The Reality of TAQWA

The word ‘Taqwa’ is derived from the root ‘waqaya’ which means ‘to safeguard’ or ‘to abstain’. In the Islamic terminology it is defined as the action of restraining oneself from disobeying the commands of Allah. When Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the word, ‘Taqwa’ he replied, “Submit to the command (of Allah) and do not go near the prohibited.” It means that one should endeavor to fulfill all the commands of Allah and abstain from the prohibited things. On the basis of this, Taqwa is classified into two types:

The first type of Taqwa consists of compulsory obedience to Allah in fulfilling the compulsory duties (wajibaat) and not leaving even a single duty unperformed. The obligatory commands (wajibaat) are those which, if not carried out, invite the wrath of Allah. Also, as far as possible one should try not to forgo the recommended acts (Mustahabbaat). The recommended acts are those, which if performed earn blessings but if not carried out do not make one liable for punishment.

Types of Taqwa According to Allama Majlisi¹

According to AllamaMajlisi (r.a.) there are four types of ‘Taqwa’

1. ‘Wara-e-Ta’beeri- which means to abstain from the prohibited things.

2. ‘Wara-e-Saleheen’- To abstain from doubtful things so that one may not commit a Haraam act.

3. ‘Wara-e-Muttaqeen’- To abstain from permissible things so that one is absolutely protected from ‘Haraam’.

4. ‘Wara-e-Sadeqeen’- To avoid everything that is not religious so that one may not waste precious time in useless acts, even though there may not be any risk of committing a sin.

Deeds (Actions) Without Taqwa = zero (0) Nullified

The Holy Prophet (S) said:

“On the Day of Judgement there would be people whose good deeds will be as heavy as the mountains of Tahama. Inspite of this it would be ordered that they be tossed into the fire of Hell.”

Upon this someone said, “O! the Prophet of Allah (S), were these people performing Salāt (prayers)?”,

“Yes, they used to pray, and fast, and also spend a part of the night in worship. But, whenever they chanced upon something which gave them pleasure, they used to rush to it without thinking whether it was right or wrong.”

Lack Of Piety – Spoils The Foundation

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) said,
“Strive more to perform good deeds. However if you cannot perform a good act (at least) do not disobey (the commands of Allah). Because if one lays the foundation of a building and does not spoil it, then, even if the progress is slow, the building will definitely rise. (Conversely) The person who lays the foundation and at the same time spoils it, then it is sure that the walls of this building will never be raised.”²

Taqwa - Best Provisions for the Hereafter

Allah says in Holy Quran - “For those among them who did good and acted piously there will be a great reward."³

Imam Ali (as) said,

While returning from Siffin, Imam Ali passed along the cemetery of Kufa. Addressing the graves he said: "O you, who are lying in horrible and deserted houses. O you, who are shut up in the dark graves, who are alone in their abodes, strangers to the places assigned to them; you have gone ahead and preceded us, while we are also following your steps and shall shortly join you. Do you know what has happened aver you? Your houses and property was taken up by others, your widows have remarried, this is what we can tell you of this world. Can you give us some news about things around you?" Saying this, Imam Ali turned to his companions and said, "If they are permitted to speak they will inform you that the best provision for the next world is piety and virtue".4

Taqwa – Self Purification & Cure For Psychic Diseases

The Commander of the Faithful Imam' Ali (A) said:
"Piety is the only cure for wickedness of your heart. It is the Divine Light to expel darkness of your heart. It is a remedy for your ailing mind. It is the only way of improvement for your corrupt soul. It purifies your conscience. It brings back sight to the eyes blinded by ignorance of truth."5

A Beautiful Garden - Prepared For Pious Ones

(133) وَسَارِعُواْ إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

"And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden whose width is (as) the heavens and the earth, prepared for the pious ones."

-the Holy Quran (3:133)

Finally, we conclude with this tradition from - Imam Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (a.s):

“A person who would like to be among the companions of al-Qa’im should be in a state of (active) waiting (Intidhar), and perform all of his deeds with Wara’ and with the most beautiful etiquette and then one will be counted as being in a state of (true) waiting (Intidhar). Then if such a person was to die and al-Qa’im was to make his advent after this, then that person would receive the reward as the one who witnessed his (al-Mahdi’s) advent.”

