Aslam

(8) Eight sign -To remain fearful and panicky. Some think that fear is opposed to love, but really it is not true. Rather fear is necessary to realise nobility as love is necessary to realise beauty. The speciality of the lovers is to have fear in place of love. First there is the fear of rejection still more there is the fear of falling of thick screen, still more there is the fear of going at a distance. This appears from the- Chapter Hud which made the hairs of the greatest lover white, as he heard this word of God: Beware, Samud was off. The Prophet said: He to whom both days are equal are deceived. He whose to-day is worse than yesterday is cursed. The Prophet also said: I seek forgiveness seventy times for the thoughts that daily come to my mind. He sought forgiveness for the first stage for its defects before going for the second stage. He did this for defects in his spiritual journey and for punishment for looking towards others than his Beloved. There is in Hadis Qudsi that God says: When a man loves the people of the world more than divine service I rob him of the pleasure of invocation. This is My lowest action. In short, the punishment of the religiousm'en is in robbing of additional rank on account of their greed. Additional rank is closed for this for the special religious men So care should be taken of this secret thing. Only the firmly rooted religious men can take care of it.

Vol-IV THE BOOK OF CONSTRUCTIVE VIRTUES 285

What is found after loss has also got the fear of being lost. Ibrahim-bin- Adham once heard some poems of a poet in course of his journey, At this, he trembled and fell senseless and remained in this condition for one day and one night. After recovery he said: I heard a man saying from the side of the hillock: O Ibrahim be My servant. When I became His servant, I regained my senses.

Fear grows from unmindfulness in the matter of the beloved, as a lover always is in the path of search and love. He never gets tired of hard search. As love enters in him unknowingly so indifference enters in him unknowingly the cause of this change is secret and unknown. Its enquiry is outside human power. When, God intends evil of someone and gives him time for evil works. He keeps his indifference secret from him. He remains in hope. He is deceived owing to his indifference and heedlessness and becomes one of the devil's company. When love comes, some qualities grow in him like kindness, wisdom, glory, power and honour. A certain Aref said: He does divine service with love and without fear gets ruined. Distance and solicitude go away from him who does divine service in fear without love. God loves one who does divine service with fear and love and gives him the rank of nearness, traquility and knowledge. So a lover is not free from fear.