Beware That Piety Is Like Trained Horses On Whom The Riders Have Been Placed With The Reins In Their Hands — So That They Would Take The Riders To Heaven:

Taqwa is the Islamic concept of having self-restraint — It is used 251 times in the Holy Qur’an as either a noun or a verb. The term taqwa comes From the Arabic root “wa-qa-ya” which means “protection” or “support.”

Taqwa is not meant to mean “Fear” or “Avoidance”, but because having Fear is a prerequisite to protecting oneself From something and to avoid it, it may sometimes refer to having Fear.

Also, since protection From something requires a Feeling of Fear alongside it, it may in some cases metaphorically refer to “avoidance” or “Fear”. Both meanings are accurate although there is no evidence to confirm that this metaphorically means “Fear” or “restraint.”

While it is widely believed that the commands ittaqu’llah means “Fear Allah” and ittaqunnar means “Fear fire,” these commands actually refer to protecting oneself From Allah’s punishment and the harm of Fire.

Moreover, those who practice self-control by refraining From acting upon desires that require patience and a resolute attitude are called muttaqeen, which is an Arabic term For “those who practice taqwa.”

It is important to note that taqwa is not about performing religious obligations such as prayer and Fasting: it is about living a pious life. A person possessing taqwa abandons living an animalistic life and chooses to live a moral one.

Though there are other definitions of it, such as social and political taqwa, religious taqwa has a more superior and elevated status. It is only on the basis of religion that a person can create a well-grounded taqwa in himself.

Taqwa is the prerequisite For a person who wants to live his life by certain principles, whether they are religious or not, and he is to have a clear direction in order to move towards a specific goal. In doing so, he is to protect himself against transitional desires inconsistent with his goals and principles.

Thus, Taqwa in a broader sense is a requirement for everyone who wants to be a true human being, live under control of reason, and Follow certain principles.

In religious context, Taqwa is the quality of those who protect themselves From all that is considered by religion as wrong and sinful.

There are two kinds of Taqwa:

The First is just to avoid Facing situations, in which sins may take place and this is the quality of the weak people and leads to seclusion and isolation.

The second is to Face challenges and remain persistent and this is the quality of those who are strong in their Faith and can play an active role in society.

Hazrat Ali(May Allah be pleased with him) said: Certainly Fear of Allah has saved the lovers of Allah From the unlawful and has given His dread to their hearts till their nights are passed in wakefulness and their noons in thirst.

Hazrat Ali(May Allah be pleased with him) clearly explains the meaning of “Taqwa” as a Spiritual state which saves people From committing sins and considers Fear of God as one of its results. Thus, Taqwa does not mean "to Fear" but one of the consequences of it is that it makes the hearts wary of Allah.

Thinking of Taqwa as a Fortress and protector might make some people proud and ignorant and they would suppose that a person who has Taqwa never makes a mistake. This may result in never noticing the great risks For taqwa. But the Fact is that, although Taqwa is a perfect state, it involves some danger as well.

It is not impossible For a person to live under the protection of taqwa and at the same time, he himself protects taqwa too.

Hazrat Ali (May Allah be pleased with him) has referred to both kinds of protection in the Following sentence: “You should take care of it and take care of yourselves through it!” Thus, we must protect Taqwa and it should protect us.

Taqwa leads to clear-sightedness and insight as it is stated in the Qur’an:

…If you are wary of Allah, He shall appoint a criterion For you… (8:29) This verse illustrates that insightfulness is among the important effects of Taqwa and we can say that this has paved the way For the mystic journey.

So,the point is that — when we Follow the orders of our Lord, we will become more pious and this authority is given to us by Allah to Follow His Commands or not.Actually the use of this authority is our Test in this Life. Those who obey Commands of Allah(swt) will be successful and those who disobey will Fail.

May Allah(swt) include us among His obedient servants. (Ameen).

JazakAllah (May Allah Reward You [with] Goodness)For Reading.

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