Anxiety can certainly result from deep contemplation of religious matters, especially existential questions like those which relate to God, the vastness and limitlessness of His attributes, death, accountability after death, and so on. Anxieties and fears of such things, or other religious matters, can be due to any number of reasons.

There are certain types of fears, however, that are actually good for the believer. For instance, the Quran says, “True believers are only those whose hearts tremble when the name of Allah is mentioned, and when His Signs are recited to them they increase their faith, and who put their trust in their Lord” (Holy Quran, 8:3). Here, it does not mean that every time God’s name is taken, He should be feared as if one is afraid of other fearful things like snakes, harmful animals, disease, etc. Instead, the verse implies that belief in God should not be lip-service and should be “something real and living”.^[i]

“Fear of God” as discussed in Islam and other religions is not a fear of the Being of God Almighty. It is a fear of His punishment. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad^(rh) observes, “The fear of God which we find mentioned in Divinely revealed religions has nothing to do with the idea of terror related to beasts and other fearsome objects. The threat of Divine punishment is merely used as a deterrent against crime, preventing people from transgression against themselves”.^[ii] Just as a person fears causing displeasure to his or her loved ones, so too does religion encourage fear of displeasing God Almighty. In the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Surah Al-Fatiha, this point is made clear, as the believer beseeches God for guidance to the right path; that is, the path of those who have been blessed by God, and not of those who incurred His displeasure (Holy Quran, 1:6-7).

Similarly, the concept of khashyah or fear of God is mentioned in the following verse of the Quran:

وَ الَّذِیۡنَ یَصِلُوۡنَ مَاۤ اَمَرَ اللّٰہُ بِہٖۤ اَنۡ یُّوۡصَلَ وَ یَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّہُمۡ وَ یَخَافُوۡنَ سُوۡٓءَ الۡحِسَابِ ﴿ؕ۲۲﴾

That is, “And those who join what Allah has commanded to be joined, and fear their Lord, and dread the evil reckoning” (Holy Quran, 13:22). Here too the fear of God is connected to “reckoning” or accountability, not the fear of God Himself. Explaining this verse, Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad^(ra) states that khashyah refers to the “fear of losing something that has excellent attributes, after having recognized its greatness and beauty”.^[iii] This is not a fear of harm or injury, but a fear of losing something very valuable due to one’s carelessness. Considering it in relation to God, it means that human beings cannot bear to even think of losing their connection with God in whom they have come to find their true comfort, peace, contentment, and excellence. As such, they are always worried about protecting this relationship,^[iv] just as people are worried about protecting their relationship with their loved ones, be it the spouse, mother, father, sibling, or a friend.

Comparatively, it is Satan who causes a kind of fear that is destructive, as the Quran says, “It is Satan who only frightens his friends; so fear them not but fear Me, if you are believers” (3:176). Here, the fear of God is contrasted with fear of Satan and his friends. The point is clear: Satan’s fear is harmful and leads to destruction, while fear of God is due to love and being afraid of displeasing God.

References:

[i]. The Holy Quran with English Translation and Commentary, Surah Al-Anfal 8:3, p. 869

[ii]. Revelation Rationality Knowledge and Truth, p. 210

[iii]. Tafseer-e-Kabeer, vol. 3, p. 409

[iv]. Ibid.