Praise be to Allah, who saved us from being servants to servants by sending the creed of tawḥīd; blessings and peace be upon His Messenger who worked day and night to lead people to servitude (to Allah) and civilization; and peace upon all Muslims who strive to revive the civilization established by our Master…
After explaining three of the causes of our Ummah’s collapse - one of them being laziness - together with the twelve reasons that lead to laziness and brief solutions for each, we can now move on to the remaining causes.
4 – Fear of Death and the Loss of Courage
Fear of death, like the first three causes, has been an important reason for the collapse of our Ummah. In the ḥadīth of “wahn”- whose text we quoted earlier - the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“A time will come when nations will band together against you just as guests gather around a dish of food.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, is it because we will be few on that day?” He replied, “No. You will indeed be many, but you will be like the scum carried by a torrent. Allah will remove fear of you from the hearts of your enemies, and will cast wahn into your hearts.” They asked, “What is wahn, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Love of the worldly life and hatred of death.”1
Because this prophetic report about the future of the Ummah came true, the ḥadīth is among the miracles that prove the Messenger (saw) is indeed the Messenger of Allah. The attack foretold in the ḥadīth took place and the Muslims were fragmented. At that time the Prophet pointed out the real cause of this weakness among the Muslims, wishing to prevent our internal and external enemies from keeping us preoccupied with matters that are not the true cause but only seem to be so. According to the ḥadīth, the real cause is neither small numbers nor material reasons such as poverty; it is spiritual - love of the world and fear of death. Those who love the world and fear death have not done, and could not do, what they should for Allah’s sake; thus the Ummah weakened. The enemy perceived this, did not miss this historic opportunity, attacked, and divided us.
While showing the real causes, the ḥadīth also shows the solution: there is no remedy other than removing love of the world and fear of death from hearts. Our educational programs must be designed accordingly, in a way that will save us from these two microbes. True treatment always eliminates the microbe; once the microbe is eradicated, the body will rally and - by Allah’s permission and help - will recover. I previously explained the first of these two microbes, love of the world, and how to rid oneself of it, proving - by examining three types of people - that love of the world is a cause separate from laziness. Now we need to analyze whether fear of death and love of the world are the same thing, and whether fear of death should be counted as an independent cause. To do so, we must answer three questions:
Is fear of death the result of love of the world?
Is love of the world the result of fear of death?
Is fear of death a cause separate from love of the world?
To find the correct answers, we should consider three kinds of people:
Those who fear death because they love the world,
Those who love the world yet do not fear death,
Those who do not love the world yet still fear death.
If everyone feared death because they loved the world, as in the first category, we could say “fear of death is the result of love of the world” and claim that fear of death is not a separate cause. But - as in the second category - there are many people who love the world yet do not fear death and fulfill their duties. This shows that love of the world does not cause everyone to fear death; thus, we cannot say fear of death always results from love of the world. Conversely, as in the third category, there are people who do not love the world yet still fear death. Therefore, not loving the world does not make everyone brave in the face of death. In conclusion, although they are related, love of the world and fear of death are two distinct causes.
The Qur’an, speaking of Jews who shrank from jihād and neglected their duty out of fear of death, says in Sūrat al‑Māʾidah:
“O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has decreed for you, and do not turn back, or you will be losers.” They said, “O Moses, there is indeed a tyrannical people in it. We will never enter it until they leave. If they leave, then we will enter.” Two men from among those who feared (Allah) - whom Allah had favored - said, “Enter upon them through the gate; for when you enter it you will surely prevail. And put your trust in Allah if you are believers.” They said, “O Moses, we will never enter it so long as they are in it. So you and your Lord go and fight; we will stay right here.” Moses said, “My Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother; so separate us from the rebellious people.” Allah said, “It is forbidden to them for forty years; they will wander aimlessly through the earth. So do not grieve over the rebellious people.”2
Those who feared death, disobeyed the command, avoided jihād, and said, “O Moses, there is a tyrannical people there; we will never enter” were punished by Allah with forty years of bewildered wandering in the Desert of Tih, not knowing what to do, going back and forth. The noble banner was taken from the Israelites, who feared death so much that they said, “You and your Lord go and fight,” and it was given to this Ummah.
Although the Prophet (saw) foretold in the above ḥadīth that this disease found among the Israelites would one day arise in his Ummah - causing them to lose strength, suffer weakness, and be devastated by enemy assaults - our Ummah failed to take the necessary precautions to keep this microbe from entering the body, and what was foretold came to pass.
In the verses we examined, it is reported that two men from among those Israelites who feared death said: “Enter upon them through the gate; when you enter, you will surely prevail.” Some scholars say these two were among those who feared Allah, but the apparent meaning of the verse indicates they, too, were initially afraid yet, thanks to Allah’s favor, overcame their fear and spoke so bravely. Thus, although fear of death is innate in everyone, it can be suppressed to a level that does not hinder fulfilling one’s duty. Faith can eliminate this weakness.
In another narration, the Prophet (saw) stated that courage is a gift from Allah, granted to whom He wills, hinting that it will be given to those who truly believe. What is required of Muslims is not to feel no fear at all, but that this fear not exceed fear of Allah or prevent them from performing their duty. Although overcoming fear is partly a matter of willpower, where willpower ends, faith intervenes. At a point where even a strong‑willed person is afraid and holds back, a Muslim with weak willpower but strong faith will not fear and will perform his duty.
Not fearing death - or, rather, keeping that fear at an acceptable level - can be achieved through faith as well as believing that one’s appointed time of death (ajal) is fixed. Indeed, ajal is one and unchangeable. Therefore, a person should think about his duty, not about his death. The proverb “Fear does not avert death” also intends to convey the fact that ajal is fixed and unalterable. Belief that ajal is single grants a person courage. Cowardice does not prolong life, nor does courage shorten it. Hypocrites believe in two ajals. Regarding Muslims who set out for battle and were martyred, the Qur’an says:
“O you who believe, do not be like the disbelievers who say of their brothers, when they travel through the land or go out to fight, ‘If they had been with us, they would not have died or been killed,’ so that Allah may make that a regret in their hearts. It is Allah who gives life and causes death. Allah sees what you do.”3
Thus the Qur’an reports the hypocrites’ words and then states, “Allah gives life and causes death.” Hence, it is Allah who kills, not travel or battle. The Qur’an also says:
“They are those who stayed behind and said of their brothers, ‘Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed.’ Say, ‘Then ward off death from yourselves if you are truthful.’”4
That is, staying at home will not save you from death; these are not precautions against death, only cowardice. And again:
“They said, ‘If we had had a say in the matter, we would not have been killed here.’ Say, ‘Even if you had been in your homes, those for whom killing was decreed would have gone forth to their deathbeds.’”5
So the inner state of the hypocrites is described, and it is said: staying in your homes would not have extended your life; when your appointed time comes, you will be taken to the place where you will die and will die there at that very moment. Sūrat an‑Naḥl likewise states:
“When their appointed time arrives, they cannot delay it for a single hour, nor can they advance it.”6
In a ḥadīth listing the seven grave sins, one of them is fleeing from the battlefield. Hence, fear of death is not accepted as an excuse, and a person who does so becomes deserving of Hell. We must not regard as excuses for ourselves those pretexts that Allah ʿAzza wa‑Jall will not accept on the Day of Resurrection.
We shall continue on this topic, in shāʾ Allah… May Allah keep you in His care.
1. Abū Dāwūd, 4/483
2. Sūrat al‑Māʾidah 21‑26
3. Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 156
4. Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 168
5. Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 154
6. Sūrat an‑Naḥl 61
