Ar-Rajaa (hope) is the opposite of Al-Khawf (fear). Its meaning is the comtemplation of good things and the imminence (insha Allah) of their occuring. Sometimes, when accompanied by a negative, the same word is used to mean fear as in Allah's statement:
{Ma lakum la tarjoona lillahi waqaaran.}
{What is it with you that you do not fear of Allah His Greatness?} Nuh:13
Hope for Allah's mercy and reward, fear of His wrath and punishment and absolute love for Allah Most High are all vital parts if Iman. Allah and His Prophet (sas) have attributed all three of these to the best of mankind - Allah's messengers - and the righteous and believing among his slaves. Don't be confused by those who attempt to magnify love of Allah alone at the expense of the other two or even reject the other two as "crutches" for "beginners". All believers, even our Prophet (sas) and all of the prophets, fear Allah's punishment and have hope in His mercy. Allah said:
{Inna alladhina aamanoo wa alladhina haajaroo wa jaahadoo fiy sabeeli Allahi ulaa'ika yarjoona rahmata Allahi wa Allahu ghafoorun raheemun.}
{Those who believe and those who migrated and fought in the path of Allah hope for the mercy of Allah and Allah is extremely forgiving, very merciful.} Al-Baqarah:218
Here Allah mentions those who believed, made the obligatory migration from the land of disbelief to the land of belief and fought in jihad and that they have hope (look forward to) the mercy of Allah Most High. This verse was communicated regarding the military expedition of Abdullah ibn Jahsh after they said to the Prophet (sas): "Do we have hope that by being on this expedition that we wil receive the reward of those who fight in jihad?" And so Allah answered them that they have hope for great reward for their belief, their migration and their fighting in jihad.
A believer combines hope for Allah's mercy and fear of His punishment at the same time. By pondering the signs of Allah and the narrations of the Prophet (sas), we can keep these in proper balance. If we don't maintain contact with these teachings and these texts, shaitaan and his helpers will seek to divert us one way or the other depending on our personality.
If we neglect fear of Allah and distort and exaggerate the issue of hope in His mercy, then the result will be our subjugation to Shaitaan and to our own hawaa (desires and inclinations). Slavery to Allah will be lost as we become slaves to our own intellect, inclinations and desires. Historically, this deviation has been known as irjaa' (from the same root as rajaa) and the group was known as al-murji'a.
In a nutshell, their neglect of fear of Allah led them to make light of sinfulness and to believe that once one professes faith deeds are of no consequence and all will be forgiven by Allah. This was referred to by one of the early generations who said: "The first generation was as concerned that their good deeds would not be accepted as this generation is complacent that their bad deeds will be overlooked."
On the other hand, if we neglect hope in Allah's mercy and distort and exaggerate the issue of fear of Allah's punishment, we will transgress against ourselves and others. This will lead us to negate tauba (repentence) and to believe that everyone who sins a major sin is doomed and their is no hope for them. This was the program of the Khawaarij, one of the earliest deviant groups with which this Ummah was tested.
Clearly, this is not just history and both of these groups/trends have their descendents among today's Muslims. The following verse is an example of the joining and the balancing of these two vital elements of belief:
{Wa la tufsidoo fiy al-ardhi baada islaahiha wa d'oohu khaufan wa tama'an inna rahmata Allahi qareebun min al-muhsineen.}
{And make not corruption in the land after it has been made good and call to Him in fear and in desire. Verily the mercy of Allah is close to those who make good.} Al-A'raaf:56
Making corruption in the land means taking of lives, destroying crops, livlihood and houses. It also means turning away from obedience to Allah and failing to implement His shari'a (law) in the land. "After it has been made good" means after Allah has sent the messengers, sent the books and defined the laws. Call to Allah in fear of your actions not being accepted and your du'a not being answered and desire for Allah's acceptance and His answer to you du'a.
The mercy of Allah is always close to "those who make good". The word here is muhsineen. It comes from ahsana which is a causative form from hasan or "good". Therefore, the muhsineen are "those who make good". And they are: those who combine belief in Allah and belief in the unseen with performing all that is wajib upon them and avoiding all that is haram to them. They maintained consciousness and awareness of Allah and thereby made their actions good.
