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Chapter II: Patience and Gratefulness

The Prophet said: God fear in the root of all wisdom. The Prophet told Ibn Mas'ud : If you wish to meet me, fear God after my death. The saint Fazil said : He who fears God will be led to every good. The saint Shibli said : On the day I feared God, the door of my wisdom and admonition was opened in such a way which I did not see before. The sage Ihya-b-Ma'az said : Two virtues of a believer-fear of punishment and hope of forgiveness assume such state as that of a hare between two tigers. Moses said : God will say on the Resurrection Day :
There is no such person whose account I will not take or into whose accounts I will not enquire. I will not however take the accounts of those who feared unlawful things as I shall feel ashamed to take their accounts. They are more honorable than two await them for accounts. God says : For him who fears the Glory of his Lord, there are two gardens — 54 : 45Q. The Prophet said : God says : By my honour, I will not place two fears and to securities upon My servants. If he lives without fearing Me in the world, I will throw him in fear in the next world. If he fears Me in the world. I will make him free from fear in the next world. The Prophet said : Everything fears one who fears God and God shows fear from everything to one who fears other than God.

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The Prophet said: He who fears God most amongst you and daily observes most the injunctions and prohibitions of God is an experienced wise man. The saint Ihya-b-Ma'az said : The son of Adam is unfortunate. If he feared Hell as he fears poverty, he would have entered Paradise. The saint Jun-Nun said : Whose fears God much, his love for God deepens and his wisdom is purified. He also said that fear should be much more than hope.
If fear is strong, mind becomes disturbed. The sage Abul Hussain Jarir used to say : Fear of misfortune is the sign of fortune, as fear is like a string between God and His servants. When it is severed, he is destroyed with the destroyed thing. The saint Sahal Tastari said : God fear will not come in you till you do not eat lawful things. The saint Abu Solaiman Darani said : If mind is ruined, fear goes away. Hazrat Ayesha asked : O Prophet of God, "God says : Those who have been given wealth, spend and their hearts are fearful." Can such men commit theft and fornication ? The Prophet said : They can not commit theft and fornication, rather they fast, pray, pay zakat, but they fear whether those will be accepted or not. So there are innumerable saying about the merits of fear.

Source: Imam Al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Islamic Sciences)
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