With heart afraids
(137) It is related by Ayesha that once she enquired from the Prophet about the Quranic verse, And those who give that which they give with hearts afraid, (xxiii : 60) whether it referred to people who drank and committed theft “No”, the prophet replied. “O daughter of my Siddiq [the truthful one] ! [It indicates] the God-fearing men who observe fasting, offer regular prayers and give aims, and pay the poor-due, and, even then, fear that their deeds of worship may not find acceptance [with God]. These are the men who hasten towards good-doing.”
-Tirmidhi and Ibn-i-Maja
Commentary.-In verse 57-60 of Sura-i-Mominoon, a few qualities are described of the bondmen who move with haste towards good and virtuous things, and one of the distinguishing traits that have been set forth, in this context, is that they are those who give that which they give with hearts afraid. It was about this verse that Hazrat Ayesha had enquired from the Prophet. She wanted to know whether it was with regard to men who fell into error but were not impudent, and, in spite of sinfulness, there was the fear of God in their hearts. The Prophet replied that the verse did not refer to them but to such people who were devout and God-fearing and observed the duties of prayer, fasting and charity regularly and yet felt uneasy about the outcome of their acts. After alluding to this attribute of the right-minded men, the Quran tells that it is they who race for the good things and they shall win them in the race. By reciting the last of these verses, too, in the course of his reply to Hazrat Ayesha, the Prophet has emphasised that this very fear and anxiety shall lead to the success and felicity of the Hereafter.
It also tells that the Power, Glory and Anger of the Lord and His absolute freedom from standing in need of anyone or anything are worthy of being feared to the extent that one should not feel satisfied after performing even the highest act of virtue and worship but remain apprehensive of one's deed being rejected by God due to some fault or imperfection. The more this fear will be present in the heart, the more will the progress be made towards goodness and deliverance.
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