What is the source of the saying about balancing a believer's fear and hope?
2026-10-14
T169 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete individual question and response within a collected question
One complete individual question and response from a collected question about reports circulated by storytellers and others. The quoted report in the question is presented for assessment, not endorsed. The answer gives Ibn Taymiyyah's own assessment.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
ومما يروون أيضا : "لو وزن خوف المؤمن ورجاؤه لاعتدلا".
الجواب
الحمد لله، هذا مأثور عن بعض السلف، وهو كلام صحيح.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Among the reports they also circulate is: “If the believer's fear and hope were weighed, they would balance.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah. This is transmitted from some of the early generations, and it is a sound statement.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/379
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic collated with the cited edition and a second transcription: https://quranislam.github.io/fatwa/ibn-taymiyyah/fatwa291.html. Each individual report and its full reply is preserved within the larger collected question. Diacritics omitted and honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.