Concepts of Piety

7/23/2019 Concepts of Piety

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Concepts of Piety(TAQWA)

"Taqwa can be compared to walking through a narrow path with thornybushes on both sides and a person passing through it tries his level best tosave his clothes from being torn. The thorns are the sins and the clothes isone's Imaan."

Taqwa comes from arabic root word waqa which means fear andabstinence. Taqwa is a high state of the heart which keeps one conscious of!llah's presence and is #nowledge and it motivates him to performrighteous deeds and avoid those which are forbidden.

Taqwa is the only force that can turn life in to the right path and restrainman from evil.

!llah says in $urah !l%adid "& you who believe ave Taqwa (fear) of !llah

and believe in is *essenger+ and e will provide you with a light by whichyou will walk."

$urah ash shams when you talk about piety you talk about nafs. -heneversomeone does something wrong regardless of their faith and whether theyhave studied revelation or not something inside them tells them that thisact is wrong and they feel bad about it. The one who continually rebels

against !llah (swt) has programmed themselves to ignore this feeling andtheir uilt conscience.


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The criteria for udging any human being in the sight of !llah is not color racegender wealth or age it is surely taqwa piety and righteousness. The only wayhuman can be superior to another is by taqwa. It is said in $urah uuraat !nd

the most honored in the sight of !llah is the person who has taqwa. a/rat 0mar (!.$) said ave taqwa and fear !llah and he will protect you.

Those who have taqwa gain the pleasure and love of !llah. 1ecause of taqwa!llah forgives your sins and increases your reward. Those who have taqwa !llahkeeps them on the straight path and prevents them from deviation.

$urah !l 1aqarah & human kind worship thy lord who created you andcreated those people who came before you so that you may learn taqwa.

oly 2rophet (210) said3I advise you to have taqwa of !llah45 Taqwa orfear of !llah is one of the most important concepts found in the 6uran andsunnah. It could be described as the foundation of the religion. In fact it is thesame advice that all the 2rophets have given to all of mankind 7 fear !llah.

! person has to have taqwa in his life he should have pure intentions andrighteous deeds to gain !llahs favor in this world and the hereafter.


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Guar ng t e tongue rombackbiting

!nd the worst of all sins are those that are greatest in harm and danger tohumanity.

!mong the destructive maor sins is backbiting. 1ackbiting or gheeba is tospeak spitefully

about a person behind their back about their weakness wealth familyphysical

appearance sin etc. 1ackbiting is not done by tongue alone it can also bedone with the

eyes hands and other movement such as imitating a physical weakness.It is narrated by the oly 2rophet (210)8 1ackbiting is talking about

somebody which if

he9she heard would grieve them.' ence it is not allowed to talk aboutsomebody in his

absence . :ven if what was narrated was true. If it was not true then it wouldbe a bigger

sin and it is called buhtan. :ven listening to backbiting is a sin. 2rophet(210) once said to

Imam !li (;!) & !li -hen someone hears the backbiting of his muslimbrother

committed in his presence yet he does not rally to is assistance despitebeing capable of


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Shunning suspicion$uspicion means to believe in something without proof and $hunning is

strictly prohibited

In Islam. Aot knowing the source of information and then accusing afellow *uslim

brother9sister of something can lead to slandering which is even worsethan backbiting.

The 2rophet (210) said8 3=o you know what is meant by backbiting?5

They said 3!llahand is *essenger know best.5 e said 3To say something about your

brother which he

dislikes.5 &ne asked 3:ven if what I say is true about my brother?5 ereplied 3If such

defects you say are true about him then you have backbitten him and ifhe doesnt have

what you say then you have committed slander against him.5

There is a verse in 6uran8 3!void much BnegativeC assumption. Indeedsome assumption is

sin.5 !nd also due to the saying of the *essenger (210) 3!voidsuspicion for airing

5


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Shunning mockery3Det not a people ridicule another people+ perhaps they may be better than

them.5

Teasing and contemptuous language and behavior directed towards aperson or thing is called

mockery. *ockery is srtickly prohibited in Islam

There is a sin that sweeps amongst us a sin that many take lightly a sinthat is laughed at a

sin that could very well pull someone to ellEre8 It is the sin of insultingothers.

