Lose The Chain & Hold The Rope

By : Shaista Khurshid, Calgary Alberta

Fear, like any other emotion, is powerful. It can change our world in unimaginable forms, if not addressed properly. This emotion can be inherited, experienced or instilled by others easily. It is fear, which can force us to do things which we may not do in normal circumstances. It's dread of that deep fear which commits genocides and suicides. It is so strong that one can control masses of people through this emotion, (Example: Pharaoh & Moses) for generations.

Shaitan’s one of the strongest tools used to divert a believer, is fear. He does not instill fear of God, as he himself is very much fearful to Allah. He instills fear of poverty, loss, hunger, and more, to exert control over humans.

“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty.And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.”(2:268)

[The hypocrites are] like the example of Satan when he says to man, "disbelieve." but when he disbelieves, he says, "indeed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I fear Allah, lord of the worlds."(59:16)

Fear of anything creates bondage. It chains us down to a specific place, thought, system, notion, bias, or narrative, while hope and forgiveness frees us to think and choose. It expands our wings to explore and help us understand the right purpose to live, sincerely. Hope is a tool which helps us to open our wings and fly away.

Fear is systematically instilled either in the form of sudden hush or through slow poisoning of the mind. It can be instilled through lies, omitted truths, repetitions of un-factual data and propaganda. Whatever the way it gets in, the path to get it out is long and tedious. On the other hand, anyone who is fearless cannot be controlled easily. Having an open heart and mind can make one strong enough to combat fear. The opposite of fear is hope.

"And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favor of Allah upon you - when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favor, brothers. And you were on the edge of a pit of the Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus, does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be guided.”(103:3)

There are many times chains are created to trap us into systems, sins, or gaslight us into self-destructive thought processes. It also ensnares us to something which is designed to cause harm. This is an incredibly compelling way to control us. We should be wary of that, but also there are times when we chain ourselves too. We entrap ourselves to cultural or religious practices, belief systems, economic systems, and ideologies. This belief is enormously strong, that it holds us to the post. Where we are unable to see beyond. It controls us in such a way that we cannot move, think, or sometimes even breathe.

“Those who follow the messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So, they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him, and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful”-( 7:157)

Allah for Himself commands us to be wary of him. Fear him only with reverence and more, as He is the one who can do things. He is the Enabler of everything.

“That is only Satan who frightens [you] of his supporters. So, fear them not, but fear Me, if you are [indeed] believers.”(3:175)

Allah wants us to cut off all the chains, free ourselves from, fears, notions, narratives, biases and crooked thinking process and practices. Whether it comes from ourselves, environments, belief systems or cultures. At the same time hold the rope of Allah and keep it as a guide to navigate through life. In our lives and thinking, it's only Allah who should be feared. Fear Him with love, reverence and that He is all-mighty, He has power to do anything and everything. Understand that, shackles, ties, fears, or apprehensions hold us down; while Allah’s rope keeps us free to roam and explore our options. It helps us to choose for ourselves whatever is best for us, through the guidance Allah gave us. It raises us above to where Allah wants us to be and to the purpose He created us for.

“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”(56:51)

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash