Al-Huda
Foundation, NJ U. S. A
the Message Continues ... 9/188
Newsletter for July 2017
Article 1 - Article 2 - Article 3 - Article 4 - Article 5 - Article 6 - Article 7 - Article 8 - Article 9 - Article 10 - Article 11 - Article 12
Taqwa (Piety) Advice of Ahal-Bayt
by Sayyed Hussain Sheikh al-Islami Tooyserkani
Piety In Practice
One of the
other cases in which the word
‘Taqwa’ has been used is in
relation to human deed. Human
beings are rewarded on the Day
of Judgment for their deeds. On
that day, man will reap what he
has sown. Perhaps all the
Quranic verses and narrations on
‘Taqwa’ are aimed at human deed
which includes intention too.
In this
relation, the Lord of the
universe says: “O you who
believe! Be careful of (your
duty to) Allah, and let every
soul consider what it has sent
on for the morrow, and be
careful of (your duty to) Allah;
surely Allah is Aware of what
you do.”1
In this
verse, the word “Taqwa” has been
used twice and “what it
has sent on for the morrow
(deed)” is in between.
Perhaps, it refers to the fact
that one, who wishes to do
something, has to have good
intention that is for the sake
of God. He should keep away from
false incentives. He should be
thorough when doing something.
Furthermore, he should exercise
piety in it.
This will
cover many affairs including the
question of justice. In this
connection, God says:“Act
equitably, that is nearer to
piety, and be careful of (your
duty to) Allah; surely Allah is
Aware of what you do.”2
On
benevolence and doing good, God
says: “… if you do good
(to others) and guard (against
evil), then surely Allah is
Aware of what you do.”3
On
assistance, God says: “…
help one another in goodness and
piety, and do not help one
another in sin and aggression;
and be careful of (your duty to)
Allah; surely Allah is Severe in
requiting (evil).”4
On the
foundation of mosque, God says: “And
say: Work; so Allah will see
your work and (so will) His
Apostle and the believers; and
you shall be brought to the
Knower of the unseen and the
seen, then He will inform you of
what you did. …certainly a
mosque founded on piety from the
very first day is more deserving
that you should stand in it; in
it are men who love that they
should be purified; and Allah
loves those who purify
themselves. Is he, therefore,
better who lays his foundation
on fear of Allah and (His) good
pleasure, or he who lays his
foundation on the edge of a
cracking hollowed bank, so it
broke down with him into the
fire of hell; and Allah does not
guide the unjust people.”5
In the
above-mentioned verses, God
refers to the Dhirar Mosque that
had been built to divide the
believers who gathered in the
Qoba Mosque. When the Holy
prophet (SAW) migrated to Medina
where people were attracted by
his good character and manners,
Abu Aamir the Monk, an
aristocrat member from the
Khazraj tribe and well-versed in
Torah and Gospel, envied the
Holy prophet (SAW) and
continuously challenged him
until he participated in the
battles of Uhud and Hunain. He
finally fled to Rome to prepare
an army to fight against Islam.
From Rome, he wrote a letter to
build the Dhirar Mosque, but God
informed the Holy prophet (SAW)
of the issue.
When the
Messenger of Allah (SAW)
returned from the battles of
Tabuk, the hypocrites came to
him, saying: “O Messenger of
Allah! We have built a mosque,
so bless it with your coming.”
They meant to give value to the
mosque with the Holy prophet’s
presence in it and to achieve
their goal, but immediately the
following verse was revealed:
“And those
who built a Masjid to cause harm
and for unbelief and to cause
disunion among the believers and
an ambush to him who made war
against Allah and His Messenger
before; and they will certainly
swear: We did not desire aught
but good; and Allah bears
witness that they are most
surely liars. Never stand in it
at all...”6
Also al-Mofaddhal
relates: “I was in the presence
of Imam Sadiq (AS) when the
question of deeds was brought
up. I said: ‘How little my deeds
are!’ The Imam said: ‘Be silent!
Ask for forgiveness of God!’
Then he said: ‘A little deed
with piety is better than many
deeds without piety.’ I said:
‘Are many deeds devoid of
piety?’ The Imam said: ‘Yes. It
is like a man who feeds the
poor, is kind to the neighbors,
his house is open with
generosity, but a door of
unlawfulness is opened to him
and he enters through it. Such a
deed is devoid of Taqwa. There
is another person who has
nothing but never does an
unlawful act.” 7
These verses
and narrations were used to say
that our deeds should be
righteous. Furthermore, the
results of deeds are important,
for our deeds have no value
without result. In this
connection, God says: “I
swear by time, most surely man
is in loss, except those who
believe and do good.”8
God has also
said: “Whoever does good
whether male or female and he is
a believer, We will most
certainly make him live a happy
life.”9
In another
verse, God says: “Then (as
for) those who believe and do
good, they shall have
forgiveness and an honorable
sustenance.”10
On the same
topic, God says: “And the
blind and the seeing are not
alike, nor those who believe and
do good and the evil doer.”11
Elsewhere,
God has said: “Shall We
treat those who believe and do
good like the mischief-makers in
the earth? Or shall We make
those who guard (against evil)
like the wicked?”12
There are
narrations to the same effect,
stressing that deeds have to be
good and righteous. Furthermore,
there should be no obstacles on
their way of acceptance. The
following is an example.
Ibn Fahad
al-Hilli in his book
Uddatod-Da’ee and Seyed ibn
Tawus in Falah as-Saa’il mention
that the Holy Prophet (SAW) has
been reported by Mu’ath ibn
Jabal as saying: “Before
creating heavens, God created
seven angels, appointing each of
them in a heaven and made that
heaven splendid with that glory.
Then, God appointed an angel as
gatekeeper to each of the gates
of the heavens.
The guardian
angels record man’s deeds day
and night and send them up and a
light like the light of the sun
is sent for him to the lower
heaven. When they reach the sky
of the world, they refine the
deed and add to it, but all of a
sudden, the angel will say:
Wait! Throw this deed against
the face of its doer. I am the
angel of backbiting. I will not
let the deed of a backbiter pass
on to heaven. This is the order
of my Lord.’ He added: ‘Then the
next day while carrying good
deeds, the angels return and
pass by the former angel, refine
the deed and add to it till they
reach the second heaven where
the angel of that heaven will
say: Stop here! Throw this deed
against the face of its doer,
for with this deed, he was
following mean objectives in the
world. I am the angel of worldly
affairs and will not let the
deed of this person pass on to
others from here.’
He said: ‘The
next angels take up the deed of
God’s servant from whose charity
and prayer they are happy.
However, when they reach the
third heaven, the angel will
say: Throw this deed against the
face of its doer. I am the angel
who record arrogance. This
person had good deeds but, he
was arrogant to people. My Lord
has ordered me not to let his
deed pass on to others from
here.’ Then he said: ‘The
guardian angels took up the deed
of God’s servant while it was
shining like a star and his
voice was up with glorification
of God, fasting, and performing
of Hajj. They were taking it up
to the fourth heaven when an
angel would say: Stop here!
Throw it against the face and
belly of its doer. I am the
angel that record
self-admiration. He was
self-conceited. He had good
deeds, but he was
self-important. My Lord has
ordered to stop his deed to pass
on to others from here.’
Then he said:
‘The next stage, the guardian
angels take up man’s deed which
is like a bride ready for
wedding. When they reach the
fifth heaven, the good deed is
accompanied by Jihad, and prayer
with rays of light like those of
the Sun.’ However, the angel
will say: ‘Stop here! I am the
angel recording envy. Throw it
against the face of its doer and
put it on his shoulder. He was
envious against the seekers of
knowledge and the obedient ones
to God. Whenever he saw someone
superior in devotion, he envied
him. Here, that man’s deed is
put on his shoulder while his
deed curses him. Then he said:
once again, the guardian angels
take up man’s deeds to the sixth
heaven, but the angel will say:
Stop here! I am the angel
recording mercy. Throw this deed
against the face of its doer and
make him blind, for he had no
mercy on anyone. If anyone
committed a wrongdoing or
suffered a loss, he would blame
him.
