O humankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that who has At-Taqwa. Verily, Allah is All- knowing, All-Aware. [49:13]
Taqwa is repeated numerously in the holy Quran, but do we know what it means exactly?
The word ‘Taqwa’ is derived from the root ‘waqaya’ which means ‘to safeguard’ or ‘to abstain’. In the Islamic terminology it is defined as the action of restraining oneself from disobeying the commands of Allah (swt). When Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (as) was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the word, ‘Taqwa’ he replied, “Submit to the command of Allah (swt) and do not go near the prohibited.” It means that one should endeavor to fulfill all the commands of Allah and abstain from the prohibited things.
Without taqwa, any good actions could be blown away like dust
Sulaiman bin Khalid says;
“ I asked Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (as) regarding the Qur’anic verse:
And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust.
(Surah al-Furqān 25:23)
He said,
“By Allah, even if their deeds are as white as Egyptian cotton, but if they find sin and lewdness they do not abstain from it.”
(Iddat’ud-Dai)
The Holy Prophet (S) said:
“On the Day of Judgement there would be people whose good deeds will be as heavy as the mountains of Tahama. Inspite of this it would be ordered that they be tossed into the fire of Hell.”
Upon this someone said, “O! the Prophet of Allah (S), were these people performing Salāt (prayers)?”,
He (S) replied, “Yes, they used to pray, and fast, and also spend a part of the night in worship. But, whenever they chanced upon something which gave them pleasure, they used to rush to it without thinking whether it was right or wrong.”
Imam Ja'far al Sadiq (as) has said,
“Strive more to perform good deeds. However if you cannot perform a good act (at least) do not disobey (the commands of Allah). Because if one lays the foundation of a building and does not spoil it, then, even if the progress is slow, the building will definitely rise. (Conversely) The person who lays the foundation and at the same time spoils it, then it is sure that the walls of this building will never be raised.”
Taqwa is repeated numerously in the holy Quran, but do we know what it means exactly?
The word ‘Taqwa’ is derived from the root ‘waqaya’ which means ‘to safeguard’ or ‘to abstain’. In the Islamic terminology it is defined as the action of restraining oneself from disobeying the commands of Allah (swt). When Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (as) was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the word, ‘Taqwa’ he replied, “Submit to the command of Allah (swt) and do not go near the prohibited.” It means that one should endeavor to fulfill all the commands of Allah and abstain from the prohibited things.
Without taqwa, any good actions could be blown away like dust
Sulaiman bin Khalid says;
“ I asked Imam Ja’far al Sadiq (as) regarding the Qur’anic verse:
And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds, so We shall render them as scattered floating dust.
(Surah al-Furqān 25:23)
He said,
“By Allah, even if their deeds are as white as Egyptian cotton, but if they find sin and lewdness they do not abstain from it.”
(Iddat’ud-Dai)
The Holy Prophet (S) said:
“On the Day of Judgement there would be people whose good deeds will be as heavy as the mountains of Tahama. Inspite of this it would be ordered that they be tossed into the fire of Hell.”
Upon this someone said, “O! the Prophet of Allah (S), were these people performing Salāt (prayers)?”,
He (S) replied, “Yes, they used to pray, and fast, and also spend a part of the night in worship. But, whenever they chanced upon something which gave them pleasure, they used to rush to it without thinking whether it was right or wrong.”
Imam Ja'far al Sadiq (as) has said,
“Strive more to perform good deeds. However if you cannot perform a good act (at least) do not disobey (the commands of Allah). Because if one lays the foundation of a building and does not spoil it, then, even if the progress is slow, the building will definitely rise. (Conversely) The person who lays the foundation and at the same time spoils it, then it is sure that the walls of this building will never be raised.”
