What Is the Ruling on Faith Motivated by Fear?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

What is the Islamic stance on Pascal’s Wager? If somebody truly believes in the religion out of fear of Hell, are they really considered a believer?

If somebody goes their whole life only believing in Islam out of fear of Hell, are they truly a Muslim?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

You have asked two important questions. Let us look at each one separately.

Let us begin with the second question, as it brings reassurance. Yes, someone who believes out of fear of Hell is a believer. Faith is what the heart affirms, regardless of the feelings that may come with it.

The first question needs some explanation, as Pascal’s Wager is often misunderstood.

What Pascal Actually Argued

Pascal held that reason cannot settle whether God exists, so he treated the matter as a bet no one can decline. If God exists, wagering for God gains an infinite reward against a finite stake, and the bet is therefore worth making at any probability above zero.

The decisive point is what he was not arguing. Set against Anselm, Aquinas, and Descartes, whose arguments “purport to prove that God exists,” the Stanford Encyclopedia notes: “Pascal’s project, then, is radically different.

He aims to show that we ought to believe in God, rather than that God exists. And he seeks to provide prudential reasons rather than evidential reasons for believing in God.” [Hajek, “Pascal’s Wager,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

Pascal’s Wager is about whether it is rational to believe, not about whether belief is true. This is an important distinction.

Why a Bet Is Not Faith

Faith, in our tradition, is the heart’s confirmation (tasdiq) of what the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) brought from Allah.

Imam Bajuri defines it as the confirmation to all that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) brought that is necessarily known of the religion, and he is careful about what that assent means: acceptance and submission, not the bare notion that he spoke truly held without acceptance.

Otherwise, he notes, we would have to call believers those who knew the truth of his prophethood and rejected it out of obstinacy. [Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid]

The Maturidi imams say the same. Abu al-Muin al-Nasafi holds that faith is tasdiq, that this confirmation of the heart is the reality of the faith owed to Allah, and that the tongue’s affirmation is what lets the rulings of Islam run upon a person among people. [Abu al-Muin al-Nasafi, Tabsirat al-Adilla]

A bet is a choice made in uncertainty. It may lead someone to pray, to spend time with believers, or to listen to words of faith. Even Pascal recognized that belief cannot simply be chosen, and suggested starting by acting as if one believes.

But a bet cannot create true faith. Faith is not a policy or a strategy. It is the heart’s recognition of truth.

The Wager may encourage someone to seek out faith, but it is not faith itself. Pascal did not present it as proof that faith is true.

Our Belief Rests on Proof, Not on Odds

Here is the key difference. Pascal says that reason cannot decide. In Islam, we do not accept this. Our tradition affirms that reason can know the truth.

Imam Bajuri states the proof plainly: the world originated, and everything that originated must have an originator. [Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid] The steps beneath it are these. Bodies carry qualities that visibly change — motion after stillness, color appearing and altering, things coming to be and passing away.

What changes in that manner is originated; bodies are never free of such qualities; and what is inseparable from the originated is itself originated. So the world originated. And it cannot have brought itself about, for its existence and its non-existence stood equal, and no side of an even balance tips without something to tip it. [Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid]

This is the settled method of the theologians, and the Quran points to it: “Verily in the creation of the heavens and earth and the alternation of night and day are a multitude of mighty signs for those of insight and mind: Those who make remembrance of Allah standing and sitting and on their sides at rest, and who reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth: ‘Our Lord, You have not created all this in vain.’” [Quran 3:190–191; Keller, The Quran Beheld]

Notice that the verse points to the alternation of night and day. It is change itself that is the basis of the proof.

Fear Is Not a Defect

Now, let us address what may be troubling you. You may think that faith held out of fear is somehow lesser. It is not. Fear of Allah is a praiseworthy quality, and the Quran connects it to knowledge, not to weakness. What is discouraged is not fear itself, but fear without hope. Despair is what is warned against.

The believer walks between the two: hope and fear.

A weak motive does not take away from true faith. If your heart affirms that Allah is One and that Muhammad is His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), you are a believer. Whether your faith is surrounded by fear, hope, love, or habit, it remains valid.

What to Do

Do not spend your life worrying about your motives. This is not the path the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) taught us.

Instead, do two things. Learn the proofs, so your faith is based on knowledge and certainty. And keep the company of those whose love for Allah grows, and practice what increases love, so that fear is balanced with hope. The One you fear is the One who wrote for Himself, before creating creation, ‘My mercy has outstripped My wrath.’ [Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

Faith that begins in fear and matures into love

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

SeekersGuidance Answers

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Shaykh Faraz Rabbani is a recognized specialist scholar in the Islamic sciences, having studied under leading scholars from around the world. He is the Founder and Executive Director of SeekersGuidance.

Shaykh Faraz stands as a distinguished figure in Islamic scholarship. His journey in seeking knowledge is marked by dedication and depth. He spent ten years studying under some of the most revered scholars of our times. His initial studies took place in Damascus. He then continued in Amman, Jordan.

In Damascus, he was privileged to learn from the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas. Shaykh Adib al-Kallas was renowned as the foremost theologian of his time. Shaykh Faraz also studied under Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi in Damascus. Shaykh Hassan is recognized as one of the leading Hanafi jurists of our era.

Upon completing his studies, Shaykh Faraz returned to Canada in 2007. His return marked a new chapter in his service to the community. He founded SeekersGuidance. The organization reflects his commitment to spreading Islamic knowledge. It aims to be reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible. This mission addresses both online and on-the-ground needs.

Shaykh Faraz is also an accomplished author. His notable work includes “Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School.” This book, published by White Thread Press in 2004, is a significant contribution to Islamic literature.

His influence extends beyond his immediate community. Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been recognized as one of the 500 most influential Muslims. This recognition comes from the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center. It underscores his impact on the global Islamic discourse.

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani’s life and work embody a profound commitment to Islamic scholarship. His teachings continue to enlighten and guide seekers of knowledge worldwide.

«النصوص»

[الباجوري، تحفة المريد على جوهرة التوحيد]
«وبالجملة: فالإيمان شرعًا: هو التصديق بجميع ما جاء به النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ممّا عُلم من الدين بالضرورة»، و«المراد بتصديق النبي في ذلك: الإذعانُ لما جاء به والقبولُ له، وليس المرادُ وقوعَ نسبةِ الصدق إليه في القلب من غير إذعان وقبول له».

[الباجوري، تحفة المريد — دليل الحدوث]
«العالَمُ حادث، وكلُّ حادث لا بُدَّ له من مُحدِث».

[البخاري ومسلم]
«إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى كَتَبَ كِتَابًا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ الْخَلْقَ: إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي سَبَقَتْ غَضَبِي فَهُوَ مَكْتُوبٌ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ».