Understanding Piety By Language and Terminology

Piety (taqwa) is not a word or a term unfamiliar to us. What is the real definition of piety?

Understanding Piety By Language
According to language, piety derived from Arabic which means maintaining themselves from the torment of Allah, ie to follow His commandments and to refrain from His prohibitions (Imtitsalu awamirillah wajtinabu nawahihi).

Piety (taqwa) is derived from the word-Yaqi waqa-wiqayah which it has maintained, ie keep themselves to survive the world and the hereafter.

Waqa word also means to protect something, ie, protecting it from a variety of things that harm and hurt.

Understanding Piety According Terms

Understanding piety according to the terms we get a lot of literature, including the Koran, the Hadith, and the opinion of friends and clergy. All sense of piety that leads to the concept: namely execute all commands of God, away from the ban, and keep themselves in order to avoid the fires of hell or the wrath of Allah.

Ibn Abbas defines piety as "fear of God commit shirk and always doing obedience to Him" (Tafsir Ibn Kathir).

When Abu Dharr al-Ghifari ask for advice to the king of the Prophet, then the message first and foremost that he conveyed to his friend is piety. Prophet said:

"I mandate thee, thou fear God for the piety is the principal of all things." (Tanbihul Ghofilin, Abu Layth al-Samarkindi).

Imam Qurtubi cites the opinion of Abu Yazid al-Bustami, that people who fear it is: "People say when, say due to Allah, and if it did, do and work for God."


Abu Sulaiman Ad-Darani said: "Those who fear are those who love to his desires lifted from his heart by God." Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya asserted, that the essence of taqwa is a god-fearing heart, not piety limbs. "(Al-Fawaid).


Understanding Piety According to the Al-Quran and Hadith

Definition of piety by companions of the Prophet and the scholars are of course referring to the Quran and Hadith.


The Quran states, fearing it is to believe in the supernatural (The Mahagaib: Allah), the Last Day, establish regular prayer, issued alms, faithful to the books of God, by making the Koran as a guide in conducting his life (QS. Al -Baqarah: 2-7).

According to the hadith of the Prophet, the sense of piety cored execution of the commands of Allah or religious obligations.

"Carry out all what is required of Allah, ye became the most cautious". (HR. Ath-Thabrani).

Cautious people always take the time to worship in the sense of worship mahdhoh main --kewajiban like prayer, charity, and fasting Ramadan and Hajj for those who are able.

Allah Almighty also says dala wajalla Hadith Qudsi): "O son of Adam, take the time to serve me, then I will fill your chest with wealth and squalor I spare you. If not, I fill your hands with busy work and I do not spare you of squalor. "(HR. Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah). And Allah knows best bish-sowab.