Assalaamu Alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh
Taqwa means fearing Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. When a
person fears Almighty Allah then he will not commit sins. Taqwa incorporates consciousness
and fear of Allah as well as piety. Piety is basically righteousness that can
be only obtained by the obedience of Almighty Allah and refrain from His
prohibitions. We can say that Taqwa is the key to happiness and success in this
life and the hereafter too. Taqwa also acts as a channel through which Muslims
relate to one another in society and also a medium to link their actions. Allah
alone is the Creator of this world and He is The Most Merciful for all His
mankind, it is repeatedly mentioned in Qur'an. The obeying of the Great Lord is
not confined to only fulfilling religious actions, but being moral in every
aspect of life, as observed in the following verse of the Holy Qur'an: “O, you who believe! When you
hold secret counsel, do it not for sin and wrong-doing, and disobedience
towards the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) but do it for Al-Birr (righteousness) and
Taqwa (virtues and piety), and fear Allah unto Whom you shall be gathered.” (Qur'an, 58:9)
From the verse it indicates that Taqwa means a lot more than
just piousness. It is the combination of our beliefs, self-awareness, and
attitudes. It is a reminder to stay on the path of uprightness, decency and
knowing the difference between right and wrong. It is about having Lord
Consciousness in terms of knowing and obeying all His orders including not only
fearing Him but also acting in all His directions. In Qur'an, Allah says: “O you who believe! Fear God
and be with those who are true (in word and deed).” (Qur'an, 9:119)
Taqwa acts as a barrier between the Muslims and the anger and
displeasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In Hadith Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wa
salaam said: “Fear Allah because it is the collection of all goodness.” From above ayahs and hadith, we can
conclude that if we want to be successful, and want to get Allah’s blessings
and pleasure then we should fear Allah and have to do the righteous deeds which
are the source of pleasing Allah Almighty.
But the question is how can we obtain Taqwa?... there are
several ways in which we can obtain Taqwa. Letting go of haram is way for us to
obtain Taqwa, by being aware of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and knowing that He
watches everything we do, we will avoid the prohibitions. Also, increase in
worship of Allah like reading the Qur’an daily, fasting outside ramadhaan
praying at night (tahajjud) and during your free time, giving sadaqah (charity)
more often instead of just on Fridays, making more du’a during the day, and
praying before and after every prayer are ways for us to obtain Taqwa and
pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. More so, struggling against your nafs
(self-jihad); struggling against one’s desires is one of the greatest form of
jihad we can do, as it is the hardest and through that we can obtain Taqwa.
Taqwa is a quality in which one can gain a lots of benefits from
obtaining it. Among the benefits are;
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Guidance: there is guidance for those who are
muttaqin (the people of taqwa) as Allah says in the Qur'an, suratul Baqarah
verse 2; “guidance for those conscious of Allah”. People who fear
Almighty Allah will seek guidance from the Holy Book of Allah, the Qur'an.
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Ease of matters: In the Holy Qur'an, Allah
Almighty says in surah At-Talaq verse 4; “And whoever fears Allah, He will
make for him ease in his matter.” Whoever has Taqwa, Allah makes matter
easy for him in this world and the hereafter. This does not necessarily mean
the person will not face difficulty, but through the blessings of his Taqwa, he
is guaranteed ease and the strength to bear these difficulties without losing
faith or hope by Almighty Allah. The reward of facing these difficulties will
be given by Allah in the hereafter.
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Allah’s love for muttaqin (the people of
Taqwa): In the Holy Qur'an, Allah the Almighty says in surah Al-Imran verse 76;
“Truly Allah loves the Muttaqin.” From this verse, we can conclude that
Allah loves those who are pious. Taqwa is the source of gaining Allah’s love
and blessings.
- o Ability to distinguish truth from falsehood: When a believer sees to it that his obedience to Allah and love for him stay above everything else, he is gifted by Allah with the sight of distinguishing between true and false or we can say good or bad deeds. In Holy Qur'an Allah says in surah Al-Anfal verse 29; “O you who believe! If you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion (furqan).”
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Acceptance of Actions: Allah says in Qur'an about the
acceptance of actions or deeds in surah Ma’idah verse 27; “Allah only accepts from the
people of Taqwa “. People who are Muttaqin Allah loves them and accept their
actions and deeds.
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Success from
Taqwa: Allah
Almighty says in Holy Qur'an surah Al-Imran verse 200; “Have taqwa of Allah in
order that you might succeed”. Anyone who wants to get success in this life and the
hereafter has to do righteous deeds for the pleasure of Almighty Allah. Taqwa
is also to do righteous deeds for fear of Allah Almighty.
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A way out of
Difficulties:
Allah says in Holy Qur'an about those who are facing problems in surah At-Talaq
verse 2; “And whoever fears Allah, He will make for him a way out.”. People who are facing difficulties
but still remain steadfast in their faith for the sake of Allah then He
subhanahu wa ta’ala will surely make a way for them to get rid of these
problems. Taqwa serves as a divine guard against trials of this world as well
as the difficulties of the hereafter.
My respected brothers and sisters in Islam, let’s all strive hard in order to obtain the fear and consciousness of Allah (Taqwa). For the success in this life and the hereafter, we have to have taqwa. We should not delay in increasing our taqwa we pray to Allah Almighty to guide us towards the right path and help us become pious and righteous Muslims. Aamiin...
