8/2/2019 Taqwaa - How to Attain Taqwaa

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Taqwaa (Piety)

  How To Attain Taqwaa

Author: Shaikh Saleem al-Hilaalee

Source: Hudaa Magazine

Article ID : TZK070001  [5056] 

The concept of  taqwaa is always linked to ibaadah in the Quran. 'Ibaadah can bedefined as: to do what Allah has commanded and to avoid what He has prohibited.'Ibaadah has also been defined as a concept that includes all actions that Allah lovesand approves of, whether they are actions of the heart, the toungue or the limbs. Sotaqwaa is linked with doing what is correct and avoiding that which is wrong.

Taqwaa is the fruit of doing the actions of 'Ibaadah. In other words, if one does what  Allah has commanded him to do, and abstains from that which he has beenforbidden, he will achieve taqwaa. Allah mentions in His Book ( that means ):

" O you who believe ! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribedfor those before you, that you may become muttaqoon ( those who havetaqwaa or piety )." [ Al-Baqarah 2:183 ].

In this aayah and in many others, Allah has shown us that taqwaa is the result orfruit of doing actions of ibaadah.

The meaning of Taqwaa 

Now that we have clarified how to achieve taqwaa, we define what the concept of taqwaa means. Taqwaa means: to cleanse or purify the heart and the soul. This factis proven by some ayaat in Suorat ush-Shams in which Allah (T) says (what means)

" By the sun and its brightness, by the moon as it follows it, by the day asit shows its brightness, by the night as it conceals it, by the heaven and its wondrous make, by the earth and all its expanse, and by the soul and He Who perfected it in proportion, then He showed it what is wrong for itand what is right for it - indeed he suceeds who purifies it, and he fails who corrupts it." [ Ash-Shams 91:1-10 ].

 Allah begins this soorah by taking seven oaths. Whenever Allah begins a soorah oran ayaah with an oath, He (T) does so to bear witness to the fact that whateverfollows this oath is very important and essential for us to understand. Therfore, weshould pay very close attention to what is being said, and reflect upon its meanings.To cleans one's heart and to purify the soul, one must perform righteous actions that

 Allah has enjoined upon us, and our destruction lies in doing the actions that Allahhas forbidden. As Allah is the Guardian and Protector of the Soul, we should do every good deed hoping for Allah's Mercy and fearing His Punishment, having full reliance

and trust in Him (T).

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Purification of the Soul 

 Among the missions of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) Allah sent him withthe command to purify the souls of the Muslims in particular, and of mankind ingeneral. Allah (T) says (what means)

" He it is who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from amongthemselves, reciting to them His ayaat , purifying them, and teachingthem the Book and the Hikmah, while before they had been in error."[ Al-Jumu'ah 62:2 ]. 

In this ayaah the word Hikmah is often translated as wisdom. Immam ash-Shafi',one of the greatest scholars of Islaam, said that when Allah mentions  Hikmah in theQur'aan it refers to the  Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)Inaddition to this ayaah, we see that the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam)was sent

 with three tasks:

1) To teach the Qur'aan. 

2) To teach the Sunnah. 

3) To show the means of purifying the soul.

This purification is obtained by doing the proper acts of  'ibaadah and by avoidingsins and disobedience.

Conditions for Attaining Taqwaa 

How does a person know that his acts of  'ibaadah are helping him to achievetaqwaa ? To develop taqwaa, one must fulfill the following conditions:-

1  ) Ikhlaas, sincere intention that the act is performed purely for the pleasure of  Allah, out of love for Him, while hoping for His reward and mercy, as well as fearingHis anger and punishment if He is disobeyed.

2) To do the deed in accordance with the authentic Sunnah. To have the necessary knowledge of the 'ibaadah that is being performed. To know how the Prophet

...performed the action and proper times for the performance of that action.

Concerning Ikhlaas, it must be present both before and after performing the deed, with no riyaa or sum'ah ( doing things to be seen or heard by people ). For instance,after doing a good deed, someone tells others, " Look at all the good I have beendoing ", or " I'm such a marvelous person because I do such and such".

This formula, if used to achieve taqwaa, is scientific, in that if you follow it, whilefullfilling all of its conditions and their rights, you will achieve taqwaa in shaa a'Llaah.