It may be objected here that it follows that he loves the evil-doers and sinners. But a deep insight into the nature of such love shows that he loves them as creatures of God, but at the same time hates their actions which are contrary to the command of his beloved. If this point is lost sight of, people are apt to be misguided in their love or hatred of His creatures. If they show their love towards any sinner, let it be in pure compassion, and not any sense of taking the sin lightly. Similarly their hatred should proceed from the consciousness of His stern law and justice and not from ruthless bigotry. In one of the Hadisi-Qudsi[90] God has said: “My saints are those who cry like a child for my love, who remember me like a fearless lion at the sight of iniquities”. A reverent attitude of mind is another sign of his love. Some hold that fear is opposed to love, but the truth is that just as the conception of beauty generates love, the knowledge of his sublime majesty produces the feeling of awe in us. Lovers meet with fears which are unknown to others.[91] There is the fear of being disregarded. There is fear of the veil being drawn down. There is the fear of their being turned away. When the Sura Hud was revealed, in which the awful doom of the wicked nations is narrated,: “Away with Samood, away with Midian,” the Prophet heaved a sigh and said: “This Sura has turned me into an old man.” He who loves His nearness will feel acutely the fear of being way from Him. There is another fear of remaining at a particular stage and not rising higher, for the ascending degrees of His nearness are infinite. A true lover is always trying to draw nearer and nearer to Him. “A thin veil covers my heart,” says the Prophet, “then I ask for His forgiveness seventy times in day and night.”[92] This means that the Prophet was always ascending the scales of his nearness, asking for His forgiveness at every stage which was found lower than the next one. There is another fear of over confidence which slackens the efforts and mars progress. Hope with fear should be the guide of love. Some Sufis say that he who worships God without fear is liable to err and fall; he who worships him with fear turns gloomy and is cast off, but he who lovingly worships him with hope and fear is admitted by him and favoured. Therefore lovers should fear him and those who fear him should love him. Even excess of his love contains an inkling of fear: it is like salt in food. For human nature cannot bear the white heat of His love, if it is not chastened and tempered by the fear of the Lord.