Taqwa: Fear of the Almighty

Bismillahir-Rahma-nir-Raheem
A person once asked the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wa
sallam), "O Messenger of Allah! Give me some advice." The Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) replied, "I advise you to fear
Allahbecause it is the head of everything."
This is taqwa--having fear of the Majestic, theAll-Mighty, Most High,
Most Exalted, the One Creator, the Supreme Power.
Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Have fear of Allah, it
is the head of everything." But to have fear of Allah, we must attain
God-consciousness, theawareness that Allah isdeeply involved in every
aspect of our lives, in our every action, in our every thought, in
every spoken word. He sees what we do hidden and what we do openly. He
sees all that we do, whether it's intentional or unintentional,
whetherit's an evil, sinful act or a good, rewardful act. He hears all
we say, whether we say it to someone's face, to ourselves, behind
someone's back, or in our innermost thoughts. He is the Alive, the
Eternal and He is closer to us than the vein in our neck (Suratul Qaaf
50:16).
The likeness of one who has the awareness of the reality of Allah's
existence in every single act, every single decision, every single
word, every single 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,
onewho feels Allah in theirheart 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 or her
life had been lacking without this devotion, without this urge to
serve. And with it they strive for the pleasure of their Lord, finding
fulfillment and happiness.
Taqwa--fear of Allah. There was a time when this actually meant
something. There was a time when Umar bin al-Khattaab (radiyallahu
anhu) merely said a two-word khutbah. He said, "Ittaqullah!" Fear
Allah! And with that hestarted the Jumu'ah prayer. But today, we are
in a situation in which these two words alone will hold no weight as
it did at the time of the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) and
his companions (radiyallahu anhum). There was a time when fearing
Allah, theOne, the True, was a type of advice in whichpeople did take
heed, but today its means absolutely nothing to us. Instead of having
fear of He, whose hands hold our very lives, instead of havingfear of
He who holds our destinies, instead of having fear of He who takes not
our eyesight or our hearing or our ability to feel, but gives us
thousands of chances daily to turn to Him, who do we fear? We fear our
friends, our peer group. We fear them so much that we disobey that
same God,who loves us so much that He forgives all our sins if only
one tear falls from our eyes onto our cheeks. One tear! We go out with
our friends, even our relatives, to make them happy and to fit in. We
go to the movies, we go out partying at clubs and pubs committing sins
and earning the displeasure of Allah and earning the pleasure of
Shaytaan (Satan) for their sake."Here just have a sip ofthis. It's not
gonna do nothing," or, "Smoke a joint, man. What's wrong with you
mama's boy?!?" or,"Come on, baby, just once if you really love me."
These phrases might sound familiar to some of us. Instead of realizing
that one day, on a day in which there is no doubt, we will be called
up one by one to answer for every deed we committed and then either
thrown into the Hellfire or welcomed into Paradise, we obey the
disbelievers and the hypocrites (Muslims only by name):
"O Prophet! Keep your duty to Allah and obey not the disbelievers and
the hypocrites. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. And follow
that which is inspired to you from your Lord. Verily, Allah is well
aquainted with what you do. And put your trust in Allah and Sufficient
is Allah as Trustee." (Suratul Ahzaab 33:1-3)
"How do you disbelieve in Allah when He gave you life when you were
dead, then He will give you death, then life again, then unto Him you
will return?" (Suratul Baqarah 2:28)
Instead of fearing the one who gave us life after we were dead, the
One who bestows upon us food to keep our stomachs full, clothes to
keep us warm, and houses to protect us, who do we fear? We fear our
employers and our teachers. And because of fear of them, we choose not
to worship that One, Powerful Lord at our prescribed times. We fear
them?!?!? Them, who Allah, Himself created--created them as He created
us, the believers, out of the dust of the earth?!? Yet, we fear them,
whothemselves will have no protects, no friends,no helpers, nor any
interceders against Allah on the Day of Resurrection. Imagine, we make
the choice not to worship the Lord of Kindness. And, in reality, we
fear everything, but we fearnot Allah, the Source ofall Goodness.
"It is only Shaytaan that suggests to you the fear of his friends and
supporters (disbelievers) so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are
true believers." (Suratul Ali Imran 3:175)
"Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him, keep their duty to Him,and
those who are doers of good for the sake of Allah only." (Suratul Nahl
16:128)
"Whoever fears Allah, Allah will grant him a way out of hardship; and
whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will forgive his
sins from him and will enlarge his reward." (Suratut-Talaq 65:2, 5)
"Verily, those who are fearful of Allah are the people who, when an
evil thought from Shaytaan comes to them, they remember Allah, and
indeed they then see aright." (Suratul A'raaf 7:20)
Once the fear and awareness of Allah dawns on a person, lifeis never
the same. When a person's heart opens up to Allah, it cannot be. The
way we view life, how we see life, our ambitions in life, our
expectations in life, our goals in life, all change. After this, every
aspect of life is seen with a spiritual and Islamic dimension.There is
a reason, an aim, a goal to it all, a sense of justice and
fulfillment, and a senseof a relationship with one's Creator, the
Creator who is deeply involved with every action and thought of our
lives.
"It is Allah Who gives life and death and Allah sees well all that you
do." (Suratul Ali Imran 3:156)
"Truly my Lord casts (a mantle) of Truth (over His servants), He that
has full knowledge of (all) that is hiddenIf I am astray it is only at
the loss of my own soul; but if I receive guidance, it is because of
the inspirations of my Lord to me; it is He Who hears all things and
is ever near." (Suratus-Saba 34:48, 50)
This is why it is also important to realize that Islam is a way of
life. It is not just a ritual of prayers, fasting, and feasting. Islam
is the true deen, the Deen of Allah, a complete system of lifeand this
life, the Islamic life, is to be lived the way Allah hasprescribed it.
