I completely agree that a good position to take is the balanced one, because Allah motivates us with both fear of Hell and hope for Jannah. But what is even better is a position that is biased towards the Rahmah of Allah, since His Mercy is greater than His Judgement. As scholars say, if Allah took into account everything we have ever done, we would all be in Hell. But He is Exceedingly Merciful, and He forgives when we repent. He rewards us even if we think of doing a good deed, but will not punish us for thinking about a bad deed. On the contrary, He will reward us for thinking about a sin and not doing it! So clearly, the good outweighs the bad. Rahmah is where our focus should be, and it is easy to take that position when our default attitude everyday is that of love and compassion.

This is my opinion, of course. An opinion that has been formed thanks to imams, parents, relatives, and khateebs that want to scare you into being a good Muslim. I cannot tell you how many times I have been screamed at from the pulpit (which is against adab), been told to wear my pants above my ankles otherwise my salah is not counted (difference of opinion anyway). I’ve been told to push my cap up so that my forehead is exposed, otherwise my salah is not counted (never came across any evidence personally). Did anyone care to teach me the purpose of salah, and what it means to be close to Allah and to love Him? No. All they tell you is what’s haraam and what’s even more haraam. When I was a kid, the imams announced that all children are to be sent to the back to pray, away from his father, and still do. Why would a child ever want to come to a masjid after that? Only Allah in His Compassion guides His slave, even when others have misguided him, alienated him, and pushed him away. Thank you, I want to print this article out and stick it on the door of every masjid.

*We have certainly created man in the best of stature;
Then We return him to the lowest of the low,..
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, for they will have a reward uninterrupted.
So what yet causes you to deny the Recompense?
At Tin 4-7

Hence our beginnings are humbling and this is a reminder to us when we are arrogant and forgetful and consider ourselves self sufficientThen We return him to the lowest of the low,..
However I agree with the negative tone used because even though our beginnings are despicable by the Mercy of Allah we have been made into something so fascinating that even after centuries of medicine the end product from the despicable fluid is not yet understood. How grateful should we be to our Creator?
We have certainly created man in the best of stature;
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds, for they will have a reward uninterrupted.
So what yet causes you to deny the Recompense?
At Tin 4-7

WA. Alaikum assalam Hafsah,
Yes I am a Psychiatrist. I have taken interest in the cross roads between Islamic spirituality and psychology although I am not sure if there is anything contemporary written about the topic. I do believe that we will find a lot more about the topic in the books of Ibn Al Qayim and imam Al Ghazali, but I don’t have specific readings to suggest at this point. JAK for the kind comments and for stopping by.

If I had not read this post, I would say “No hijab, tskk, tsk,,,,”

I believe this dawah style is the way Shaitan wants it because it discourages people and makes them think they aren’t good enough for Allah SWT
“And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?”