Taqwa Part 1

Taqwa: Freedom or Restriction?

Taqwa is not a restriction; it is a protection. Even if we call taqwa a restriction, then this restriction is truly a protection. Just as it is erroneous to call a house a restriction even though it is built with walls, rooms, solid doors, and windows to keep its inhabitants safe from harmful weather and to keep its furniture and equipment in safe areas, taqwa, like a house, is a protection. We can call something a restriction when it deprives us of a gift or happiness, but something that averts dangers from us and protects us against them is a safety, not a restriction.

In the Qur’an, taqwa is defined as a garment in that it protects the body from the cold and hot weather in the same way a house protects people. In the Qur’an, after mentioning the clothing for body, it is stated:

O' Children of Adam! We have certainly sent down to you garments to cover your nakedness and for adornment. Yet the garment of piety—that is the best. That is [one] of God’s signs, so that they may take admonition. (7:26)

In providing guidelines for having taqwa, Imam Ali (a) states in one of his sermons:

…you should take care of it and take care of yourselves through it….9

Furthermore, Imam Ali (a) holds that piety is a great cause of freedom. He states:

Certainly, piety is the key to guidance, provision for the next world, freedom from all types of slavery, and deliverance from all ruin. With its help the seeker succeeds and he who makes for safety escapes and achieves his aims.10

Taqwa helps one to reach his goals and protects him against his enemies. In the first place, taqwa gives human beings freedom in moral and spiritual issues, frees him from the chains of slavery of long desires, and gives him a relief from the sufferings of greed, envy, lust, and anger. It also indirectly gives him social freedom. long desires, and gives him a relief from the sufferings of greed, envy, lust, and anger. It also indirectly gives him social freedom. long desires, and gives him a relief from the sufferings of greed, envy, lust, and anger. It also indirectly gives him social freedom.

Servitude and slavery in society are the results of spiritual slavery. One who is a slave and obedient to wealth and position cannot live free socially. Hence, it is true to say that taqwa gives human beings “freedom from all types of slavery.” Thus, not only does taqwa not have a chain or restriction, but it is in fact freedom itself.