Fear is a natural instinct experienced by both human beings and animals. It is an emotion that is felt in the presence of severe difficulties or danger, like when confronted by an enemy who must be fought or fled from. This emotion exists to cause a person or animal to behave appropriately when faced with danger.

Fear is with a person from the time that he is born. It keeps him from falling off the bed at night or falling into deep water. It prevents him from burning himself in a fire and it causes him to flee from those who would mean him harm.

Allah mentions this natural fear in the Qur’ân when He talks about one of the greatest of His Prophets and Messengers - Moses (peace be upon him).

Allah, when relating to us the various stories of Moses (peace be upon him) in the Qur’ân, mentions how Moses (peace be upon him) felt fear on many occasions in his life. For instance, after he killed the Copt, Moses (peace be upon him) became fearful while in the city, looking about in a state of fear.

He then went to Madyan and remained there for a while, after which he traveled with his family. While traveling, he perceived a fire in the direction of the mountain. He heard a voice and saw the fire and turned back in retreat, not retracing his steps. Allah said to him: “O Moses! Draw close and do not fear.” [Sûrah al-Qasas: 31] Allah also said to him: “O Moses! Fear not. Truly in My presence those sent as Messengers do not fear.” [Sûrah al-Naml: 10]

Allah commanded Moses (peace be upon him) to go to Pharaoh with His Message. Moses said: “O my Lord! I fear that they will charge me with falsehood and my breast will become strained and my speech will fail me, so send unto Aaron.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 12-13]

When he was together with Aaron (peace be upon him), they both said: “Our Lord! We fear lest he hastens with insolence against us or lest he transgresses all bounds.” [Sûrah TâHâ: 45]

Allah replied to them with: “Fear not. I am with you, hearing and seeing.” [Sûrah TâHâ: 46]

When Moses (peace be upon him) went to Pharaoh and conveyed to him the Message of his Lord, one of the things that he said to him was: “So I had fled from you when I feared you, so my Lord has since invested me with judgment and appointed me as one of His Messengers.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 21]

The fear that Allah mentions to us as being experienced by Moses (peace be upon him) is the natural fear that all people experience. It is not something shameful or blameworthy. We can see how, after he had this feeling of fear, Allah brought about from it something good: “So I had fled from you when I feared you, so my Lord has since invested me with judgment and appointed me as one of His Messengers.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 21]

Fear is a natural part of our human makeup. It is part of all of us. If it stays within proper limits, it is a good thing. Like our need for nourishment, sleep, and marriage, it is one of our natural human deficiencies that make us what we are. These things, though aspects of our deficiency in an absolute sense, are part of our human perfection that show our dependency for our Lord.

To understand this we can look at the example of sleep. Our need to sleep is a sign of our deficiency in an absolute sense. This is why Allah says about Himself: “Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep.” [Sûrah al-Baqarah: 225] Nevertheless, if we see a person who is incapable of sleeping, we will not consider his insomnia an aspect of his perfection. Indeed, he will be going to a doctor for treatment to remedy the problem. It is true that a person who is completely unable to sleep will die on account of it.

Fear, like sleep, is a deficiency in the absolute sense, because it is a result of one of two human frailties. The first of these is ignorance. A person fears what he does not know. Consider a farmer who is used to a certain way of farming and only knows this one way of cultivating his land and is only familiar with the tools that he has used all his life. If we introduce to him a completely new and improved way of farming his land that is more economical and that produces higher yields, he will find it difficult to accept it. The reason is that the new methods and the new tools are completely unknown to him.

The same can be said for a merchant who knows of only one manner of engaging in commercial activity and is only used to dealing with a certain type of commodity. Even if what he is selling does not earn him enough to meet his overhead, he may find it difficult to branch out into something else more lucrative that is new and unknown to him.

Likewise, people who have not encountered the light of true guidance from their Lord often fear what surrounds them. This has sometimes led people to turn in worship to things like the Sun, the Moon, the stars, or fire. These were things that they feared as a result of their ignorance, so they turned to these things in worship because they did not have Allah’s guidance to avail them.

The other aspect of human frailty that induces fear is inability. People fear what they are incapable of coping with or confronting.

The human being was created weak, ignorant, and in need. He is completely dependent on his Lord and cannot exist on his own for a moment. Therefore, fear is praiseworthy with respect to the human being as long as it is kept within its proper limits. It incites people to action and calls them to attain a higher level of completeness. Allah has made fear like a whip that drives people onward to greater perfection. They are motivated in this way to seek knowledge or to act upon the knowledge that they possess.

Allah says, speaking about Himself: “So their Lord, on account of their crime, obliterated their traces and made them equal (in destruction). And for Him is no fear of the consequences.” [Sûrah al-Shams: 14-15]

What does this verse mean? Though there are three views on this matter, the most correct interpretation is that Allah does not fear the consequences of His actions or any reprisals from His Creation. Everything is Allah’s Creation. He destroyed that oppressive nation and feared no consequences as a result of doing so. This is the interpretation of these verses given by Ibn `Abbâs and al-Hasan al-Basrî and it is the interpretation favored by Ibn Kathîr in his commentary on the Qur’ân.

Likewise, Allah mentions that the inhabitants of Paradise will feel no fear. Fear for them has come to an end. They only experience hope and love. This is proof that fear is a natural deficiency of man. Since the causes of fear will have ended for the people of Paradise, they will never again have occasion to fear. Allah shall say to them: “Enter Paradise. No fear shall be on you nor shall you grieve.” [Sûrah al-A`râf: 49]

Fear and sorrow will be at an end for them. They will still hope for an increase of Allah’s grace upon them, and this grace and the love of Allah for them will never come to an end.