And it starts with taqwa. Now, taqwa is more than just having fear
ofAllah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radiyallahu anhu) narrated: "Taqwa is not fasting
during the day and it is not praying during the night and it is not
the mixing of the two of them, but taqwa is leaving what Allah has
made haram (forbidden) and by doing what Allah has made fard. After
one has done this, Allah will provide good things for that person."
Al Hasan (radiyallahu anhu) reported: "The people who have taqwa
(called al-muttaqeen) are the people who avoided whatever Allah
prohibited and had done whatever Allah ordained."
And this, doing what ispermitted and refraining from what is
prohibited comes from the fear and awareness of Allah's presence. The
means of obtaining taqwa is in our grasp and our ability; it is in our
very homes, and it is what our arwah (souls) crave. The means of
gaining taqwa, the fear of Allah, which leads to a more nourished and
healthy ruh, which leads to a more obedient Muslim,which leads to
refraining from all haram, which leads to striving to gain Allah's
pleasure, which helps lead us to success, which will lead us to Jannah
(Insha Allah) is the remembrance of Allah azzowajal, His dhikr, and it
is the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, His very words. This is why the
Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Fear Allahit is the head
of everything."
It is so easy to remember Allah and toglorify and praise Him,
especially once we've reached this step. For example, when we are
standing in line at the grocery store with all our goods--breads,
cereals, drinks, sweets,nourishments, we should do
tasbih--Subhannallah, Alhumdulillah, Allahu Abkar, and just speak to
Allah in your heart and thank Him for His blessings. Simple. Remember
Allah, praise Him, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.
Another means of gaining taqwa is the guidance of the Qur'an.Its
greatness and its power, is only known to those who experience it and
receive its guidance. Its words have the dynamic power that noother
words could everpossess. It contains thevery words of Allah. Imagine:
holding the very sacred, holy, divine words of the only Supreme Being,
the Only One worthy of being worshipped. What a blessing! We must keep
a habit of reciting the Qur'an, even if it is just a few verses before
heading to work or school, or if we cannot even do that, even
listening to the tilawah, the recitation, of the Holy Book in the car
is, itself, a beautiful experience. The words of the Qur'an are so
powerful, it could make every hair on ourbodies stand to the fear of
Allah.
"Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (Suratur-Ra'd 13:28)
The observance of salah, the one most important act of worship, in the
eyes of Allah, is another means of gaining taqwa and closeness
toAllah, if offered properly and regularly.It is the first thing we
will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement. It is also one of
the good deeds that will protect one from the torment of the grave.
Salah is the heart of Islam and it is the heart of faith (iman). It
saves us from evil and helps us lead a pure life. It expresses our
gratitude to Allah for His mercy and His kindness. By our salah, we
not only glorify andworship the Creator of all that is in the heavens
and all that is in the earth, but we seek His forgiveness through it.
It is blessedand we are blessed to receive a type of worship that has
the power to absolve us of our sins if offered regularly, properly,
and sincerely.
To be included among the muttaqeen, those who have taqwa, we must
refrain from all forbidden acts, all forbidden words, thoughts,
feelings, and emotions, all forbidden celebrationsand gatherings,
which are places of fitna; we must refrain from those who practice and
do what is forbidden and displeased by Allah and stick with the pious
and righteous, who will help us make a habit of doing what is good and
pleasing toAllah and help us refrain from what is sinful and
displeasing to Allah.
In conclusion, from what Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alaiyhi
wa sallam) has outlined for us, we can see that a person who possesses
taqwa is notone who lives an isolated life, only praying and fasting
and maintaining good character alone. Instead, the muttaqeenare those
who fear Allah and look to what Allah has ordained in the carrying out
of his actions to avoid His displeasure and anger. These are they who
areinvolved with the strengthening of the Ummah, active in his or her
life concerned with the affairs of the Muslims while, at the same
time, keeping their duty to their Lord--praying, fasting, spending in
Allah's cause, having good morals, behaviors, and characteristics.
This is why the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) said fearing
Allah is the head of everything. Without this, life is just life, the
daily grind, a gradual process from life to death, but with the
blessing of Islam, we could make our lives more than just life, more
than just the daily grind, more than just a gradual process from life
to death, by the guidance of the Most Glorious Book, the Holy Qur'an
and by the Sunnah, the sayings and teachings of Prophet
Muhammad(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam).
The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) said, "The most common
reason for people to enter Jannah is taqwa and good manners and the
most common reason for people to enter the Hellfire is the mouth and
the private part!" In his last khutbah, the Prophet (sallallahu
alaiyhi wa sallam) said, "I ask you to fear Him, listen to Him, and
obey."
"Truly, the muttaqeen will be amidst Gardensand water springs (Paradise)."
(Suratul Hijr 15:45)
May the Turner of hearts, turn our hearts towards His obedience. May
He giveus the towfique to change in order to fearand obey Him. Our
Lord! Make us submissive to You and of our seed a nation submissive to
You and show us our ways of worship and relent towards us, Lo! You,
only You are the Relenting the Merciful (2:128). Our Lord! Cause not
our hearts togo astray after You have guided us and bestow upon us
mercy from Your presence. Lo! You, only You, are the Bestower. Our
Lord! It is You, Who gathers mankind together on a Day in which there
is no doubt (3:8-9). Our Lord! Lo! We believe; so forgive us our sins
and guard us from the punishment of the fire (3:16)! Ameen.
Alhumdulillahi Rabbil Alameen.

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