What’s Deeper Than Fearing Allah? ️

What's Deeper Than Fearing Allah?

There's something deeper than fear. It's actually that we should develop a feeling of shame in front of Allah. Positive, healthy shame. People don't like the word shame anymore — they say we shouldn't feel shame. But shame is really important. Healthy shame is really important for a Muslim.

The Prophet ﷺ says:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2458)

You should feel ashamed in front of Allah — the same way you feel ashamed in front of the most righteous person in your town, in your area.

So let's say you're doing something — you're chatting to your friends, a few cuss words here and there, a few swear words — and then the Imam of the local masjid just walks past. And suddenly the language is beautiful and you're all stood upright. Like, what happened? You didn't want the Imam to see you that way.

So this is where you ask the question: you didn't want the Imam to see you that way — but you didn't mind Allah seeing you that way?

The Story of al-Hasan al-Basri

They say there's a story — I don't know its authenticity — but they say that one of the Salaf, a man came to al-Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله and asked him: "Will Allah forgive me if I committed zina?" And he said, "Of course, Allah is Ghafoor Raheem." The man was happy and walked away.

Then he stopped. He turned around. And he asked: "Was Allah watching me when I was doing that?"

"He was watching you."

The man fell unconscious.

In that moment, he just realised the embarrassment. Imagine your mom watching you. Your father watching you. Someone righteous watching you do what you did. That alone — it shakes you enough.

Hayaa from Allah — Something Deeper

So the hayaa from Allah — it's not love. It's not fear. It's something deeper. It's that Allah clothed me, and looked after me, and gave me oxygen.

I would never want Him to see this from me.