TAQWA...what every soul craves!!

Taqwa
What every soul craves...

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"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the Prophets; and gives his wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observes proper worship and pays the poor due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God fearing (those with taqwa)." (Surah al-Baqarah 2:177)


The concept of taqwaa is always linked to ibaadah in the Qu'raan. 'Ibaadah can be defined 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 loves and approves of, whether they are actions of the heart, the tongue or the limbs. So taqwaa 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 been forbidden, he will achieve taqwaa. Allah mentions in His Book ( that means ): " O you who believe ! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become muttaqoon ( those who have taqwaa or piety )." [ Al-Baqarah 2:183 ]. In this aayah and in many others, Allah has shown us that taqwaa is the result or fruit 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 fact is 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 as it 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 it and what is right for it - indeed he succeeds 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 or an ayaah with an oath, He (T) does so to bear witness to the fact that whatever follows this oath is very important and essential for us to understand. Therefore, we should 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 Allah has 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). Purification of the Soul Among the missions of the Prophet. Allah sent him with the command to purify the souls of the Muslims in particular, and of mankind in general. Allah (T) says (what means) " He it is who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His ayaat, purifying them, and teaching them 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. Imaam ash-Shafi', one of the greatest scholars of Islaam, said that when Allah mentions Hikmah in the Qur'aan it refers to the Sunnah of the Prophet. In addition to this ayaah, we see that the Prophet, 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 avoiding sins and disobedience. Conditions for Attaining Taqwaa How does a person know that his acts of 'ibaadah are helping him to achieve taqwaa ? 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 fearing His 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 (sincerity), it must be present both before and after performing the deed, with no riyaa (showing off) 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 been doing ", 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, while fulfilling all of its conditions and their rights, you will achieve taqwaa Insha Allah. The Effect of Taqwa A person once asked the Prophet SAW, "O Messenger of Allah! Give me some advice!" He replied, "I advise you to fear Allah because it is the head of everything." The likeness of one who has the awareness of the reality of Allah's existence in every single act, in every single decision, in every single word and thought is the likeness of a dry, curled up desert plant that receives a drop of moisture, which will make it spread out its leaves and sink its roots and flourish and blossom. Similarly, one who feels Allah in their heart at every breath they take and in every aspect of their lives and in everything they do, from the important and profound to the everyday, simple tasks becomes aware of the great thirst, the Great Dependence, and the great joy his/her life had been lacking without this devotion, without this urge to serve (the Creator). And with it, they strive for the pleasure of their Lord, finding fulfillment and happiness in this world and the next.