Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said, “Always do what you are afraid to do.”
This reminds me of Surat-al-Mudaththir. When Rasulullah ï·º was afraid from receiving the Divine Revelation, and seeking the comfort of his family. He feared what was happening to him, feared his own sanity, so he ran to his wife, may Allah be pleased with her, who covered him in balnkets. And what did Allah reveal at that time? Something that must surely have been the last thing Rasulullah ï·º wanted to hear:
“O you wrapped in balnkets! Stand and warn!…”
He was ordered, in his state of fear, to arise, to stand up, and deliver Allah’s Message…not even to simply invite people to Islam with the glad tidings of Paradise, but to warn them, to confront them, to tell them they were wrong, to condemn their beliefs and practices, to throw himself head first into conflict with the most powerful people in Makkah! He was being commanded to take the very thing that was causing him to be afraid and feel insecure, the Revelation, and announce it publicly. SubhanAllah!
And imagine Nabi Musa, who fled into the desert as a fugitive after the accidental death of the man from Bani Israel. He was chased, under threat of prosecution and punishment; when Allah ordered him to return not only to city from which he had escaped, but to go directly to the ruler or the land, Fir’aun, and confront him face-to-face!
This is how we should deal with fear, particularly in matters that have to do with our religion. When you feel like hiding, feel like you want to withdraw, feel like you don’t have the courage to do what Allah has commanded…do it anyway. Do it because it is right, and interpret your fear as incitement to act, not incitement to withdraw. The more you are afraid of doing it, the more crucial it is that you do it.