Taqwa is one of the most profound concepts in Islam. Taqwa is an avenue by which Muslims relate to one another in society and a means to channel their actions. Because of the great importance of taqwa, it has been referred to numerous times in the Quran and Sunnah in order to emphasise its relavence and significance to the Muslims.
Allah(swt) strongly emphasises the rewards of people with taqwa in this life and the Hereafter. It is these muttaqeen that Allah (swt) grants assistance, victory and provides for. Thus, understanding the concept of taqwa is vital and mandatory for every Muslim.
Unfortunately, this is the very concept which the Muslims have left behind, as a result of faulty education. The disbelievers in the distant past, as well as in present times, have understood the importance of taqwa and the Islamic creed, and how it could jeopardise their interests. They realised how taqwa and the Islamic creed (aqeedah) were the roots of power to Muslim. Thus they began to warp and dilute it by adding Greek, Persian and Hindu ideas and philosophies to it. Eventually the Muslims began to incorporate the false ideas of the body and soul, and their inter-relationships into the original, pristine Islamic concept of taqwa.
As a result, Muslims started portraying a person possessing taqwa as a soft spoken elevated, calm, pious, spiritual person, adorned with a certain type of holy attire. A picture of a person who over emphasises prayer, fasting and things such as donating to the masjid, while living a secluded and isolated life would be the one with taqwa , even though the same person would deal with usury, lie and sell alcohol. They began manufacturing their own version of taqwa and fed this false sentiment into the Ummah.
I contrast to this distorted picture the Quran and Sunnah defines the idea of taqwa as protecting oneself from the Hellfire by following the orders of Allah(swt) by doing what He(swt) has commanded and avoiding what He(swt) has forbidden. Many ayat in the Quran point up these ideas.
And unto Allah belongs all that is the heavens and all that is on earth. And, verily, We have recommended to the people of the scripture before you, and to you (O' Muslims) that you (all) fear Allah, and keep your duty to Him. But if you disbelieve, then unto Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, and Allah is Ever Rich, Worthy of all praise.''
[An-Nisa 4:131]
Also in the Prophets(saw) last khutba he said, 'I ask you to fear Him(swt), listen to Him(swt) and obey.' Both the ayah , as well as the hadith are commanding Muslims to have taqwa . A person should have taqwa as a barrier between himself and the Anger and Displeasure of Allah(swt). Through taqwa , the Muslims strives to obey Allah(swt) and abstains from His prohibitions.
Al-Hasan(ra) once said, 'The people who have taqwa (al-muttaqoon) are the people who avoided whatever Allah(swt) has prohibited and have done whatever Allah(swt) has ordained.'
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz(ra) once said, 'Taqwa is not by fasting the day and not by praying the night. And its not by mixing between the two of them. But, taqwa is leaving what Allah(swt) has made Haram and by doing what Allah(swt) has made fard. After one has done this, Allah(swt) will provide good things for that person.'
A true muttaqoon is a person who strives to possess a solid understanding and knowledge of the rulings of Allah(swt) through the Quran and the Sunnah.
Umar ibn al Khattab once looked at those praying and said, ''The great number of times any of you raises and lowers his head does not deceive me. The [real] deen is being cautious and meticulous in the deen of Allah, and refraining from what Allah has forbidden, and acting according to what Allah permits and forbids.''
Narrated Abu Huraira, the Prophet (saw) said, ''The dunya is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the kafir (disbeliever),'' [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, #7058]
This means that we live within the prison of the Shariah, that every single action we undertake is based upon the revelation of Allah (swt). This means we must accept Islam completely and all of its rules including the rules relating to society, economics and Khilafah. This does not mean that we deny the world and that seeking material development and advancement according to the rules of Shariah is wrong.
In fact once when Imam Ibn Hajar al Asqalani, a famous scholar in the past who died in 852 AH, who wrote the commentary of Sahih al Bukhar entitled 'Fath al Bari', was walking with his grand entourage through the town, they came upon a miserable, poor and dejected Jew. When the Jew recognized Ibn Hajar, he called out to him, ''O scholar of Islam! Is it not true that your Prophet has said that this life is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the kafir? How is it that you are living in lavish wealth being a so-called believer, and yet I live this meagre and miserable existence?'' Ibn Hajar responded, ''What you say of the Prophet (saw) of what he has said is true. You should know that this opulence you see me living in, is a prison compared to what awaits for me in the Hereafter. And, you should know that what you are living is Paradise compared to what Allah has prepared for you in the akhira."''
Source: http://www.adduonline.com/articles/taqwa.htm
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