Being afraid of You, O my Lord!

On the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“A man used to do sinful deeds, and when death came to him, he said to his sons, ‘After my death, burn me and then crush me, and scatter the powder in the air, for by Allah, if Allah has control over me, He will give me such a punishment as He has never given to anyone else.’

When he died, his sons did accordingly.

Allah ordered the earth saying, ‘Collect what you hold of his particles.’ It did so, and behold! There he was (the man) standing.

Allah asked (him), ‘What made you do what you did?’

He replied, ‘O my Lord! I was afraid of You.’

So Allah forgave him. “

Another narrator said  “The man said, Fear of You, O Lord!”

(Sahih Bukhari, Book #56, Hadith #688) [also by Muslim, An-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah]