Aisha (RadiAllahu Anha) relates that whenever a strong wind bringing dense clouds started blowing the Prophet's (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) face turned pale with the fear of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala). He became restless and would go in and out with worry and would recite the following Dua:

"Oh my Allah! I ask you the good out this wind, the good out of that which is in this wind and the good out of that which is the outcome of this wind. I seek refuge in you from the evil out of this wind from the evil out of that which is in this wind and from the evil out of that which is the outcome of this wind".

She says:

And further when it began to rain, signs of delight appeared on his face. I said to him once, "Oh Rasul of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) when clouds appear everybody is happy, as they foretell rain, but why is it that I see you so much perturbed at that time?"

He (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam ) replied, "Oh Aisha! How can I feel secure that this wind does not bring Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala)'s anger? The people of Aad were punished with the wind. They were happy when they saw the gathering dense clouds, believing that they brought rain; but actually those clouds brought no rain but utter destruction to Aad. "

Rasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) was obviously referring to the following Aayah of the Quran:

"Then, when they (Aad) beheld a dense cloud coming toward their valleys, they said, 'Here is a cloud bringing us rain.' Nay, but it is that very calamity which you did seek to hasten, a wind wherein is grievous penalty, destroying all things by commandment of Allah. And morning found them so that naught could be seen, except their dwellings. Thus we treat the guilty fold." (al-Ahqaaf 24-25)

Look at the fear of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) in the heart of a person who is the best of all creation (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam). In spite of a clear Aayah in the Quran that Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) would not punish the people so long as Rasulullah (Sallallaho Alaihi Wassallam) was with them (al-Araaf 33), he has so much fear of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) that a strong wind reminds him of the punishment awarded to the people in the past. Now let us peep into our own hearts for a moment. Although we are fully drowned in sins, yet none of the unusual phenomena such as earthquakes and lightning arouse the least fear of Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala) in our hearts and instead of resorting to asking for Allah (Subhanahu wa Taala)'s forgiveness or Salah at such time, we only indulge in so called investigations.

Hadhrat Nadhr bin AbduAllah relates:

One day while Hadhrat Anas (May Allah be pleased with him), was alive, it became very dark during the day time. I went to him and said, "Did you ever see such a thing in the prophet's time?"

He replied, "I seek refuge in Allah! In those days if the breeze grew a little stronger than normal, we would rush towards the Masjid, fearing the approach of the last day."

Hadhrat Abu Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) relates:

Whenever there was a storm, the Prophet (May Allah's peace be upon him and His Blessings) would get perturbed and go to the Masjid.

Who thinks about going to the Mosque, nowadays, even at the time of the worst of calamities? Leave aside the common people, even those who regard themselves as good and practicing Muslims do not practice this Sunnah. What a deterioration!

The Sun once was in eclipse in the Prophet's (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) time. The Sahabah left their jobs. Even the young boys, practicing archery, hastened towards the Mosque to know what the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) would do at that time. The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) started Salaat of two rakaat, which were so long that some people fainted and fell down.

He wept in his Salaat and said, "Oh, My Lord! Thou has said that Thou would not punish them as long as I am with them and so long as they seek Thy forgiveness."

This refers to a verse in the Quran wherein Allah says:

"But Allah would not punish them while thou art with them, nor will He punish them while they seek forgiveness." (VIII:33)

He then addressed the people saying:

You should hasten for Salaat whenever you happen to find the Sun or the Moon in eclipse. If you happen to know the signs of the Last Day as I do, then surely you would weep more and laugh less. In all such happenings, hasten to Salaat; pray to Allah and distribute alms to the poor.

The Prophet (Sallallahu alaihe Wasallam) once kept weeping the whole night through, repeating again and again the following verse:

"If Thou punish them, they art Thy slaves; and if Thou forgive them, Thou only art the Mighty, the Wise." (V:118)

It is said about Imam Abu Hanifah (Rahmatullah alaih) that he also once wept the whole night, reciting the following verse of the Quran in Tahajjud:

"But avaunt this day, oh ye guilty." (XXXVI: 59)

This verse means that on the Day of Judgment, the guilty will be asked to separate themselves from the good, and will not be allowed to mix with them as they were doing in the worldly life. Why should not the people with fear of Allah in their hearts weep in anxiety regarding which class they will belong to on that Day?

According to our belief, Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho Anho) is the most exalted person after the Prophets (may peace be on all of them). The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) himself conveyed to him the glad tidings of his being the head of a group of persons in Paradise.

The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) once remarked, "Abu Bakr's name shall be called out from all the gates of Paradise, and he will be the first of my followers to enter it."

With all these virtues and privileges, Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho Anho) used to say, "I wish I were a tree that would be cut and done away with."

Sometimes he would say, "I wish I were a blade of grass, whose life ended with the grazing by some beast."

He also said, "I wish I were a hair on the body of a believer."

Once he went to a garden, where he saw a bird singing. He sighed deeply and said, "Oh, bird! How lucky you are! You eat, you drink and fly under the shade of the trees, and you fear no reckoning of the Day of Judgment. I wish I were just like you."

Hadhrat Rabiah Aslami (Radhiyallaho Anho) narrates:

Once I had some argument with Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho Anho), during which he uttered a word that I did not like. He realized it immediately and said to me, "Brother, please say that word back to me in retaliation."

I refused to do so. He persisted, and even spoke of referring the matter to the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam), but I did not agree to utter that word. He got up and left me.

A few people of my clan remarked, "Look! How strange! The person does wrong to you and, on the top of that, he threatens to complain to the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam)."

I said, "Do you know who he is? He is Abu Bakr (Radhiyallaho Anho). To displease him is to displease the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihe Wasallam) and to displease the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe Wasallam) is to displease Allah, and if Allah is displeased then who can save Rabiah from ruin?"

I went to the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihe Wasallam) and narrated the whole story to him. He said, "You were quite right in refusing to utter that word. But you could have said this much in reply: 'Oh, Abu Bakr, (Radhiyallaho Anho) May Allah forgive you!' "

Look at the fear of Allah in Hadhrat Abu Bakr (Radhiyallahu Anho)! He is so anxious to clear his accounts in this world that no sooner has a slightly unpleasant word been addressed by him to a person, then he regrets it and requests him to say that word back to him in retaliation. He is so particular in this that he threatens to have the retaliation done through the intervention of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihe Wasallam). We are in the habit of saying offensive words to others, but we fear neither the retaliation nor the reckoning in the Hereafter.