My Lord has
ordered me to stop his deed from
passing on from here. He said:
The guardian angels take up to
heaven man’s deed which is
accompanied by understanding,
endeavor and piety while it has
a sound like that of thunder and
lightning. In addition, three
thousand angels will accompany
it. When they reach the angel in
the seventh heaven, he will say:
Stop here! Throw this deed
against the face of its doer. I
am the angel in charge of
veiling. I will conceal from Him
any deed which is not for the
sake of Him.
This person
intended to obtain a high
position with the chiefs and to
have reputation. My Lord has
ordered me to stop him from
passing on to others as long as
his deed has not been refined
for God. Then he said: This
time, the guardian angels will
take up man’s deeds for which
man is happy. Deeds like prayer,
alms, fasting, Hajj, good
temper, silence and remembrance
of God which are accompanied by
the heavenly angels as well as
the seven angels rip all the
veils till they stand before God
and they testify for him in
practice and with Du’a. However,
God will say: You are the
guardians of the deeds of My
servants but I am the guardian
of what passes in his heart. He
did not intend Me with his
deeds. My curse be upon him. The
angles will say: Your curse and
our curse be on him!
At this time,
Mu’ath started weeping and then
said: ‘What shall I do to have
devotion in my deed?’ The Holy
Prophet said: ‘Follow your
prophet in being certain about
the unity of God.’
Mu’ath
reports: ‘I said: You are the
Messenger of Allah and I am
Mu’ath!’ The Holy Prophet (SAW)
said: ‘O Mu’ath! If you have any
shortcoming in your deed, do not
criticize your brothers in faith
and the carriers (memorizers and
expert) of the Holy Quran. Blame
yourself for your wrongdoing
not your brethren. Do not ever
justify yourself by reproaching
your brothers in faith. Do not
overestimate yourself at the
price of humiliating your
brothers. Do not dissimulate.
Let not your
worldly desires interfere in
your affairs of the hereafter.
Watch your tongue when
associating with people so that
people will not keep aloof from
you. Do not whisper in an
assembly. Do not magnify
yourself, for you will be
deprived of the blessings. Do
not reproach people, for the dog
of hell will reproach you. God
says: “(I swear) by the
Nashitat (the angels who draw
out the souls of people)!”13 Do
you know what “Nashitat” is? It
is the dogs of Hell that eat
away flesh and bone!”
I said: ‘Who
can forbear this description?’
The Holy Prophet (SAW) said: ‘O
Mu’ath! This will be easy to one
for whom God has made it easy.’
The narrator
says: ‘Thereafter, I did not see
Mu’ath recite the Holy Quran as
much as he would read this
tradition.” 14
Allamah
Sheikh Baha’ee says: “This
tradition should make you
understand that pure deeds are
few. I wish you success in
self-restraint.”
Truly, piety
in practice means that human
beings should keep aloof from
moral, ideological and
scientific deviations. Whatever
they do should be aimed at
pleasing God. They should have
only God in mind and avoid
passions and the obeying of
Satan.
There are
many people who mistakenly think
they are doing good deeds
whereas they are practically
following their desires and
Satan, though their deeds might
be done in the name of prayer or
religion.
About such
people, God says: “Say:
Shall We inform you of the
greatest losers in (their)deeds?
(these are) they whose labor is
lost in this world’s life and
they think that they are well
versed in skill of the work of
hands. These are they who
disbelieve in the signs of their
Lord and His meeting, so their
deeds become null, and
therefore, We will not set up a
balance for them on the Day of
Resurrection. Thus, it is that
their recompense is hell,
because they disbelieved and
held My signs and My apostles in
mockery.”15
Imam Sajjad
(AS) has been reported as
saying: “O people, exercise
divine piety and know that your
return is towards Him. In this
relation, the Holy Quran says: “On
that day every soul shall find
present what it has done of good
and what it has done of evil. It
shall wish that between it and
that (evil) there are a long
duration of time; and Allah
makes you to be cautious of
(retribution from) Himself.” |
DISCLAIMER:
All material published by Al-Huda.com / And the Message Continues is the sole responsibility of its author's).
The opinions and/or assertions contained therein do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of this site,
nor of Al-Huda and its officers.
HOME - NEWSLETTERS - BOOKS - ARTICLES - FEEDBACK