The Three Pillars of worship: Fear, Hope, and Love
May Allâh have mercy on him, one of the Salaf said,
"Whoever worships Allâh only with love is a heretic.
Whoever worships Allâh only with fear is a Harûrî (Khârijî).
Whoever worships Allâh only with hope is a Murji.
Whoever worships Allâh with love, fear, and hope is a Muwahhid Mu'min."1
Ibnu Rajab al-Hanbalî (795H) Rahimahullâh said,
"It is known that worship is only founded upon three fundamentals: Fear, hope, and love. Each of these is an unavoidable compulsion, and bringing all three together is a definite obligation. For this reason, the Salaf would condemn those who worship with only one of these while neglecting the others. For, the innovation of the Khârijites and those like them only occurred from going to extremes with regards to fear and turning away from love and hope. The Murji'ah's innovation emerged from clinging on to hope alone turning away from fear. The innovation of most of those who ascribed themselves to worship consisting of those who consider everything permissible and the people of Hulûl emerged from singling out love while turning away from fear and hope.
Speaking regarding love and delving into speech regarding it -which in reality does not have an atoms weight of significance- increased among the latter-day scholars who ascribe themselves to Sulûk (journeying along the spiritual path). For these speeches are devoid of deductions from the Book and the Sunnah and are void of the speech of the Salaf of the Ummah and the leading Imams."2
Muhammad bin Abd'il Wahhâb (1206H) Rahimahullâh said,
"You (alone) we worship." (al-Fâtihah, 1/4)
Meaning, "I worship You O Lord with what has preceded of these three; with Your love, Your hope, and Your fear."
Hence, these three are the pillars of worship, directing them to other than Allâh is Shirk.
In addition, in these three pillars, there is the refutation to those who adhere to only one of the three, such as those who adhere only with love, adhere only with hope, or adhere only with fear. Whoever directs one of them to other than Allâh is a Mushrik.
Amongst the benefits of this Sûrah is the refutation to the three groups, which each of them adheres to only one of these three pillars (of Ibâdah). Such as the one who worships Allâhu Taâlâ only with love. Likewise, is the one who worships Allâh only with hope as in the case of the Murji'ah. Likewise, is the one who worships Allâh only with fear as in the case of the Khawârij.3
1- Majmû'u Fatâwâ Shaykh'il Islâm Ahmad Ibni Taymiyyah, 10/81; Ibn'ul Qayyim, Badâ'i'ul Fawâ'id, Dâr'ul Kitâb'il Arabî, 3/11; Ibnu Abi'l Izz, Sharh'ul Aqîdat'it Tahâwiyyah, Wazârat'ush Shu'ûn'il Islâmiyyah, p. 313.
2- Majmû'u Rasâ'il Ibni Rajab, 3/292.
3- Some Benefits of Sûrat'ul Fâtihah.
