Wisdom from the World's Religions

A multifaith selection of quotes on fear from sacred texts.

Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was beset as a city under siege.
I had said in my alarm,
"I am driven far from your sight."

But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.
Love the Lord, all you his saints.
The Lord preserves the faithful,
but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord.

--Psalm 31

The whole world is a very narrow bridge. And the most important thing is to not be afraid."

--Rabbi Nachman of Breslov

Nay, whoever submits His whole self to Allah and is a doer of good, He will get his reward with his Lord; on such shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

--Qur'an, Al Baqara, Surah 2:112

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil;
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me.

--Psalm 23

All tremble at the rod,
all are fearful of death.
Drawing the parallel to yourself,
neither kill nor get others to kill.

--Dhammapada, 10
translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Fear Allah wherever you may be, and repel evil with goodness, for that will efface all its negative results.

--The Prophet Muhammad,
as reported by Abu Dharr

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I [Moses] command you this day for your good?

Deuteronomy 10.12-13

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 9.11

Whosoever submits his will to God, while doing good, his wage is with his Lord, and no fear shall be upon them, neither shall they sorrow.

Qur'an 2.112

"What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will."

Matthew 10:24-33

Behold! verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; Those who believe and (constantly) guard against evil; For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present and in the Hereafter; no change can there be in the words of Allah. This is indeed the supreme felicity.

--Qur'an, Yunus, Surah 10:62-64

Cut down
The forest of desire,
Not the forest of trees.
From the forest of desire
Come danger & fear.
Having cut down this forest
& its underbrush, monks,
be deforested.

--Dhammapada, 20
translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

From evil springs forth more evil.
Therefore, evil is to be feared even more than fire.
To commit no wrong, even against one's enemies,
Is said to be supreme wisdom.

--Tirukkural 21:202-203

He who knows me as his own divine Self breaks through the belief that he is the body and is not reborn as a separate creature. Such a one is united with me. Delivered from selfish attachment, fear, and anger, filled with me, surrendering themselves to me, purified in the fire of my being, many have reached the state of unity in me.

--Bhagavad Gita 4:9-10

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.

--John 4:18

In paradise there is [no such thing as] fear;
Thou art not there, nor shrinks one from old age.
Hunger and thirst, these two transcending,
Sorrow, surpassing, a man makes merry in paradise.

--Katha Upanishad

The one whose mind knows the clarity of perfect wisdom is never afraid or even anxious. Why? Because when being at one with the living power of wisdom, the mother of all the buddhas, that person has the strength to remain in a state of undivided contemplation even while ceaselessly and skillfully engaging in compassionate action. The wise one is enabled to act because of concentration on a single prayer: "May all beings never leave the path of enlightenment, which is their own true nature and is empty of separate self-existence."

--Prajnaparamita