Taqwa Part 1

Pragmatic Enforcement

In some books on spirituality, reference is made to some people who used some practical method to force themselves to abide by divine law. For example, they used to put pebbles in their mouths to control their tongue from over-speaking or engaging in idle and/or prohibited talk. Usually this type of approach is taken to represent the perfect example of piety.

However, imposing pragmatic obligations on oneself in order to refrain from committing sins does not necessarily mean one has perfected himself. If we succeed in doing so and abstain from committing sins, indeed, we have refrained from committing sins, yet our soul has not changed. It is simply inactive because it has no means to commit wrong.

Thus, true perfection lies in a person’s freedom to do wrong and yet he chooses to refrain from sinning without practically imposing anything on himself. These kinds of preventions may be considered perfection only when they are seen as preliminaries to primary stages of creating the attribute of piety.

That is because piety can be created after a course of opposing practices against wrong acts. But the real essence of piety is far from these practices. It is the great and potent holy state of the soul that supports and protects human beings. One has to struggle to achieve the true essence of piety.