"A man hobbled into the hospital and asked for his foot to be X-rayed," said the Moon when her light began to shine, after greeting with Basmalah and Salaam. "Having discovered it wasn’t broken, a nurse took the man back to the waiting area. Then a doctor arrived, handing the man a surprisingly large pill.
Just then, the doctor’s beeper went off, and he excused himself from the room.
Still hurting, the man looked at the big pill. How on earth am I going to swallow that? he thought. But he was in a lot of pain, and he didn’t know how long the doctor would be. So he closed his eyes and forced himself to swallow the tablet. It was horrible.
Just then the doctor returned with a basin full of hot water.
'Okay,' he said. 'Just dissolve the pill in the water and soak your foot in it for a while.'"
"Indeed, the advice which Allah has given to His servants from the time of Adam up until now, has been to have taqwa (fear) of Allah,"
"Taqwa is a treasure which each one of us, should seek and complete for, as the virtues, blessing and fruits attached to it are vast. Fearing Allah is the shield for us and our families in this life, for whoever fears Allah, then he is protected. It is from amongst the best provisions for a believer, benefiting him in this world, easing his affairs for him, protecting him from Shaytan, causing him to enjoy high station in the world, as well as ease and good tidings at the time of death.
According to Shaikh Saleh Al-Fawzan, the linguistic meaning of Taqwa in the Arabic language: is to place a barrier or protection between yourself and that which you dislike, similar to one who wears a garment out of fear of the cold or heat, or who wears an armour, fearing the enemy's arrows, or similar to one who builds a fortress in order to protect himself from the plots of his enemy, or wears shoes to protect his feet from the heat of the sun-baked ground or thorns. The one performing these actions protects himself from the harmful things which may befall him.
Contrary to this, Taqwa [fear] of Allah is not attained by wearing protective garments or by building a fortress, nor is it attained by gathering weapons or troops. But the Taqwa attained by being obedient to Him, and by fulfilling His ordersm and abstaining from what He has forbidden.
Therefore, the meaning of Taqwa (the fear of Allah): is that you act upon that which Allah has ordered, hoping for His reward, and that you abandon disobedience to Him, fearing His punishment.
This is similar to the meaning of the verse:
يٰٓاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ حَقَّ تُقٰىتِهٖ وَلَا تَمُوْتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنْتُمْ مُّسْلِمُوْنَ
'O you who have believed, fear Allāh as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].' [QS. Ali 'Imran (3):102]
Meaning, that an individual does not forsake those actions which Allah has ordered, rather he fulfils them, and in the same manner, he does not carry out those actions which Allah has prohibited, but rather he abstains from them.
This definition of Taqwa, at the same time is the answer why we should have Taqwa. Abdullah ibn Masood, radhiyallahu 'anhu, commented in regards to this verse,
اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ حَقَّ تُقٰىتِهٖ
'... fear Allah as He should be feared ...' [QS. Ali 'Imran (3):102]
'Fear Allah (by doing all that He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. [Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always]. [Taqwa] is that He is obeyed and not disobeyed, and that He is remembered and not forgotten, and that He is thanked and not shown ingratitude.' So, whoever does this has feared Allah as He truly deserves to be feared.
No one is truly able to implement all that Allah has ordered without leaving anything out, nor are they truly able to abstain from all that He has forbidden, and for this reason some of the companions found this verse disturbing, so Allah revealed,
فَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَاسْمَعُوْا وَاَطِيْعُوْا وَاَنْفِقُوْا خَيْرًا لِّاَنْفُسِكُمْۗ وَمَنْ يُّوْقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهٖ فَاُولٰۤىِٕكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُوْنَ
'So fear Allah as much as you are able, and listen and obey, and spend [in the way of Allah]; it is better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.' [QS. At-Taghabun (64):16]
So, when a person performs as many righteous actions as possible, he has feared Allah as much as he is able, due to the fact that Allah does not burden a soul more tliat it has the strength to bear, and this is from His Mercy.
When the servant strives in obedience to Allah and abstains from that which He has forbidden, Allah excuses him regarding that which he is unable to withstand and this is why the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
فَإِذَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ شَىْءٍ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ، وَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِأَمْرٍ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
'... So, if I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can.' [Sahih Al-Bukhari]
Shaikh Al-Fawzan then explained about 'and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].' This is an order from Allah that the believer sliould not die except as a Muslim, holding firmly to his religion.
But does a person possess the ability to die as a Muslim or is this in the Hands of Allah? Indeed, this is in the Hands of Allah, but what is meant by His saying 'fear Allāh as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]' is that you remain firm upon pure faith and the religion of Islam, and whoever remains finn upon this, has performed those actions which causes Allah to grant him a good ending, because whoever leads a particular lifestyle dies upon that. Therefore, this contains an encouragement for a person to hold firm to and be patient upon his religion so that death does not come to him while he is being disobedient to Allah, resulting in an evil end for him, in view of the fact that a person generally dies upon the particular lifestyle he leads.
So, whoever leads a life of obedience to Allah, loving Him and His Messenger (ﷺ), he has brought about the cause for his good ending. But as for tlic person who docs actions in opposition to the obedience of Allah, then this person has carried out actions which cause him to die an evil end, so one needs to be aware of this.
Many counsels given by Shaikh Al-Fawzan, among others: how to strengthen the unity among the Ummah, but we'll discuss it in another session, Insha Allah.
