Taqwa is divided into two categories.

The Shaykh : And regarding the fear of Allah, we must know that it is divided into two categories: The fear of Allah is sometimes interpreted, and this is the minimum interpretation, as avoiding what He forbids and doing what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has commanded. It is sometimes interpreted, and this is the fear of the perfect among men, as doing everything that pleases Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), whether it is an obligatory command or a recommended command, and abstaining from what He has forbidden, whether it is a forbidden prohibition or a disliked prohibition. This second meaning is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) refers to in his saying: That a person leaves what is not in doubt out of fear that he may fall into doubt. This is fear at the highest levels of fear, but this is not an obligatory matter; rather, it is from the virtues of deeds. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) also referred to it in the hadith of Nu'man ibn Bashir, where he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: ; So the matters are three: a forbidden matter that must be avoided, a lawful matter that is permissible to do, and a matter that is not known whether it is from the lawful or the forbidden. So caution and complete fear is for a person to stay away from engaging in these doubtful matters. An example from what relates to our lives today: these canned goods about which people ask a lot everywhere in this time, wherever we go, what is the ruling on these canned meats that come from Europe, for example? We answer from the jurisprudential aspect that these meats, if it is known that they were slaughtered in a Sharia-compliant manner, meaning they were not killed by killing but slaughtered, and the slaughterer was from the People of the Book, then they are lawful. And if these meats were not slaughtered in a Sharia-compliant manner but were killed by the method followed today in many Western countries, or were slaughtered in a Sharia-compliant manner but the slaughterer was not Muslim nor from the People of the Book, then at that time it is not permissible to eat this meat. If we know it is of the first type, it is permissible to eat it. If we know it is of the second type, it is forbidden to eat it. And if we do not know, which is often the case, we fall into confusion: were these canned meats slaughtered in a Sharia-compliant manner or not? We do not know. So fear at that time is staying away from these meats, the fear that is of the highest degrees of fear. But if a person eats it and he does not know that it was not slaughtered in a Sharia-compliant manner, there is no blame on him. But the best, as he (peace be upon him) said in what we mentioned earlier: . The point is that fear has two levels: a level that is necessary for every Muslim, which is as we mentioned earlier: doing what Allah commanded and staying away from what Allah forbade. This is a fear that every Muslim must attain. There is fear at another level, which is staying away from everything that contains doubt. So staying away from everything that contains doubt is an excellent level, but it is not obligatory for everyone, because this is from the category of caution and wariness, as we mentioned earlier from his saying (peace be upon him): . So the word "fear of Allah," along with the greatness of good character, has in reality gathered all good, because if a Muslim fears Allah, or does what Allah made obligatory and stays away from what Allah forbade, he has no responsibility or accountability before Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), as came in the hadith of that Bedouin who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asking him about what Allah made obligatory upon him, so he informed him of the five prayers in every day and night. He said to him: O Messenger of Allah, is there anything else upon me? He said: . Then he asked him about what Allah made obligatory upon him of fasting, so he informed him that upon him is the fasting of the month of Ramadan in every year. He said: Is there anything else upon me? He said: . And so, whenever the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned to him what Allah made obligatory upon him, he asked: Is there anything else upon me? He said: No, except if you wish to volunteer, meaning to increase in good deeds from what Allah did not make obligatory upon you. After the Messenger (peace be upon him) finished explaining what Allah made obligatory upon him, that Bedouin left saying: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I will not add to them nor subtract from them." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This is a report from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that if a Muslim does what Allah made obligatory and avoids what Allah forbade, he is in Paradise, without doubt or hesitation. But what is between being in the lowest level of Paradise and being in the high levels, this cannot be achieved merely by restricting oneself to the obligatory deeds and staying away from the forbidden deeds. Rather, the levels are in racing in good deeds. So this type of fear is what is obligatory for every Muslim, as also came in the other hadith: A man said: O Messenger of Allah, what do you think if I pray the five prayers, fast Ramadan, make lawful the lawful, and make forbidden the forbidden; will I enter Paradise? He said: نعم ، إن أنت صليت الصلوات الخمس ، وصمت رمضان ، وحرَّمت الحرام ، وحلَّلت الحلال ؛ دخلت الجنة Yes, if you pray the five prayers, fast Ramadan, make forbidden the forbidden, and make lawful the lawful; you will enter Paradise. This fear is the lowest level of fear, and it is what every Muslim must attain. But fear is standing in prayer at night while people are sleeping, giving in charity the wealth that Allah did not make obligatory upon you, because it is not from the obligatory zakat, and the like of that of the noble morals. This is a door that has no end, and by it the pious Muslim is distinguished from the Muslim who only wants to be saved from the Fire and enter Paradise. So this is fear with its two categories: fear that is necessary, and fear that is recommended, in which people differ in many levels. As for good character, in addition to what preceded of fear, he (peace be upon him) said: That one of the most causes of entering Paradise after fear is good character. And we knew in the previous lesson his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): إن الرجل لَيُدرك بحسن خلقه درجةَ قائمِ الليل صائم النهار A man who is known for his good character has the same degree as someone who stands at night in prayerAl-Adab Al-Mufrad 14:26 .