[Biharul Anwar, Vol.52, Pg.140; al-Ghaybah of al-Nu’mani]

So, we must all pray to Allah to give us taufeeq to acquire taqwa as He wants & include us among his (a.t.f.s) companions.

1.     Greater Sin, Vol.1

2.    Iddat’ud-Dai, page 235

3.    Holy Quran (3:172)

4.    NahjulBalagah, Saying No.129

5.    NahjulBalagha, letter no.198.

Fear Of Allah (SWT)

Fear is an emotion which is inherent in every human being. According to common parlance fear implies the following :

“An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.”

In Islamic context, fear is of two kinds. Firstly, there is the fear of Allah and the fear of sins and Divine punishment. Secondly there is the fear of things other than Allah.

The former is praiseworthy and leads man to perfection and latter kind of fear is an undesirable vice brought 

about by the disease of cowardice.

When we say that one should fear Allah, it does not imply the kind of fear one has due to an oppressor but it refers to the fear due to the majesty and greatness of Allah. This fear is also called khashyah or rahbah. It also implies the fear of sins one has committed and the punishment for the retribution of the sins. The greater we have such kind of fear, the greater contribution it can make towards one’s spiritual development and perfection.[1]

In fact Ayatullah Dastaghaib Shirazi in his book Iste-aaza states :

“The lowest state of Ikhlas or sincerity is that the motive of the act is not to make a show but the fear of Retribution or search for Rewards from Allah. For example : When one wakes up for the Fajr Prayers and does abulution, his motive for the act should be that the prayer is mandatory and if he didn’t  perform it, he would be liable for Retribution.”

Quranic verses and traditions have laid great emphasis on fearing Allah and have also mentioned many benefits and rewards of the same.

The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) says:

“For those who avoid acts of disobedience or the illegal desire that is shown before them out of fear of Allah, Allah will prevent the fire of Hell from consuming them, save them on the Day of Grand Horror, and fulfill His promise to them that He cites in His Book as He says “Those who fear their Lord will have two gardens.”[2]

It is important to realise that we have to leave evil acts and sins because of fear of Allah and not because doing it is not possible or we dislike it. If a person dislikes watching television, he cannot claim reward for abstinence because the abstinence was not out of obedience or fear of Allah. Irreligious youths waste their time on social networking sites, mobile apps, newspapers, watching or listening prohibited things etc. We, the workers of Imam Zamana (atfs) are attracted towards those addictions but keep away / should keep away due to fear of Allah. If we are not able to control, its time we obtain this fear.

Hence, we move on to the moot question, how do we obtain this praiseworthy fear. One way is by acquiring marefat(recognition) of Allah. It has been mentioned in the Holy Quran in Sura Fatir, Ayah 28:

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ (28)

Amongst the people, it is a fact that only the Learned fear Allah.

In traditions the above verse is explained as follows :

•   Imam Zainul Aabedeen says :

Allah’s recognition and worship is necessary for each other. One who has recognition of Allah, he will fear Allah. And this fear will encourage him to obey Allah. Surely the carriers and bearers of Knowledge only have recognition of Allah and they perform actions for obtaining pleasure of Allah and with reference to them Allah states “Amongst the people, only carriers of knowledge fear Allah”.[3]

•  On the mornings of Wednesday, Imam (a.s.) used to offer the following supplication :

           “O Lord! Amongst all your creatures, one who fears you the most is the one who has your                maximum recognition…. ”[4]

Hence, if we try to acquire knowledge of Tauheed, Divine Rewards and Punishments, Paradise and Hell; we may be blessed with this kind of fear.

Another way is to read the supplications of Masoomeen (a.s.) which are a treasure through which we can acquire this fear of Allah. In Dua Abu Hamza Thumali which is recommended to be prayed at the time of Sahar in the Holy Month of Ramadhan, Imam Sajjad (a.s.) says :

“And why would I not weep for I have no knowledge of my fate and I observe myself, deceiving itself, and my days are fading away, and the wings of death have flapped close by, So why wouldn't I cry! I cry for surrendering my life, I cry because of the darkness of my grave, I cry because of the narrowness of my grave, I cry for the questioning of Munkar and Nakeer , I cry from leaving my grave (in the hereafter) naked, humiliated and carrying my book (of deeds) on my back,..”