A believer hopes for and looks forward to the day of meeting his Lord. Allah said:
{Qul innamaa anaa basharun mithlukum yuhaa ilayya annamaa ilaahukum ilaahun waahidun. Fa man kana yarjoo liqaa'a rabbihi falya'mal 'amalan saalihan wa la yushrik bi 'ibaadati rabbihi ahadan.}
{Say: I am nothing but a man like yourselves it is communicated to me that your deity is one deity. So, whoever is hoping for his meeting with his Lord then let him do good deeds and not associate any other one in the worship of his Lord.} Al-Kahf:110
Hope in Allah's mercy is not a blind hope nor a hope not accompanied by effort. It must be accompanied by effort in the two areas mentioned in this verse:
After seeking this first-level goal which is:
Our consciousness will insha Allah be raised until we will increase in fear of our actions not being accepted and hope in Allah's mercy and reward. This will motivate us insha Allah to do more beyond the basic requirement such as more prayer than the five, more fasting than just Ramadhan, more giving than just zakat, etc. Allah said:
{Wa idhaa massa al-insaana dhurrun da'aa rabbahu muneeban ilaihi thumma idhaa khawwalahu ni'matan minhu nasiya ma kana yad'u ilaihi min qablu wa ja'ala lillahi andaadan li yudhilla 'an sabeelihi. Qul tamata' bi kufrika qaleelan innaka min ashaabi an-naari. (9)Amman huwa qaanitun aanaa'a al-laili saajidan wa qaa'iman yahdharu al-aakhirata wa yarjoo rahmata rabbihi. Qul hal yastawi alladhina ya'lamoona wa alladhina la ya'lamoona? Innama yatadhakkaru uloo al-albaabi.}
{And when a person is touched by some harm he calls his lord turning to Him in complete humility. Then, when He grants him something good from Him, he forgets the way he was calling to Him previously and ascribes partners to Allah that he may lead astray away from His path. Say: enjoy your disbelief for a little while. You are surely of the people of the fire. (9) [Is this one better] Or the one who is in submission in the hours of the night in prostration and standing fearful of the hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord. Say: Are those who know the same as those who do not know? Only those of sound intelligence will take heed.} Az-Zumar:9-10
At the end of these verses, we see that submission to Allah, love of Allah and worhip of Allah are not sufficient unless accompanied by knowledge. This knowledge comes from the Communication of Allah to this Ummah in its two parts: the Qur'an and the authentic Sunnah. If we neglect these two in our lives and fail to seek knowledge from them on an ongoing basis, we will become one of "those who do not know" and will not be one of "those of sound intelligence" who indeed take heed. As Allah said elsewhere:
{...Innamaa yakhshaa Allahi min 'ibaadihi al-'ulamaa...}
{It is only those who have knowledge among Allah's slaves who fear Him.} Faatir:28
Indeed, Allah has given us much to hope for. Although none of us could ever enter Paradise on our own merits, Allah has given us hope through His multiplication of our good deeds and overlooking our bad deeds that our efforts will be seen, our efforts will be multiplied and our efforts will be met with gratitude.
{Wa idhaa ra'ita thamma ra'ita na'eeman wa mulkan kabeeran. (20) 'Aaliyahum thiyaabu sundusin khudhrun wa istabraqun wa hulloo asaawira min fidh-dhatin wa saqaahum rabbuhum sharaaban tahooran. (21) Inna hadhaa kana lakum jazaa'an wa kana sa'yukum mashkooran.}
{And when you see there you see bounty and a great dominion. (20) Upon them are green robes of fine and heavy silk and they have been adorned with silver bracelets and their Lord has given them a pure drink. (21) This is for you a reward and your efforts have been met with gratitude.} Al-Insaan:20-22
By keeping our worship solely for Allah and maintaining consciousness and fear of Him, our position is for many of our sins to be met with forgiveness. The Prophet (sas) said:
"Yudnaa al-mu'minu yauma al-qiyamati min rabbihi hattaa yadha'u 'alaihi kanafahu fayuqarriruhu bidhunoobihi fayaqulu: a ta'rifu dhamba kadhaa? a ta'rifu dhamba kadhaa? Fayaqulu: Rabbi a'rifu Qaala: fa'inniy satartuhaa 'alaika fiy ad-dunya wa anaa aghfiruha laka al-yaum. Fa yu'taa saheefata hasanaatihi."
"A believer is brought near to his Lord on Qiyama until Allah places his covering on him and has him admit his sins. He says: Do you know such and such a sin? He answers: Lord, I acknowledge it. Then Allah says: Then I have concealed your sin for you in the world and I forgive it today. Then, he is given the list of his good deeds." Muslim & Bukhari
Inn Allah wa mala'ikatuhu yusalloona 'alaa an-nabiyy. Ya ayyuhaa alladhina aamanoo saloo 'alaihi wa sallimoo tasliman.
Allahuma ighfir dhunoobanaa wa dhunoob al-muslimeen wa adkhilnaa ma'a al-abraar. Allahumma ighfir li hayyinaa wa mayyitinaa wa shaahidinaa wa ghaa'ibinaa wa sagheerinaa wa kabeerinaa wa dhakarinaa wa unthaanaa. Allahuma man ahyaytahu minnaa ta ahyihi 'alaa al-Islami wa man tawaffaitahu minnaa fa tawaffahu 'alaa al-imaani. Allahumma la tahrimnaa ajranaa wa laa tudhillanaa ba'adahu.
Yaa ayyuhaa alladhina aamanoo inna Allaha ya'muru bi al-'adli wa al-ihsaani wa itaa'i dhi al-qurbaa wa yanhaa 'an al-fahshaa'i wa al-munkar wa al-baghyi. Fadhkur Allaha yadhkurkum washkuroo lahu wa laa takfuroon.