Taqwa is a central concept that has been frequently mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, especially in verses that deal with individual behavior in social relations. Some of the common English translations of the word taqwa are “piety” and “heed” or “God-fearing.”
Each of these translations gives only a partial understanding of this word’s true meaning because it is an attitude that combines many feelings, such as fear of God, heeding, and above all being God-conscious.
Is Taqwa Simply Fear?
The term fear, when used to refer to God-consciousness in the Islamic context, does not mean being scared of God because being scared excludes any feeling of love or respect.
Fear of God means to fear His disobedience and punishment, on the Day of Judgment, and to fear forgetting Him and losing His blessings.
Another partial meaning of fear, which is nobler, is the fear of displeasing God, the One Whom you love. For example, when two people love each other, you find each of them trying their best to please the other and to avoid even forgetting their anniversaries or birthdays. If this is the attitude of humans toward each other, then it is more appropriate that people fear God’s displeasure. People should love God most because they owe everything to Him: their lives, property, and, above all, His guidance to know and worship Him.
So, fear of God is not founded on a vengeful concept of hate and fear of God. It is actually based on love, which leads to a feeling of fear of God’s displeasure.
God-Consciousness
The meaning of taqwa was clarified in a statement made by Umar Bin Al-Khattab, the second Caliph after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Umar compared being God-conscious to a person going through a narrow path with thorns while he is trying to snatch his clothes to protect himself from any harm.
In Arabic, clothing is used as a metaphor for a person’s character and the thorns are a metaphor for the temptations in life, such as greed and wanting to get money from any source whether legitimate or illegitimate or temptation towards illicit relationships.
This similitude means that the person goes through life trying to protect his moral and pure character, which was endowed on him by God, from all other diversions, deviations, or temptations that surround him.