Piety From Quran Viewpoint

Piety (godliness) is one of the commandments of the Almighty God which is stated in Quran in various forms and shapes for the servants.

For example, in the forms of ordering people towards the piety, stating and mentioning the effects and blessings of the piety in the worldly and eternal life, and also praising and admiring the high position and destination of the virtuous ones in the paradise.

And, not only the Muslims has been advised to piety in Quran, but the nations which were before Islam have been advised to the piety by the Almighty God such as the Judaism and Christianity and… those that God has sent the Heavenly Book for them.

So, piety had existed in the former heavenly Books. God says: And, we advised those who had received the heavenly book before you, and we also advise you to follow the Divine piety.

“وَللّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَلَقَدْ وَصَّيْنَا الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنِ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَإِن تَكْفُرُواْ فَإِنَّ لِلّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَكَانَ اللّهُ غَنِيًّا حَمِيدًا “

“And whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah's and certainly we enjoined those who were given the book before you and (we enjoin) you too that you should be careful of (your duty to) Allah; and if you disbelieve, then surely whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah's and Allah is self-sufficient, praise-worthy”

However, what's the meaning of the piety? This word is rooted from "وقي" which means the maintenance, safeguarding and protection. After investigating the word of piety and also its usage, the Martyr Motahhari says: in the general term the piety means the life of every person who wants to be human, live under the ordinance of the wisdom and follow a determined principle. The religious and divine piety means that the human should maintain and protect himself from the known mistakes, sin, taint and heinousness and should not commit sins. Then, he divides this piety (protecting himself from the sin) into two kinds: first, the piety of the weakness and second, the piety of reinforcement and power. The first type is that the human behaves like a person who tries to maintain his health, and separate himself from the environment of illness and microbe and escapes from whatever causes them so that he can protect himself from the sin and escape from their causes and separate himself from the environment of the sin constantly. The second type is that the human should create a mood and power in his soul which gives him a spiritual and moral protection that (if) supposedly he enters in a situation which the causes of the sin and offence are provided, that spiritual state protects him… In fact, the piety is the superior, powerful and holy morale which is the protector and guardian of the human being. So, we should try to find that meaning and fact.

Piety is of the instruments of faith, as the Almighty God says in several verses, "يا ايها الذين آمنو اتقوا الله". For example, this accompaniment (the piety and faith) has been stated in the verse 278 of the Baqareh Sura and also in the verse 18 of the Hashr and also, in the other sites of Quran on the various occasions. Also, we have this in the verses 57 and 112 of the Maedeh Sura which says, “Follow the Divine piety, if you are of the believers."

Piety in Quran:

According to Quran, the piety is the way of salvation and redemption, the redemption in this world and in the other world. Also, God awards the righteous persons with the great compensation and virtue, forgiveness and generous reward, compassion and paradise and also heavenly favor and gaining a happy life in paradise.

The other important case which is extracted from Quran is that the Divine piety accompanied by the submission to God is the purpose and aim of the invitation of the prophets.

Also, we see in the life story of some prophets such as Holy Noah, Hud, Saleh, Lot, Jethro (Shoab) and Elijah in the Sura of the Sho’ara that they used to say their tribes, “فاتقوالله واطيعون”. For example, God says, " the people of Nuh rejected the messengers when their brother Nuh said to them: will you not guard (against evil) and follow piety in your life? Surely I am a faithful messenger to you; therefore guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me and I do not ask you any reward for it; my reward is only with the lord of the worlds so guard against (the punishment of) Allah and obey me”

Another point is that the piety is the best provisions; we all have an important journey in front of us, the journey which starts from the moment of our entrance into this world and as time passes moment by moment, we get close to our destination which has been determined already. World is the place of passing or in other word, world is temporary and it is like a fleeting bridge, but the other world is the destination. All of the servants pass this journey (to God) and they are either on the right path which is the path of the prophets and saints or are in the way of untruth and wrong things. If they are on the right path, that way causes them to obtain the union with God and reside in paradisiacal gardens which are full of blessings and when they are in the wrong way, the end of that way is the anger of God and separation from the unlimited compassion of Him and also putting in Hellfire besides the offenders, wrongdoers and cruel ones. The longer the journey is, the more difficult the path will be and the possibility of the deviation becomes high, the wisdom commands human being to provide more supplies and prepare himself for his journey from every respect. Now, do we have a journey more important and more difficult than the doomsday's journey?

No, the doomsday's journey is a journey that the difficulties and barriers of fear and darkness have been installed in its way. God says: "God knows whatever you accomplish in the goodness and pious way, provide the supplies that the best provisions is the piety. And, Being pious and virtuous, O'ye of Wisdom!"

Regarding this matter, Imam Ali says, "Fear and be pious, God has revealed the right way surely and maintained its road brightly, so you get entangled either in misery or will be blessed and saved. Thus, provide your provisions in this mortal world for the eternal life of the other world that you have been directed towards the provision and ordered to migration from this world; and you have been incited to pass the doomsday's way. Indeed, you are as a caravan waits in a place and doesn't know the time of the movement's order".

Effects and Blessings of the Piety:

Quran notifies the advantages and effects of the piety in various verses that here, we point to some of them briefly:

Some of the effects of the piety are as follows: redemption and salvation from the difficulties, obstacles and troubles in the world, ease of the works, insight, discernment, recognizing and distinguishing right from wrong, gaining daily bread from somewhere the human does not expect, reform of the deeds, expiation of sins, grate compensation in the doomsday and repulse of the deceptions and trick of enemies. At the end, we finish the word with a luminous and desirable speech of Imam Ali concerning the piety and its blessings. The Holy Imam says: "Indeed, the piety and fearing God are the cure for the heart's illness, brightness of the hearts, treatment of the body's pains, ointment of the soul's wound, cleaner of the spirit's darts and pollutions, bringing lights to the dark eyes, creating security in restless conditions and elucidations of your darkness… So, the person who chooses the piety, the difficulties are banished and separated from him, and the bitterness will be become sweet and the pressure of the problems will be removed. Also, the continuous and boring problems will become easy and the lost greatness and grandeur pour down on him like the raindrops, the prevented compassion of the Right will be returned, the Divine favors spring and the decreased blessings will be increased".

Thursday, June 10, 2010 - 10:39