Just reading these kind of statements has a profound effect on the reader. If we regularly recite Dua-Kumayl and refer to the sermon of Gharra of Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) we ourselves will feel the change in a due course of time.

To gauge the intensity of this fear one should introspect how much he is involved in sins. While committing sins, is the fear of Allah restraining him from doing so or does his lust, selfish desire, rebellion control him. If it is the latter case then he should work towards increasing his fear and supplicate to Allah through the medium of Masoomeens (a.s.) to help him.

Having mentioned all this, one should keep in mind that this fear of Allah should be kept in the bounds of moderation because if it exceeds it then it will lead to despair and loss of hope in the mercy of Allah which is counted amongst the greater sins.

The balance that should be maintained between fear and hope can be summarized by the following tradition of Imam Jafer Sadiq (a.s.) :

“Hope for Allah in a form that does not draw you to the commitment of acts of disobedience to Him, and fear Him in such a way that does not make you despair of His Mercy. ”[5]

We pray to Almighty Allah(s.w.t.) through the medium of Vali-e-Asr(a.t.f.s) to bless us with this praiseworthy fear.Ameen.

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[1]Jami al-Sa’adat                            

[2]AhlulBayt : Ethical Role Models

[3]Tafseer Noorus Saqlain

[4]Tafseer Noorus Saqlain

[5]AhlulBayt : Ethical Role Models

Time Management

(I swear) by TIME , that surely mankind suffers loss, except for those who believe and do good deeds,and they enjoin Truth and they enjoin constancy.

Surah Asr (Time)

TIME is that which passes quickly, does not return and cannot be replaced, it is considered most precious and valuable resource in human possession. Interestingly, time is that resource which can be identified and is equally available to all. Even though all are not born with equal capabilities but they all have 24 hours daily.

Why Time Management is necessary ?

A lack of correct allocation of time leads us to fall short in various areas of our lives – academically, professionally and in our personal relationships. Most importantly however, as the workload piles, the first thing we begin to neglect is the most important relationships we have: with God, the most Glorious, Ahlul-Bayt (as) and specifically for Hazrate Hujjat (atfs).

Effective ways for Time Management

1)      Plan Ahead and Divide our Day

Imam Musa Kazim (a.s) says-

Divide your time into 4 parts :

a)      For Worshipping ALLAH and asking your needs.

b)      For fulfilling your routine commitments and responsibilities

c)       Spending time with honest and trustworthy person, those who take you closer to ALLAH by drawing your attention to your shortcomings in a friendly manner & who are your sincere friends.

d)      Spending TIME in recreation, but within the limits of ISLAM.

Ref: Tohaful Uqool , Page 409

2)      Your time table

Each one of us should maintain a time table / a planner. We need to plan our tasks and allocate a day and time for each of the tasks. Once the day and time is allocated, we just need to refer to the schedule and do those acts. Just like a doctor examines his patience as per appointment, we should also list down our responsibilities and take up each of them. If we prepare a time table for ourself, we will never forget recitation of quran or reading library pages or those small home assignments given to us. The reason we do not do is we never planned it.

1)      Prioritizing

Leave off the lower priority task for higher priority. In Surah Juma,verse 9 ALLAH (swt) says:

“O you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business, that is best for you but if you knew!”

Hence, we should give priority to visiting a sick relative over a casual meeting with a friend, reading books of tradition gets priority over newspaper, Islamic studies should get priority over watching a cricket match.

2)      Listing down the TIME-WASTERS

It's important to look at and criticize where our time goes every day. Each person has a different level of productivity and efficiency. Make a list of the biggest time wasters for you and think of creative ways to eliminate them. One avenue to consider is technology; although created to make us more efficient, technology has also become a substantial distraction in our lives.

   So TIME MANAGEMENT is not how to manage TIME but it is how to manage ourselves.

May Allah (swt) give us Tawfeeq to manage our time in an efficient manner and utilise our time in the service of His Last Hujjat (a.t.f.s)

Insulting a believer

During the Battle of Tabuk the Holy Prophet (S) announced that people should donate as much as they can to cover the cost of the Battle. The affluent people donated large amounts and the poor gave whatever little they could. A companion by the name of Abu Aqīl Ansari brought 1.75 sīr of dates and said, “I have laboured from last night till morning and received 3.5 sīr of dates. Half I left for my family and the other half for Allah.” The hypocrites began to make fun of both the types of people and began to find faults with them. For those who donated more, they said that they have given such large amounts to show off their wealth and for those who could contribute little, they said: They want to be included among the philanthropist, or they wanted people to consider them at the time of giving charity.

