Hadith - Qudsi 22

Let not any one of you belittle himself. They said: O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself? He said: He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such? He say: [It was] out of fear of people. Then He says: Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5083, Narrated AbuDharr

Allah's Messenger said to him, "Fear Allah wherever you are; if you follow an evil deed with a good one you will obliterate it; and deal with people with a good disposition."

Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darimi

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5140, Narrated Hudhayfah

The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose hand my soul is, you must enjoin what is reputable and forbid what is disreputable, or Allah will certainly soon send punishment from Himself to you. Then you will make supplication and not receive an answer."

[Transmitted by Tirmidhi]

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5142, Narrated AbuBakr as-Siddiq

You people recite this verse, "You who believe, care for yourselves; he who goes astray cannot harm you when you are rightly guided." I heard Allah's Messenger say, "When people see something objectionable and do not change it, Allah will soon include them all in His punishment."

Ibn Majah and Tirmidhi, who declared it to be sahih, transmitted it.

We must humble ourselves

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5186, Narrated Uthman ibn Affan

The Prophet said, "The son of Adam* has a right only to the following: a house in which he lives, a garment with which he conceals his private parts, dry bread and water."

Tirmidhi transmitted it.

*humankind

Hadith - Narrated 'Abdullaah ibn Mas'ood (radhiyallaahu 'anhu)

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said:

"Verily the most beloved speech to Allah is the servant's saying, 'Subhaanak Allaahumma wa bihamdika wa tabaarakasmuka wa ta'aalaa jad-duka wa laa ilaaha ghayruk.' (Glorified are you, O Allah, and to you is the praise, Blessed is Your Name and Lofty is your Majesty, there is none worthy of worship other than you.)

The most hated speech to Allah is when a man says to another man, 'Fear Allah!' and he replies, 'Worry about your own self!' "

[It was reported by Al-Asbahaanee in At-Targheeb (#739), and Sheikh Albani authenticated it in Silsilatul-Ahaadeethis-Saheehah (#2598)]

Health, Wealth and Happiness

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5290, Narrated by one of the companions

When we were sitting together, Allah's Messenger appeared with a trace of water on his head, and when we told him that he appeared to us to be in a happy frame of mind, he agreed. The people then began to discuss wealth and Allah's Messenger said, "There is no harm in wealth for him who fears Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, but for him who fears Allah health is better than wealth, and a happy frame of mind is one of Allah's favours."

[Ahmad transmitted it]

Who do you fear?  Mankind? or Allah swt?

The Noble Qur'an At-Taubah 9:13

Will you not fight a people who have violated their oaths (pagans of Makkah) and intended to expel the Messenger, while they did attack you first? Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are believers.

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5306, Narrated AbuDharr -Ahmad, Ibn Majah and Darimi transmitted it.

Allah's Messenger said, he knew a verse which would suffice men if they would but apply it, "For him who fears Allah He will appoint a way out and He will give him provision from an unimagined source.'"

Tears of Fear

Hadith - Al-Tirmidhi #5359, Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger said, "If, through fear of Allah, tears--even to the extent of a fly's head--fall from any believer's eyes and drop on some part of his cheek, he will be kept away from Hell by Allah."

Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Must have Knowledge

The Noble Qur'an - Faatir 35:28

And of men and Ad­Dawâb (moving living creatures, beasts, etc.), and cattle, in like manner of various colours. It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is All­Mighty, Oft­Forgiving.

Sayings of the Salaf

‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Azîz (rahimahullâh) used to say, "None can reach the station of taqwâ until he possesses neither action nor words that can be exposed to his embarrassment either in this world or the Hereafter." He was once asked, "When does the worshipper reach the peak of taqwâ? He replied, "If he put all his thoughts and desires in his heart on a plate and then wandered around in the market, he should not feel ashamed of anything there." He would frequently say, "The sign of the muttaqî (pious person who fears Allah swt much) is to bridle oneself from speaking just like one in ihrâm bridles himself from speaking. The muttaqî need to be a scholar of the Sharî‘ah, all of it, otherwise he leaves taqwâ without realising."

How to Achive Taqwa

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, 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 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 in shaa Allaah.

Related Topics:
Doubtful Matters  |  Extremism  |  Hope  |  Knowledge

Action Items for the uttaqun:

• Run from sin and questionable matters (i.e. potential temptations or sins)

• Run to Allah (i.e. repentence, with sincerity, in ibadah [worship], etc.)

• Realize that it is out of love that a parent corrects a child.  It is a lack of love that neglects or shows little concern regarding a child.  So lovingly accept correction from Allah and abstain from evil because of fear of punishment.

• There is no fear where there is not obedience.

• Stop fearing mankind.  If you're worried more about what Joe or Hasan down the street thinks then you're not fearing your Lord.

• Stop fearing or worrying about the unknown and things you cannot control.  "Fix yourself" (i.e. stop trying to fix things you can't control and stop making excuses that will not stand up to scrutiny on Judgement Day)

• Accept the Qadar of Allah, swt.

Remember... Allah, subhana watala, sees everything we do!