3Det not a people ridicule another people+ perhaps they may be better thanthem.5

2erhaps the one that is being made fun of is more beloved to !llah.

$ubhaan !llah let usremember this if we ever try to make fun of someone perhaps !llah loves

them and does not

love us. Imam !l%1ayhaqee narrates in $hu'ab al%:emaan that ;asul !llah 7sal !llaahu alayhi

wasallam 7 said "Ferily those people that make fun of people 7 for them agate of >annah will


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"o#er ng ga$e rom or enthings

Dowering the ga/e means restraining the ga/e and not allowing it towander or dwell upon

anything. !llah says (interpretation of the meaning)83Dook not with your eyes ambitiously at what -e have bestowed on

certain classes of them

(the disbelievers) nor grieve over them. !nd lower your wings for thebelievers (be

Gourteous to the fellow believers)5

There are a number of beneEts in lowering the ga/e8

It is obedience to the command of !llah which brings happiness to man inthis world and in

the neHt.

It prevents the poisoned arrows (of the shaytaan) which may lead to his

doom fromreaching his heart.

It creates a heart that is devoted to and focused on !llah.

It brings light to the heart. It generates true insight which can distinguishbetween

truth and falsehood sincerity and lies.1etween the e es and the heart there is a connection which means that


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u utongue2eople consider truthfulness as only having an honest tongue owever

Islam teaches

truthfulness is far more than having an honest tongue. In Islamtruthfulness is the

conformity of the outer with the inner the action with the intention thespeech with

belief and the practice with the preaching. !s 6uran says 8"& you whobelieve ave fear of


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ecogni$ing the b%essings of A%%ah uponnese%f in order to a'oid conceitedness

The term gratitude is about eHpressing thanks to those who do any favorto us .

!llah is the creator and soul sustainer of this earth and he is the soulowner and all praise

is for him only.


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Spending ones #ea%th on goodrather than bad things

-hen we talk about spending N types of questions arise in our mind8 -hat to spend and

where to spend? The answer to what to spend lies in the verse8 & you who believe. $pend of

that which we have provided for you before a day comes when there will be no bargaining

Aor friendship nor intercession. !nd they are the disbelievers who are /alimun.($urah1aqara)-hatever remains with us after taking care of our wealth and those of dependants (after

paying /akat) is recommended to be spent. !nd to answer question it is said spend it in the

way of !llah in the cause of !llah spending in the way of !llah is called E%$abeelillah.

Islam condemns and discourages amassing wealth. Instead a person should spend in is way

and help those in need by means of /akat. Oakat is one of the Eve pillars of Islam. Oakatmeans

to purify. In Islam Oakat means purifying your wealth for the will of !llah.

2rophet *uhammad (210) said -hoever pays Oakat on his wealth will have its evil

removed from him.

! person will be accountable for his spending on the day of udgment. !s eHtravagancy will bea burden on a persons deeds the luHurious life spent on this earth will lead to a diPcult life on

hereafter.


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ot seeking haughtiness and pride The disease of pride and arrogance deletes all traces of goodness and piety. This

is the worst vice in causing havoc to =een. It launches a direct attack on beliefs and principles. If

ignored and overlooked for sometime it becomes fatal and incurable and gives rise to other spiritual

maladies and vices asmentioned below8

Q. 1eing deprived of truth and truthfulness. The heart becomes blind to the versedealing with

knowledge about !llah. !llah has said in the oly 6uran8 3I shall turn awayfrom my revelations

those who show pride in the world wrongfully.5 (M.QRS)N. The wrath and punishment of !llah fall on the ealous person. It is narrated

that a/rat *oosa asked !llah8 3&h my Dord -ho is the most deserving ofyour wrath and displeasure?5 !llah Taaala told him8 3 It is he whose heart is

Elled with pride.K. !llah will put the proud to disgrace and ill%repute (dishonour) in the ereafter.a/rat atim !sam (;!) has said8 3=o not die in a state of pride greed andarrogance.5 $imilarly the greedy does not meet his death unless he becomesdestitute for a morsel of food and drop of water.

