SAEDNEWS: Can it be said explicitly that believing in God is rooted in fear of the punishment intended for those who disobey Him? If faith is based on such fear, does it truly have any value?
According to Saednews, The roots of faith in God are reason and human nature. However, materialists argue that the root of belief in God is fear. In other words, when a person feels helpless in the face of events and encounters a painful or frightening situation, they imagine a powerful being in their mind and seek refuge in Him. Based on this reasoning, materialists consider faith to be a product of fear.
Their mistake, however, is that they do not distinguish between turning toward God in times of fear and the fundamental origin of belief in God. For example, when we see a dog and feel threatened, we may look for a stone to protect ourselves. But can we say that the existence of the stone is caused by the dog? Likewise, when we are in a state of fear or desperation, we turn toward God. Does that mean that the fundamental belief in God is itself the product of fear?
Those who believe merely because of fear and desperation have no genuine spiritual value in their faith.
Before answering this question, it is necessary to mention an important point. God has equipped human beings with various powers and abilities and has given them different talents so that these may help them on the path of perfection, which is the purpose of creation. In this respect, human beings are similar to plants and other living creatures, which have been given the powers and instincts necessary to reach their natural objectives.
The difference is that human beings make decisions through their own will and freely choose their course, whereas animals and plants move toward their purposes without conscious choice. Therefore, the upward journey of human perfection cannot be compared with that of other living creatures. From the perspective of creation and nature, God has equipped human beings with reason, abilities, and the necessary powers to follow this straight path.
On the other hand, God sent prophets with divine revelation, sufficient teachings, and the laws needed by humanity. Their mission was to distinguish the right path from the wrong one and, through various forms of guidance, encourage people to follow the right path and keep them away from deviant ways.
As stated in verse 12 of Surah Al-Layl:
“Indeed, guidance is Our responsibility.”
Then, because there are many paths of deviation, God warns humanity and says:
“And some of the paths are deviant.”
(Surah An-Nahl, 16:9)
Several Qur’anic verses indicate that if God had wished, He could have guided all people by force. For example:
“Have the believers not yet realized that if Allah had willed, He could have guided all people?”
(Surah Ar-Ra‘d, 13:31)
And:
“Had He willed, He could have guided you all.”
(Surah An-Nahl, 16:9)
And:
“Had your Lord willed, everyone on earth would have believed, all together.”
(Surah Yunus, 10:99)
Through such compulsion—whether internal or external—God could have forced even the stubborn deniers to accept faith, because He has power over all things and nothing is difficult for His power.
Yet He never does so, because forced faith has no real value and lacks the spirituality and transformative quality necessary for human perfection. Since the blessing of free will and the ability to choose are among the most important factors in human development, Almighty God created human beings as beings capable of choice. He did not impose guidance upon them, because forced guidance is neither an achievement nor a form of perfection.
Instead, He gave human beings freedom so that they could walk this path by their own choice and reach the highest level of perfection.
With this introduction in mind, we can now address the main question.
The Qur’an states that those who believe because of fear and desperation do not possess meaningful faith.
For example, in Surah Yunus, verse 96, God says:
“Indeed, those against whom the word of your Lord has come to pass will never believe.”
These are the people who reject the divine signs, and their ultimate destination is nothing but Hell, because they have lost the capital of their happiness—which is faith. Thus, they will not believe:
“until they see the painful punishment.”
(Surah Yunus, 10:97)
When they see the punishment, they will certainly believe, but such forced faith, arising from fear, is of no benefit.
Thus, according to verses 94–97 of Surah Yunus, every human being will ultimately possess faith—whether voluntary or forced. The difference is that voluntary faith is accepted by God and guides a person toward happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Forced faith, which comes only after witnessing divine punishment, is neither accepted by Almighty God nor capable of saving a person from his suffering.
Verse 52 of Surah Saba also conveys the same meaning: believing out of desperation and fear at the moment of death, when a person witnesses divine punishment, has no value.
For this reason, elsewhere in the Qur’an we read:
“They are certainly lying. If they were sent back, they would return to the very things they had been forbidden from.”
(Surah Al-An‘am, 6:28)
The Qur’an presents Pharaoh as a clear example of someone who believed only out of fear.
Almighty God says:
“...until, when drowning overtook him, he said: ‘I believe that there is no deity except the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am among those who submit.’”
When Pharaoh finds himself surrounded by the waves of the Nile and realizes that death is approaching moment by moment, he says, “I believe.”
Obviously, however, this kind of belief is the type that any criminal or sinner may claim when faced with imminent death. It has no genuine spiritual value and does not demonstrate personal development, good intentions, or sincerity.
Therefore, God responds to him:
“Now you believe, while you had disobeyed before and were among the corrupters?”
For this reason, it is often seen that when the waves of calamity subside and people escape death, they return to their former ways.
A similar idea appears in the poetry and writings of both Arab and Persian literary figures, such as:
Anta wa ḥiyāḍ al-mawti baynī wa baynahā
Wa jādat bi-waṣlin ḥīna lā yanfaʿu al-waṣl
Meaning:
“She came to me while the waves of death stood between us; she became ready for union at a time when union was of no benefit.”
There is another interpretation of the original question: Does worship performed out of fear have any value?
In response, it should be said that the servants of God worship Him in three different ways.
Some worship God in hope of reward.
Some worship Him out of fear of Hell.
Some worship God out of love and devotion to Him.
Imam Ja‘far al-Sadiq is reported to have said:
“Servants are of three kinds: some worship Almighty God out of fear, and that is the worship of slaves; some worship God in pursuit of reward, and that is the worship of hired workers; and some worship Almighty God out of love for Him, and that is the worship of the free. This is the best form of worship.”
Although the first and second forms of worship are not as virtuous as the third, God expects His servants to reach a level of spiritual perfection where they worship Him because He is worthy of worship.
Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (Imam Sajjad) is reported to have said:
“I do not like to worship God merely out of fear of His punishment, because in that case I would be like a disobedient servant who does nothing unless he is afraid...”
Nevertheless, such people are still rewarded and receive divine recompense.
