What is Taqwa, and tell us about its levels?
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The questioner : He says in one of his questions: What is Taqwa, and tell us about its levels?
The Shaykh : Taqwa is for a person to take precautions against the punishment of Allah, and that is by fulfilling the commands of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with knowledge and insight, and by leaving what Allah has forbidden with knowledge and insight.
As for its levels, they vary according to what a person does of the commanded acts and what he leaves of the forbidden acts. The more upright a person is in performing obedience, the more mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) he is, and the further he is from the prohibitions of Allah, the more mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) he is. For this reason, the most mindful of creation was Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 145Muttafaqun 'alayh (Zubair `Aliza'i) because he (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most upright of people in the command of Allah and the furthest of them from the prohibitions of Allah.
The Shaykh : Taqwa is for a person to take precautions against the punishment of Allah, and that is by fulfilling the commands of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with knowledge and insight, and by leaving what Allah has forbidden with knowledge and insight.
As for its levels, they vary according to what a person does of the commanded acts and what he leaves of the forbidden acts. The more upright a person is in performing obedience, the more mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) he is, and the further he is from the prohibitions of Allah, the more mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) he is. For this reason, the most mindful of creation was Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: