Ibn al-Qayyim when talking about Fear of Allah said: the heart on its journey to Allah is like a bird love of Allah is the head, and hope (rajaaʾ) and fear (khawf) are the two wings. If the head is cut off, the bird dies. If the wings are damaged, it can’t fly.

That’s the “balance” so many of us are missing today and this image stayed with me because it explains a lot of modern Muslim anxiety. Many of us are trying to “fly” with one wing (hope).

Some people lean so hard into hope that they feel safe while they keep slipping into the same sins.

A story you might recognise

It’s late. You open the Quran on your phone and an Ayah hits you. Your chest may tighten. Your eyes might tear up. For a moment… you feel connected again.

Then the next day comes. You wake up after sunrise and miss Fajr. You tell yourself, “I’ll make it up later.” You keep texting someone you know you shouldn’t. You scroll into things you promised you’d quit. And the same worry returns – only heavier – because now it’s mixed with guilt.

That is the danger: a fear that makes you emotional momentarily, but doesn’t change you.

Fear of Allah is therefore a spectrum. On the lower end, there is fear that only touches you momentarily. On the other end, fear can paralyse you and turn into dispair. The “good” fear of Allah is balanced and is there to stay. It pushes you away from sins and pulls you toward salah, tawba and consistency.

Shaytan however loves both extremes of the fear spectrum. He doesn’t care if you disobey loudly… or if you are crippled with fear. Either way, you stop moving to Allah.

Why We need to talk about fear of Allah

In our time, many hearts are anxious and deeply attached to dunya: consumerism, constant entertainment and dopamine kicks, endless desires, “treat yourself” culture, and a casual attitude to private sins.

Ibn al-Jawzī often warned about غرور – the delusion of feeling safe while postponing tawba, telling yourself you’ll fix it “later” or start again “tomorrow”. He describes how strange it is that a person keeps hoping for future reform when they don’t know how much time they have left. Rajaa’ without immediate tawba is self-deception.

So sometimes you don’t need another “Allah is forgiving” reminder. You need the reminder that makes you sit up and think:

“What if I meet Allah with this?”

The fear of Allah has levels

Level 1: Fear of punishment (Akhirah and dunya)

This is where most believers are at. We fear the possible punishment that we can receive either in this dunya or on judgement day. We fear calamity and not having enough Sabr. We fear accountability and being exposed. We fear losing blessings and loved ones because of sin. We could fear not achieving our goals and dreams. This is an essential part of our faith. How could we not be fearing Allah when everything is in his control.

Allah commands this level of fear directly in the Quran:

“فَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ”

“So fear Me if you are truly believers.” (Surah Al-Imran, 3:175)

Notice what Allah says: “If you are believers.” This level of fear isn’t optional.. it’s essential to your iman. Without this fear, you cannot truly be a mu’min. It is simply part of Islam.

How do you develop this fear? Read Ayat about punishment in the Quran. Reflect deeply on them. Read about Jahannam and its descriptions. Then sit with yourself and your sins and reflect on them.

Level 2: Fearing the “Makr” of Allah

This fear belongs to people who have tasted closeness.

If you have ever felt the sweetness of Iman – especially after tawbah – you start fearing something different. You fear becoming numb again or going back to that version of yourself that prayed without feeling, lived without purpose, and sinned continuously.

If you’ve ever felt that moment when your heart softened during dua, when tears flowed without forcing them – then you know exactly what this means. The fear of losing that sweetness becomes one of your greatest motivators to stay on the straight path.

Level 3: Fear of Allah because He is Allah

This is the highest level. Do you fear a lion because you’ve wronged it? No. You fear it because it’s powerful, majestic, and capable of doing whatever it wants. Its very nature commands fear and respect.

Similarly, you fear Allah because He is Allah. You fear Him for His perfect attributes – His absolute power, His complete knowledge, His total control over everything. This fear comes from recognising His magnificence, not from calculating your sins

Real fear makes you move

The Prophet ﷺ told us about the importance of fearing Allah

مَنْ خَافَ أَدْلَجَ، وَمَنْ أَدْلَجَ بَلَغَ الْمَنْزِلَ، أَلَا إِنَّ سِلْعَةَ اللَّهِ غَالِيَةٌ، أَلَا إِنَّ سِلْعَةَ اللَّهِ الْجَنَّةُ

Meaning: whoever truly fears, sets out early, and whoever sets out early reaches the destination. Truly, the commodity of Allah is precious. Truly, the commodity of Allah is Paradise.

Fear Allah wherever you are

اتَّقِ اللَّهَ حَيْثُمَا كُنْتَ، وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا، وَخَالِقِ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ

Fear Allah wherever you are; follow up a bad deed with a good one and it will erase it; and treat people with good character.

Fear Allah wherever you are – especially when nobody can see you.
And when you slip (because you will), don’t drown in guilt. Follow the sin with a good deed and wipe it away. Then treat people with beautiful character.

Even the angels

There’s a narration where the Prophet ﷺ asked about Mīkā’īl:

ما لي لا أرَى ميكائيلَ ضاحكًا قطُّ؟ قال: ما ضحِكَ ميكائيلُ منذُ خُلِقَتِ النَّارُ

“Why is it that I have never seen Mikha’il laugh at all?”
He said: “Mikha’il has not laughed since the Fire was created.”

Whats interesting is that Mikha’il and the angels are protected from sin and cannot disobey Allah. Yet they fear Allah more than we do..