R. The proud renders himself liable to ell in the ereafter. It occurs in a adith6udsi8

32ride is *y cloak and grandeur is my trousers. If anyone disputes with *e in


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*aintaining #ith care the +'e prayers ontime, #ith proper bo#ing and prostration

2rayer is the best act among all acts of worship. &ering of prayers Eve times during

the day and nightcleanses one of his sins in the same manner as bathing Eve times during the day and

night makes our body

clean of all Elth and dirt. It is beneEtting that one should oer prayers punctually.

! person who considers prayers to be something ordinary and unimportant is ust likeone who does not

oer prayers at all. The holy 2rophet (2.1.0.) has said that a person who does notattach any importance to

prayers and considers it to be something insigniEcant deserves chastisement in thehereafter.

-hile reciting the prayer full meditative concentration is required. Talking or payingattention to

surroundings is not permissible eHcept in emergencies. *any of us rush ourbowing(ruku)

and suud (prostration) but it is very important to give each action its due measure.

The 2rophet (peace be upon him) once saw a man not completing the bowing properlyand rushing his

prostration such that he looked like he was pecking and he said8 3-ere this man to die

in this state hewould die on a faith other than that of *uhammad the likeness of one who does not


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Steadfastness upon the #ay ofSunnah and -ama.ah

$teadfastness in the religion of !llah is a basic requirement for every sincere*uslim who wants to follow the $traight 2ath with determination andunderstanding.

The present situation of the societies in which *uslims live the types oftemptation to which they are painfully eHposed and the kinds of whims anddesires doubts and confusion which have caused religion to become somethingstrange so that those who adhere to it are likened to something weird and

people say8 "The one who holds on to his religion is like one who holds on to aburning coal.5 *aking the one stand Erm who is tossed about by the winds ofdoubt and confusion is a serious matter which needs tremendous means asbeEts the seriousness and diPculty of the task at hand. It is part of !llah's mercytowards us that e has shown to us in is 1ook and through the words and lifeof is 2rophet (210) many ways of being steadfast in Islam.

Turning towards the 6ur'an!dhering to the Daws of !llah and =oing ;ighteous =eeds$tudying the $tories of the 2rophets and Jollowing their :Hample=u'a' ($upplication);emembrance of !llah (=hikr)Galling &thers to !llah (=a'wah)

#eeping Glose to 2eople who will elp *ake you $teadfast0nderstanding the ;eality of Jalsehood and Aot 1eing *isled by It


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1eneEts of having Taqwa

is aairs will be puriEed

e will receive forgiveness for his sins.

e will receive mercy from !DD!

Taqwa prevents you from hell Ere it is a shield. The stronger your taqwathe easier your way to heaven.

3!nd the good end B2aradiseC is for the Bpeople ofC taqwa5 ($urahTaha8QKN)

Taqwa of !llah is therefore the key to staying on the $traight 2ath in this

life and also more importantly the key to ones well%being in theereafter.

"Ferily !llah accepts only from those who are the *utaqqoon (those whoposses Taqwa)." B$urah !l%*aaidah (QU)8 MQ%MNC

$urah !l%:mran "& you who believe ave taqwa eHactly as it should beand do not die eHcept in the state of Islam."Imam !l%akim reported in anauthentic chain that !bdualh 1in *asood said "aving taqwa like itshould means that !llah ($.-.T.) is obeyed with no disobedienceremembered with no forgetfulness and thanked with no ungratefulness.3

1ecause verily This world is an unbelievers paradise and a believers

prison.

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Concepts of Piety