TAQWA

1. TAQWA An in depth look By: Sayeda Datoo

2. Taqwa Definition • Taqwa’s root word is Waqiya, meaning protection • To stay on the Sirat-al-Mustaqeem requires one to be on guard all the time. • Taqwa is this God consciousness all the time. • It should not be viewed as ‘fear’, since we know of Allah’s mercy and grace.

3. In-Depth Look into Taqwa New Learning

4. Background Knowledge • Life on this earth is a ‘duration’ given by the Almighty to man. • This ‘duration’ must be spent in a way that will enhance your status in the world after. • ‘Status’ in the eyes of Allah (s.w.t) increases with each ‘strive’ and ‘sacrifice’. • Keeping away from misdeeds (fear) and gaining closeness (hope) to the Almighty are ways one can strive towards perfection. • Perfection is the highest status that can be achieved by sacrificing the wants and desires of this world. • Perfection comes with struggle.

5. Story about Perfection • A pious man from a village seeked to gain closeness to Allah (s.w.t). • He left his village, family, work etc. to live the life of a monk in the mountains far away. • He spent his life their in pure devotion to the Almighty, seeking closeness. • One day, he came across a man who asked him why he had secluded himself in this part of the town. The pious man disclosed his desire to gain closeness to the Almighty so that he may attain the highest ranks. • The visiting man shattered the pious man’s hopes by saying that piety does not come easily through seclusion. Rather it is the striving through work, family and pressures that true sacrifices and struggles emerge. • It is through the struggles that one gains closeness to the Almighty. • What the monk was doing, was opting the easy way out – secluding himself away from all distractions.

6. Suratul Baqarah • ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ {2} • This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil). • الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ {3} • Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them. • Believing in the unseen is the highest form of commitment of mind and heart – needed as a prerequisite to get to the ‘muttaqeen’ stage • The purpose of prayer is to please Allah. Prayer pleases Allah because it is most beneficial for His creatures. • Spending in the way of Allah is also an act that pleases Allah, because it is most beneficial for His creatures.

7. Suratul Baqarah • والَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ {4} • And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was revealed before you and they are sure of the hereafter. • Belief in all the books that came before the Quran – therefore, Islam being a universal religion for the whole mankind. • Belief in the hereafter – the purpose of life in this world is the life after death.

8. Suratul Baqarah • أُوْلَـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ {5} • These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that shall be successful. • Only those that depend and follow their Lord will be successful in their life journey. • Verse revealed after the pleasure of Allah in seeing the un-fearful actions of Imam Ali (a.s) sleeping on the Prophet’s bed.

9. Suratul Baqarah • لَّيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُواْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاء والضَّرَّاء وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُولَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ {177} • It is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards the East and the West, but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and the Book and the prophets, and give away wealth out of love for Him to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and the beggars and for (the emancipation of) the captives, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate; and the performers of their promise when they make a promise, and the patient in distress and affliction and in time of conflicts-- these are they who are true (to themselves) and these are they who guard (against evil).

10. Suratul Aale Imran • لَن تَنَالُواْ الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنفِقُواْ مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنفِقُواْ مِن شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ • By no means shall you attain to righteousness until you spend (benevolently) out of what you love; and whatever thing you spend, Allah surely knows it. (3:92) • What you cherish could be your wealth, health, children, pride. The true righteous person would be able to ‘give-away’ what they cherish the most. E.g. was set by Imam Husain (a.s.) in Kerbala. (Zakat and Khums are not mentioned here, since the verse does not refer to the minimum amounts prescribed, rather the optional – that which you love).

11. Suratul Muhammad • وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدًى وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْواهُمْ • “But to those who receive Guidance, He increases the (light of) Guidance, and bestows on them their Piety and Restraint [Taqwa]. “ (Quran 47:17) • Taqwa is given to man as a gift from Allah. This gift comes with every striving (Jihad) to understand and for good deeds. • If we take one step towards Him, he comes two steps closer to us. • Person with Taqwa sees struggles as a opportunity for growth, not as a stumbling block.

12. Nahjul Balagha • In khutbah 157, taqwa is compared to an invincible fortress built on heights which the enemy has no power to infiltrate. • Let it be known to you, O servants of God, that taqwa is a formidable fortress, whereas impiety and corruption is a weak and indefensible enclosure that does not safeguard its people, and does not offer any protection to those who take refuge in it. Indeed, it is only with taqwa that the tentacles of sins and misdeeds can be severed.

