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Part of a series on the Islamic creed:  |
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| Five Pillars (Sunni) | |
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Shahādah - Profession of faith |
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| Six articles of belief (Sunni) | |
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Tawhīd - Oneness |
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| Principles of the Religion (Twelver) | |
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Tawhīd - Oneness |
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| Practices of the Religion (Twelver) | |
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Ṣalāt - Prayers |
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| Seven Pillars (Ismaili) | |
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Walāyah - Guardianship |
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| Others | |
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Kharijite Sixth Pillar of Islam. |
Taqwá (Arabic: التقوى at-taqwá) is the Islamic concept of "God-consciousness" or higher consciousness. It is related to the concept of conscience. Having taqwá allows a person to be constantly aware of both God's all-encompassing knowledge and attributes and a reminder of their relationship and responsibility to God as his creation and servant. The scholars explain that the way to taqwá is through obedience of God, avoiding disobedience, and striving to stay away from doubtful matters. It is awareness of God as one moves through life.
The origin of the word taqwá "carefulness, Godfearing-ness" is from the Arabic root WQY from the 8th form verb, ittaqá "be wary, Godfearing." The traditional understanding is negative: "to stay away from everything forbidden and do all things that are ordered by God." Alternative definitions are sometimes quite positive, such as: "to pursue the Path of God with single-minded, energetic devotion."[citation needed] Literally it means to protect yourself from diverging from the path of God. The Qur'ān says,
One of the early Companions of the Prophet gave an example of taqwá. If one is walking through a forest where there are many thorns, one walks carefully so as not to get pricked or get one's clothes torn.
Taqawa is cognate to the Hebrew term תקווה tikvah ("hope"), deriving from the Semitic root Q-W-I.
Qur'ānic Discussion
The word taqwá occurs in the Qur’ān seventeen times in all in its nominal form. This form of noun in Arabic does not change case, so nominative, accusative, and genitive usages appear identical, although the grammatical differences often have a bearing on translation. A comparison between the translations of Yusuf ‘Ali and M. H. Shakir can shed some light on the nuances of the word taqwá and are therefore given respectively in the following summary.
The word taqwá in nominative constructions occurs only at Verses 2:197 & 22:37 ("right conduct" or "piety", "guarding of oneself" or "guarding against evil"). Likewise, the word taqwá occurs in accusative constructions in only two verses with a pronominal suffix in each case, as follows: 47:17, taqwāhum "their piety and restraint/guarding" against evil); 91:8, taqwāhā "its right, what is right for it". There are three construct genitive forms with taqwá as the second term, as follows: 7:26, libāsu t-taqwá "raiment of righteousness, clothing that guards" against evil); 48:26, kalimata t-taqwá "the command of self-restraint, the word of guarding against evil"; 74:56, ahlu t-taqwá "Lord of righteousness, worthy to be feared". There is also one construct genitive with taqwâ as the first term, additionally preceded by a preposition, as follows: 22:32, min taqwá l-qulūb (from piety of heart/piety of hearts). The word taqwá occurs in the prepositional genitive case as follows: 20:132, li t-taqwá "for righteousness, for guarding against evil"; 49:3, 2:237, aqrabu li t-taqwá "nearest to righteousness, nearer to righteousness"; 5:8, aqrabu li t-taqwá "next to piety, nearer to piety"; 96:12, bi t-taqwá "righteousness, guarding against evil"; 5:2, ‘alá l-barri wa t-taqwá "in righteousness and piety, in goodness and piety"; 9:108 ‘alà t-taqwâ (on piety/on piety); 9:109, ‘alà t-taqwâ (on piety/on fear of Allah); 58:9, bi l-barri wa t-taqwâ (for righteousness and self-restraint/of goodness and guarding against evil).
In the foregoing verses, the Qur’ān does not merely laud the virtues of taqwá or command the believers to have it, but as typically occurs, it also provides definition for the concept. First, the ultimate antecedent or source of taqwá is given in verse 47:17, ātāhum "He grants them" their taqwá, as a product of their receiving Guidance.
Significantly, verse 47:17 does not simply say that God grants taqwá, but that God is the ultimate source of their taqwá. Thus, taqwâ is a characteristic of the believer, which is not simply the product of sheer will, but requires inspiration from God. That taqwá emanates from believers, while self-evident, is also made explicit: 22:37, minkum ("from you"); 22:32, taqwá l-qulūb (the taqwá of the hearts). More, specifically, it belongs to the soul: 91:8, taqwāhā, referring to the soul mentioned in the preceding verse. Next, the results of taqwá are given as follows: 22:37, yanāluhu ("reaches God"). Lastly, metaphorical passages provide further refinement in our understanding: 2:197, zād (likened to "provisions"); 7:26, libāsu t-taqwá (likened to "clothing").
Two verses use the form "nearer to" (aqrabu li) and thus provide two examples of behavioral choice that point in the direction of the deeper meaning of taqwâ. First, verse 2:237 refers to a case of divorcing a wife prior to consummation and explains that it is nearer to taqwâ to return the dowry, despite the man’s legal right to it. Given that this is a question of being ethical rather than merely insisting on legal technicalities, it is clear that taqwâ incorporates a supremely ethical character. Meanwhile, verse 5:8 refers to the choice between allowing hatred to provoke unjust action and instead insisting upon justice in all instances. The latter is nearer to taqwâ. Once again, ethical choices are not taqwâ per se, but the more ethical person is closer in character to what taqwâ itself represents.
Further reading
Ambros, Ames; Stephan Procházka (2004). A Concise Dictionary of Koranic Arabic. Reichert Verlag. p. 294. ISBN 3-89500-00-6.
Murata, Sachiko; William C. Chittick (2000). The Vision of Islam. I. B. Tauris. pp. 282–285. ISBN 1-86064-022-2.
See also
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