! The CNY Holidays has finally come upon us, Alhamdulillah! time for a break from classes and driving to Kota Damansara where my Uni is at. Its the road of Kota Damansara that I absolutely hate. The traffic lights that's just everywhere and of course the forever massive Jam! It's a disaster. It's time they built a transporter, Yes... definitely in my own lala land a transporter will only exist.

It was last Wednesday, a day that truly inspired me to write this. What is it with girls? Girls who U walk pass in the hallway or at a shopping mall or anywhere at all that looks at U from top to bottom and gives U that jeling Nek Bedah? Yes, I've encountered these situations many MANY times! I dont understand why and I never will. Do I come upon them as a threat? Or is it just my face, an unknown face that walks by that smiles at them that intimidates them? I'm not as pretty as Miss Universe, I'm a normal descent looking girl who walks around with a smile on my face cause I was taught that senyum itu sedeqah. Concept lari kah? Or am I just creepy? Maybe its my senget smile? I can question of so many but never will I get an infinite answer that will satisfy me.

I was in my Uni's mini mart, I was waiting for my friend, K that was in line to pay for her drink. I was standing at the corner in the mini mart and enjoying my Sausage Bread Roll, I was really hungry. The glass door of the mini mart was facing one of the cafeteria table. As I was eating, I took a glimpse outside and saw a group of malay girls sitting across at the table and they were all looking at me and whispering. I looked at them and imediately smiled and they turned. Some rolled their eyes, some smiled and some just looked away. As I looked away,I saw them looking again at me and I felt uncomfortable. I told K and K looked and she said "what's wrong with them, babe?" I just looked down and I said I had no idea why and left the mini mart. There were some girls that passed by me on some days and looked at me and just gave me that LOOK but to me, I find them amusing. I just smile and look away cause I know they benefit nothing from the way they look at me and I get Pahala. JYEAH! I know I wasn't wearing anything skimpy. Hello, I wear a tudung for God's sake. How skimpy do U want me to look? I dont wear tshirt and showing my arms and pakai tudung. I dont wear tights so why in the world are they looking at me like I was some kind of Alien. It was one of my Emo days last Wednesday, (I'm a girl, I have moody days) I was usually not at all affected by these looks but that day, I dont know why it got me thinking. I drove home with my mind wanting to look at myself and muhasabah. I wanted to figure out WHY? Why these girls(certain girls) like to look at me that way? I'm usually pretty confident with myself not in a 'Aku tahu aku cantik' kind of way but I usually am positive when I'm outside, when I'm in public surrounded by people. I dont really take notice of these negative vibes I receive at times from these girls cause I know I dont know them and they dont know me and I know they shouldn't have looked at me or anyone at all when someone smiles at them but it was just not a good day for me. On my way home, I felt bad for myself cause I questioned myself and my sincerity over smiles that I constantly give away. I arrived home and climbed up the stairs and entered my room and dropped everything on the floor and sat on my bed and grabbed my phone. I prayed inside, talking to Allah. I was on my 'Solat Break' and I missed my sujud badly but it's alright, I whispered to myself and just mengadu dekat the Almighty and I felt better. My phone suddenly beeped, I picked it up and checked it was Imran. Imran's currently in Mekah doing his Umrah. He asked how was my day and as usual, I poured how my day went and what happened in Uni. He's pretty much my alive walking diary. I told him and he felt frustrated and consoled me and he said "it's okay, Im going to the kaabah later, I'll make a doa for U, dont worry too much" or something that sounded like that, *excuse my lil amnesia* and I felt even better and then my positivity kicked in!

I know it wasn't me, I know that it's okay to smile at people, pahala sedeqah yang paling murah and paling senang but benefits a lot to a person and sometimes to another person that U smile at. I know I have done nothing wrong.  I sometimes check my face to see if I had my make up on wrongly but nope it wasn't me, it was clearly THEM. My lip cream and my eye liner has done nothing wrong to my face, it looks normal and descent enough. I learned that some girls fills themselves with insecurity. They may think they're confident enough or whatever it is they feel inside but when someone smiles and U roll those evil eyes of Urs or U see someone and U feel threatened and there's a need to look up and down and scan them and do Ur famous Jeling Nek Bedah, Yes, Ur definitely insecure about Urself. Getting the right type of confidence is important. Confidence to me is U feeling comfortable in Ur own skin and embracing the good that Allah has given U and bringing positivity on others and affecting them with that positive vibe of Urs. That's my definition of 'Confidence'. I know I'll never get rid of all these girls with this attitudes of their's but it's alright always slap them with a smile instead of looking back at them how they're looking at U.

Speaking of insecurities, there was once I went to One Utama with Imran, probably window shopping on that day. As we were walking, I stared at a shop because I was attracted to the top that they were displaying on their window. I also noticed a couple that was walking towards our direction but was in front of the shop. Coincidentally my eyes seemed like they were looking at them but actually I was staring at the window display as I was walking but suddenly I saw the girlfriend snapped and did her Jeling Nek Bedah to me and pulled his boyfriend's arm and gave me that stare and Imran asked "apahal perempuan tu pandang U macam tu?" and I thought she must have thought I was looking at her boyfriend when not at all I wasn't and tak perasan pun muka boyfriend dia macam mana and I would not do that to the person that was walking next to me which was Imran. Kalau nak buat dosa kering sekali pun nak pandang a guy baik tengok sebelah je! Gosh, insecurities! Get a grip! Imran and I laughed about it as we walked and couldn't stop talking about it after. Like I said, it's amusing how these girls behave. Ada yang insecure suruh their boyfriends delete a certain girl from the boyfriend's FB, unfollow on Twitter and Instagram who tak langsung kacau their boyfriends pun ada. Yes, I was recently hit with a bummer news that a friend did that to me. A friend that I haven't been contacting but it probably triggered the girlfriend when I liked a shared post that he shared on his wall about an Islamic thing and she liked it too and it was only her name and my name that liked the post on the newsfeed. Insecure on a certain person from the boyfriend's past that triggered her with only a Like botton on Facebook I suppose? It's a pity but its alright. I know what's my niat and I know what I've been doing and as long as Allah knows, Im cool with that. Not saying I'm perfect but I know I haven't done anything wrong to them. Shame on her and shame on girlfriends that does that and feels insecure.

I know I'm not the only one who goes through all this cause I know and Im so sure other girls must have gone through the same. I know we cant run away from these girls and situations like these but Im sure we can all doa for them and send them positive vibes with just a smile back, giving them something to think about when they walk away out of Ur sight. Never let these stares that these girls give U capture Ur mind and mess with Ur inner self. Its them who has a problem and definitely not YOU. Let them stare at U when U smile, take that as a boost of Ur own confidence telling U that they're just feeling inferior by Ur presence with just U passing by. That's how strong Ur vibe is ;)


Be positive always,
Jazakallah&May Allah bless Us all and keep Us away from what I call heart diseases
Wassalam
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