The Qur’ān (23:57-61) says: “Truly, those who stand in reverent awe of their Lord, and who believe in their Lord’s revelations, and who do not associate any partners with their Lord, and who give away whatever they have to give with their hearts filled with awe, knowing that to their Lord they shall certainly return: these vie with one another in doing good works, and they are the ones who are foremost in them.”
Believers worship Allah alone, do good deeds and remain apprehensive of what lies before them. They do not live a carefree life devoid of the fear of Allah, the Exalted. They live in awe of Him and are fully conscious that He oversees and watches them in all their motives and actions and they are thus deterred from thinking and doing evil. They are in awe over the fact that they will inevitably be returned to Allah, the Exalted. The two situations are in perfect contrast: a believer is alert, cautious and heeding the warnings, while an unbeliever is deep in ignorance, unaware of what lies ahead.
Though belief in the revelations itself ingrains the doctrine of oneness of Allah (Tauhid) in the hearts, yet the believers have been warned to guard against associating partners to Allah (shirk). “Who do not associate any partners with their Lord.” (Ayah 59) This is because, in spite of believing in the revelations, man is inclined to commit shirk in one form or the other, for instance, in exaggerating the teachings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and righteous people, supplicating and serving others than Allah, etc.
Faith affects our hearts, bringing in a special kind of refinement, sensitivity and aspiration to attain perfection. We see that believers are always in awe of their Lord, God-fearing, believing in His revelations and His signs, attributing no share of Godhead to anyone other than Him, fulfilling the duties He requires of them. Beyond all this, they “give away whatever they have to give with their hearts filled with awe, knowing that to their Lord they shall certainly return.” (Ayah 60) This is a manifestation of their feeling that they actually fall short of what they should do.
It is true that they have done their utmost, but they consider it far from adequate. They serve their Lord and try their best to obey Him and do righteous deeds, but all along they remain humble in their hearts and are not puffed up with the pride of their piety. In spite of all our good deeds, our hearts should always be filled with awe that we shall have to render an account to our Lord, and we are not sure whether we will come out successful in the judgement of our Lord or not. A concrete interpretation of this ayah is offered by Umar (may Allah be pleased be him). Although he served Allah in a way exemplary yet he was so afraid of accountability to Him the he is reported to have said before death: I shall consider a favour, if I am neither rewarded nor punished in the hereafter. Hasan Basari has expressed the same thing in a beautiful manner: A believer obeys Allah and is yet fearful of Him, and a hypocrite disobeys Allah and is yet fearless of Him.
Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that she asked Allah’s Messenger ﷺ about this ayah, saying: “Does the expression ‘those who give away whatever they have to give with their hearts filled with awe…’ refer to people who may steal, commit adultery and drink intoxicants but fear Allah?” He said: “No. It refers to a person who offers prayers, fasts, gives away to charity and at the same time fears Allah.” (Tirmidhi)
A believer senses Allah’s care and feels His favours with his every breath and heartbeat. Hence, he thinks that whatever he offers of and good action is too little by comparison. At the same time, every brain in a believer feels Allah’s greatness and power. With all his faculties he perceives how Allah, the Exalted, regulates everything around him. Hence, he stands in awe of Him. He dreads meeting Allah, the Exalted, for fear of having fallen short of fulfilling his duties towards Him, or not having given Him what is due to Him of worship and gratitude.
We must vie with one another in doing what is good. We should be the ones who hasten to do good deeds, and are in the lead among those who do good. Our watchful eyes, alert hearts and minds should prompt us to do what is required of us. Thus, ours will be a totally different situation from the others who are lost in ignorance, thinking that Allah’s blessings are given to them because they are favoured. They are no better than game animals rushing towards bait. Such people are everywhere: they are overwhelmed with what they are given of life’s comforts, distracted from their duties, full of their own importance. But then they only wake up to their fate when it is too late.