However, Allah (s.w.t.) did not like the insulting of the believers and promised them a painful chastisement:

“They who taunt those of the faithful who give their alms freely, and those who give to the extent of their earnings and scoff at them; Allah will pay them back their scoffings and they shall have a painful chastisement.”

(Surah at-Tawba 9: 79)

Inuslting a believer – believing men or woman, elder or younger, relative or non-relative is one of the Gunahe Kabeera.

We need to keep an eye on our actions and know that all  of the below listed actions are actually considered as an Insult of a believer :

·        Making fun of the actions of a believer

·        Mocking the defects of a believer

·        Abusing a believer by associating an evil thing with them (drunkard, betrayer of trust, donkey, pig etc.)

·        Taunting the actions of a believer to cause them disgrace

·        Calling out the faults of a believer in a gathering

We need to realise that sometimes while we avoid these things whilst dealing with strangers and unrelated people, we are heedless with regards to our close relatives like our wife, children, and parents etc.  We are mindful of these actions when dealing with our colleagues in office but least bothered when dealing with our brothers and those who are serving Imam (as).

It is good to avoid all kinds of formalities with our loved ones, relatives and brothers but we cannot afford to be so casual so as to devoid them of all kinds of respect and actually insult them.

Our loved ones, near relatives and these brothers are our actual assets, real companions and true friends and we need to take care of them, keep them satisfied and happy. We cannot afford to lose them at any cost.

Insulting a believer has been criticized by our Aimmah (as) and we find a tradition wherein Hazrat Imam Baqir (a.s.) says,

“One who taunts a believer on his face will die the most terrible death. And he has moved in such a direction from where there is no return to goodness.”

(al-Kāfi Vol. 2 page 360)

Lastly, a question may arise as to why insulting a believer is so disliked by Allah(s.w.t), His Prophet(s.a.w.s) and the AhlulBayt(a.s.).  The answer is provided by Holy Prophet(s.a.w.s):

“Indeed Allah has made the believer an example of His Greatness and Power. So one who taunts a believer or rejects his request, he has actually rejected the command of Allah.”

(Wasa’ilul-Shia, vol. 8 page 612)

Thus, the insult of a believer is in fact the mockery, abuse and taunt of the Greatness and Power of Allah(s.w.t.) .

Let us resolve to list down those who could have faced our insulting words or gestures and thereafter gather courage and seek forgiveness of all the above to ensure the wrath and punishment of Allah(s.w.t)  does not befall us.

I am afraid of MUSIC

Today, world cannot imagine life without music. Music makes you happy and takes your mind off your problems in the short run. It’s just like drugs, alcohol, and gambling. People take in order to get peace & to distract them from the daily toils and personal problems. But, Allah (swt) says in Holy Quran that a believer’s heart will get peace through remembrance of Allah only. (13:28)

Allah (swt) says in Holy Quran, "And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allah, the Verses of the Quran) by way of mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment (in the Hell-Fire)". (Surah Luqman 31:6) 

Ahmad Ibn Ziyad Ibn Ja’far Al-Hamdani (May Allah Rest his Soul) narrated, he said: Ali Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Hashim narrated, he said: Al-Rayyan Ibn Al-Salta narrated he said: One day while Al-Reza (as) was in Khorasān I asked him something: My master, I heard from Ibrahim Ibn Hashim that you had gave him permission in listening to music?

Imam (as) said: That disbeliever is lying, for he asked me about that and I responded to him by saying: A man once asked Abu Ja’far Al-Sadiq (as) about this and he responded by saying: If Allah is to show us truth and falsehood, then music would be on the side of falsehood, this is the final judgment (as in I have passed judgment on this question).  

[Uyoon Akhbar al-Reza (as) - Vol.1, Pg.17]

Some Effects of Music:

1. Hypocrisy -

The Sixth Imam (a.s.) has also stated, “The playing of violin promotes the growth of hypocrisy in the heart like water assists the growth of vegetation (algae).”(Wasa’il ul-Shia)

2. Divine wrath -
Imam Ali ar-Reza (a.s.), "A person invites Divine wrath when in his house instruments like flute, drum and chess are played for forty days. If this man dies within these forty days, his death would be of a sinner and a transgressor. His place shall be in Hell. And what a dreadful place it is!"  (Mustanad al Taraqi)

3.  Your brain stops working -

Because it creates a false euphoria, you keep going back for another fix. It completely takes over your mind and affects your judgment.