13. Hadith Imam Zaynul Abedin (a.s). • "The hell has been made ready for those who disobey Allah, be he a most important person in the society; and only those who obey Allah will go into paradise, be he a slave." Hazrat Isa (a.s) • once the disciples of Isa asked him as to who was to be considered as superior among men. Isa took a handful of dust in his hand and said: • "All man are from the dust and they shall return to dust. In the eyes of God he is most honoured who is most righteous." The Holy Prophet (s.a.w). • "No man is superior to another on account of race or colour, taqwa (wisdom and piety) alone is the distinction."

14. Hadith • Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, • “Allah revealed to Hazrat Musa (a.s.), “Verily, My slave cannot achieve nearness to Me without the three things which I like.” Musa (a.s.) asked with reverance, “My Lord what are those three things?” Allah replied, “O! Musa those three things are: • To practice piety in this world, • to abstain from sins and • to weep due to fear.” Musa (a.s.) asked, “Does one who fulfills the three things gets compensation and reward?” Allah replied, • “One who practices piety in this world will get Paradise. • One who weeps due to My fear will be accorded such a high position that no else would be able to reach it. • The deeds of all the creatures shall be accounted. But one who abstains from that which I have forbidden, then accounting of his deeds will not be carried out; he would be admitted to Heaven directly.”

15. Hadith • Hazrat Musa (a.s.) passed by a person from his followers who was in prostration. After completing his chore Musa (a.s.) returned to find him still in prostration. He said, “If I had the power to grant your wish I would surely have granted it.” Allah revealed to Musa (a.s.) that, “Even if this man prostrates for Me till his head gets detached from his neck, I will not accept his deeds, till he abstains from that which I dislike and does that which pleases Me. Otherwise sin hinders the supplications from acceptance.”

16. Self BuildingBy: Ayatulla Ibrahim Amini • Seek the road of perfection • Higher spiritual journey • Must struggle to remove 7 Obstacles

17. 1) Incompetence • Contaminated heart cannot become a centre of for divine light • Imam Jaafar Al Sadiq (a.s) ‘For a human being there is nothing worst than sin because it wages war against heart until taking over. This condition of heart is called inverted/upside down heart’

18. 2)Worldy Attachment • Unable to detach from the desire of wealth • Negligence from God’s remembrance • Imam Jaafar As Sadiq, ‘The love of the world is the root of all evil’

19. 3) Obedience of Passion • Like dark & thick smoke, passions attack the heart into a darkened heart • The commander of the faithful Imam Ali (a.s) ‘ The most brave person is the one who could dominate over the passions of his self’

20. 4)Overeating • With a stomach full of food how could one have a mood for worshipping * supplication? • Imam Jaafar As Sadiq ‘ For the heart of a believer there is nothing worse than overeating because it will cause hardness and seduction while hunger happens to be the most delicious for a believer’s soul and heart.

21. 5)Unnecessary Talks • God has bestowed the power of speech to fulfill his genuine need but NOT unnecessary talk • Rasullulah s.a.w said ‘There are 3 kinds of talk, namely: useful, good and nonsense. The useful talks consist of God’s invocation, good talks are the ones which are loved by Allah & nonsense talks are spreading rumors & talking behind people’s back

22. 6)Love For Self • Perform for the sake of self and rewards of the Hereafter, net gain for his self • Convert love of essence into love of God • Niat

23. 7)Indecisiveness • Prevent a person from starting his deeds • Imam Musa Al Kazim ‘Allah has blessed human beings with 2 proofs: One is apparent and the other one is hidden. The apparent proofs are Prophets and Imams. The hidden proof is the reason and intelligence within our own existence’

24. A Butterfly’s Lesson ”One day, a small opening appeared in a cocoon; a man sat and watched for the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.

25. Then, it seems to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could not go any further.

26. So the man decided to help the butterfly: he took a pair of scissors and opened the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a withered body, it was tiny and shriveled wings.

27. The man continued to watch because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would open, enlarge and expand, to be able to support the butterfly’s body, and become firm.

28. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a withered body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

29. What the man, in his kindness and his goodwill did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening, were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

30. Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been. Never been able to fly.

31. I asked for Strength... and God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom... and God gave me problems to solve. I asked for prosperity... and God gave me a brain and brawn to work.

32. I asked for Courage….. and God gave me obstacles to overcome. I asked for Love... and God gave me troubled people to help.

33. I asked for Favors... And God gave me Opportunities. “I received nothing I wanted... But I received everything I needed."

34. New Learning New Learning • The 7 obstacles to reach perfection • Struggles in life are a good thing • Abstaining from desires will get you closer to Allah (s.w.t) • Giving away what you love the most will help you reach the highest stage of perfection. • Guard against evil and remember Allah (s.w.t) with dhikr. • This will help you reach the top of the fortress where the tentacles of ‘sin’ don’t reach!

35. The End For Listening Attentively!