Now, we'll see what Shaikh ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, rahimahullah, told us about Taqwa. But first, who is Shaikh ibn Salih al-Uthaymin? Abu Abdullah, Muhammad ibn Salih ibn Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymin al-Wuhaybi at Tamimi, was bom in he town of 'Unayzah on the 27th of the blessed month of Ramadhan in the year 1347 H [March 9, 1925]. He first memorised the entire Qur’an, and then continued to seek knowledge. He learned writing, arithmetic and other disciplines. He studied fiqh and the laws of inheritance with prominance Scholars.
In the year 1371H, he began teachingin the congregational masjid; and when the educational institutes were opened in Riyadh he joined them in the year 1372H.
Shaikh Uthaymin has a vast number of valuable books, from which the people gain benefit, on the subjects of Aqidah, Fiqh and its principles, admonition, advice and da'wah, and a large portion of which are taught by the ministry of education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He passed away on Wednesday, the 15th of Shawal 1421H [January 10, 2001], when he was 74 years of age. May Allah have mercy on him. Allahumma Amien.
Taqwa in Shaikh Uthaymin view does not differ from Shaikh Al-Fawzan. The meaning of taqwa is that the servant puts bettveen himself and that which he fears, a guard that will protect him. The word taqwa is a derivative of the word ‘ittaqa,’ from the root word ‘waqa’, which means, 'he protected himself from that which harms him.' Essentially, this is what taqwa is—a protection from that which harms the self.
The meaning of taqwa regarding Allah’s servants is ‘That the servant puts between him and that which he fears, i.e. gaining the anger and the wrath of his Rabb, a guard which will protect him. By obeying Him and abstaining from disobeying Him.
Here are some sayings of our Pious Predecessors, in explaining the meaning of Taqwa:
Abd Allah Ibn Abbas, radiyallahu 'anhu said, 'The ones who fear Allah, they are the ones who are wary of Allah and His Punishments.
Abu Hurayrah, radiyallahu 'anhu, was asked about Taqwa, so he asked the questioner whether he had trodden a thorn infested path. The man said he did. Abu Hurayrah asked him how he walked on it. The man said, 'When thorn, I kept away from it because I might be pricked by it.’ Abu Hurayrah said, ‘That is exactly what means (to take actions to avoid sins).'
Ibn Rajab, rahimahullah, said,‘The essence of taqwa is to make a shield (which guards) against Allah’s anger and punishment. That shield is to obey His commandments and abstain from His prohibitions.'
Hasan al-Basri, rahimahullah, said, 'The ones who have taqwa, protect themselves from what Allah has prohibited and act upon what He has commanded. Taqwa remains with them until they forsake many halal things fearing that they could be haram.'
Abu al-Darda, radiyallahu 'anhu, said, ‘The complete form of taqwa is to fear Allah so much that one begins to fear Him from the potential sin, as a mustard seed and until one leaves what might be halal in the fear that it could be haram based on the verse, 'So whoever does an atom’s amount of good, he will see it; and whoever does an atom's amount of evil, he will see it.' So do not prohibit any goodness and act upon goodness. Do not underestimate any evil, and protect yourself from it.
Talq ibn Habib, a famous tabi'i, known for his knowledge, piety and his recitation of the Qur'an, said, 'If an ordeal appears amongst you, extinguish it with taqwa.'
When asked what is taqwa, he replied, 'Taqwa is that you act in obedience to Allah, and hope in His mercy, upon a light from Him; and taqwa is leaving acts of disobedience to Allah out of fear of Him, upon a light from Him. [Related by Ibn Abi Shaybah, declared Sahih by Shaykh al-Albani]
Abu Umamah, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, 'I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) giving a Khutbah during the Farewell Hajj, and said,
اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَصَلُّوا خَمْسَكُمْ وَصُومُوا شَهْرَكُمْ وَأَدُّوا زَكَاةَ أَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَطِيعُوا ذَا أَمْرِكُمْ تَدْخُلُوا جَنَّةَ رَبِّكُمْ
Have Taqwa of your Rabb, and pray your five (prayers), and fast your month, and pay the Zakat on your wealth, and obey thosewho are in charge of you, you will enter the Paradise of your Rabb.' [Jami` at-Tirmidhi; Hasan]
Whenever Rasoolullah (ﷺ) sent a leader of a raiding party on a military expedition, he (ﷺ) would advise him, to have a deep rooted taqwa and he (ﷺ) would also advise the rest of his military party likewise.
The Pious Predecessors (Salaf) did not stop giving mutual advice for having taqwa in their sermons, their corresponding letters and their testaments after Rasoolullah (ﷺ) passed away.
Umar Ibn al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhu, wrote to his son AbdAllah ibn Umar, 'To proceed ... Verily I advise you to have taqwa (fear) of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, for whoever fears Him,Allah will protect him, and whoever gives a loan to Him, Allah will reward him, and whoever thanks Him, Allah will increase him.'
All ibn Abi Talib, radiyallahu 'anhu, gave advice to a man, and he said, 'I advise you to have taqwa of Allah the Mighty, the Majestic. There is no escape in meeting Him and there is no other to meet you except Him when you reach the Hereafter, for verily Allah owns this world and the Hereafter.'
One of the righteous, wrote to his believing brother, ‘I advise you with taqwa (fear) of Allah who knows your secrets and sees your open actions, so remember Allah at every time of the night and day, and fear Allah according to His nearness, and the power He has over you. And know that He always sees you. And do not leave His Rule for another rule, nor His Dominion, for another dominion. So glorify Him, by fearing Him immensely.’
Shaykh Uthaymin mentioned that there are more then twenty benefits of Taqwa in this dunya and also more than twenty benefits of Taqwa in the Hereafter. We'll take a closer look in the next sessions, Biidhnillah."
