Reminder: Despair is more hideous than the fire of hell

O soul! Beware, beware of despairing of the Spirit of God, and beware, beware of losing hope in His mercy. Truly, the heart’s turning towards despair and hopelessness is far more hideous than its turning towards the fire of Hell.
For the fire of Hell, though fierce and dreadful, torments the body, whereas despair is another fire that seizes the soul, consuming it slowly, extinguishing the light of hope as the wind extinguishes a fragile lamp on a dark night. If the body is scorched by a fire from without, the soul may yet retain a measure of space in which to breathe hope; but if the heart succumbs to despair, the windows of Heaven are closed to it, and the earth becomes constricted around it, no matter how vast it may be.
Despair is nothing but a false presumption about God, and hopelessness is but heedlessness of the vastness of His mercy. How can a servant despair of a Lord whose mercy encompasses all things? How can a heart lose hope in forgiveness when God has kept His doors open day and night? History is replete with trials that, had they befallen weaker hearts, would have destroyed them utterly. Yet the hearts that cling to hope see dawn within darkness, and a door to ease within hardship.
O soul, however long the night, it must be followed by morning; however thick the clouds, they must eventually disperse. Likewise, the trials of life weigh heavily for a while, then lighten; they press with severity for a time, then relent. Beware, then, of allowing despair entry into your heart, for once it enters, it darkens, and once it settles, it corrupts.
Remember that hope is not weakness; rather, it is the strength of the spirit when all other forces fail. And expectation is not deception; it is a light placed by God in the hearts, by which they may walk through the darkness of life. Whoever loses this light loses his way; whoever holds fast to it finds guidance, even if the paths are crooked.
Do not despair, O soul, for He who implanted hope in the heart did not do so in vain, and He who has opened the gates of mercy did not open them only to close them upon His servants. As long as the servant hopes in his Lord, he is safe, for hope is the bridge between human frailty and divine perfection. And whoever crosses this bridge attains tranquillity, no matter how fierce the storms that assail him.

(by: Dr Mohammed Akram Nadwi, Oxford, 23 Ramadan 1447)