The British neurologist Oliver Sacks says: “music can involve many different parts of the brain, special parts for the response to pitch, and to frequency, and to timbre, and to rhythm, and to melodic contour, and to harmonic and everything else” thus, completely occupying the brain.

Dr. Ballam states: “The human mind shuts down after three or four repetitions of a rhythm, or a melody, or a harmonic progression.” (Ballam, Michael. Music and the Mind, pp 1-8.)

Hope the above helped to prove your habit of not listening to music is indeed a good habit.

Neighbors

 Among the rights and duties that Islam has promulgated, are the rights of neighbours. It is a Muslim’s obligation to behave benevolently with his neighbours as he behaves with his near and dear ones. He should be courteous with them and try to alleviate their calamities and affliction. One who observes the rights of his neighbours, shall find this virtue most beneficial, making him worthy of Allah’s pleasure.

We have been warned that most of the people would fail to fulfill these rights. The Prophet of Allah (sawa) said  “Listen to what I tell you. Only a few people who are blessed by Allah ‘s Mercy honor the rights of neighbors. Allah stressed the rights of neighbors so much that I thought neighbors inherit from man.”[1]

 The rights of neighbourhood are not meant for Muslim neighbours only. Of course, a Muslim neighbour has one more claim upon us - that of Islamic brotherhood; but so far as the rights of neighbourship are concerned, all are equal.
 
 Explaining it, the Holy Prophet said: Neighbours are of three kinds: (1) that one who has got one right upon you;   (2) that one who has got two rights upon you;  (3) that one who has got three rights upon you.  The neighbour having three rights upon you is the one who is also a Muslim and a relative. The neighbour having two rights is the one who is either a non-Muslim or a non-relative Muslim.
 The neighbour having one right is the one who is neither a Muslim nor a relative. Still he has got all the claims of neighbourhood-rights upon you.

Lets us glance at a few traditions on the rights of neighbours:

 The Holy Prophet (sawa) said:” That man is not from me who sleeps contentedly while his neighbour sleeps hungry.”
 

 Al-Imam `Ali ibn al-Husayn (a. s.) in his Risalat al-Huquq, said: “And the right of your neighbor is that .... You should not pursue any of his imperfections, and you should not seek any of his faults. But if you should discover any of his faults unintentionally, you should take the role of a fortified stronghold and a veiling screen regarding what you know. You should guard them in such a way that none of his defects can be discovered even if they are thoroughly inspected with spears. And you should not eavesdrop on him, and you should not forsake him during times of hardship. And you should not envy him when he receives a blessing. Pardon his deviation and forgive his mistakes. And do not lose your temper when he behaves out of ignorance with you.....”

The Prophet of Allah (sawa) was asked: “O’ Prophet of Allah! What are the rights of neighbors incumbent upon other neighbors?” He (sawa) said: “The least right of a neighbor is that if he asks you for a loan you should grant it to him. If he asks you for help, you should help him. If he wants to borrow something from you, you should lend it to him. If he wants you to donate something to him, you should do so. If he invites you, you should accept his invitation. If he gets sick, you should go and visit him. If he passes away, you should attend his funeral procession. If he receives some blessings, you should become happy and not become jealous of his blessings. If a tragedy befalls him, you should feel sorry for him. You should not build a tall building which blocks the view from his house. If you bring home something like fruit, you should give him some as a gift, or cover up the fruit and take it home in such a way that his kids do not see it.”[2]

It should be noted that the fulfilling of the above rights do not give us reason to disregard religious laws with regards to najasat, idol worhsipping, interaction with na-mehram, haram acts etc.  Providing our house for hosting their festivals, facilitating their sinful acts, allowing our chidren to visit them and learn bad habits,  avoiding our religious activities to avoid their displeasure etc cannot be justifised as fulflling the rights to neighbours.

May Allah give us taufeeq to fulfill the rights of our neighbours.

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[1] Mustadrak al-Vasa’el, v.2, p.79.

[2] Mustadrak al-Vasa’el, v.2, p.79.