Hawzah News Agency | Imam Ali, peace be upon him, advises us in Nahj al-Balagha:
«وَ لَا یَخَافَنَّ إِلَّا ذَنْبَهُ.»
“Let no one fear anything except his own sin.” (Wisdom no. 82)
Explanation:
A person’s only true hope and support, both in this world and in the Hereafter, is God. Therefore, the only thing one should fear is sin, because sin is precisely what separates a person from God.
Even if, hypothetically, we were to find ourselves in the fire of Hell, the true torment would be that very separation from God. Amir al-Mu’minin Imam Ali, peace be upon him, addressing Almighty God, expresses this profound truth:
«رَبّی صَبَرْتُ عَلی عَذابِکَ فَکَیْفَ اَصْبِرُ عَلی فِراقِکَ.»
“My Lord, even if I were to endure Your punishment, how could I endure being separated from You?” (Du'a al-Kumail)
On the Day when the only true possession a person will have is a sound heart—the heart that has been imbued with the fragrance and scent of God—we will understand clearly that the only thing we should have feared in this world was sin, and nothing else.
Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, says in this regard:
«مَا شَیْءٌ أَفْسَدَ لِلْقَلْبِ مِنَ اَلْخَطِیئَةِ إِنَّ اَلْقَلْبَ لَیُوَاقِعُ اَلْخَطِیئَةَ فَمَا تَزَالُ بِهِ حَتَّی تَغْلِبَ عَلَیْهِ.»
“Nothing corrupts the human heart as much as disobedience and sin. When the heart becomes stained by disobedience to God, it loses its strength until it is turned upside down.” (Amali (Shaikh al-Saduq), v. 1, p. 397)
A reversed heart—a heart that has become infused with the scent of sin and has been separated from God—will be of no use on that Day.
This is why the true believer fears neither the enemy—for he stands on the side of God and with God, and God is sufficient for him—nor the hardships and difficulties of this world—for he sees everything as coming from God, and whatever comes from the Beloved is good.
Therefore, the only thing that truly terrifies a sincere believer is separation from God and anything that causes that separation.
Thus, as Imam Ali, peace be upon him, has taught us, the only thing we should fear is our own sin—and nothing else.
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