Benefits and rewards

From the benefits and advantages of taqwa (God-consciousness) to which the Holy Quran has guided us, it can easily be understood that taqwa is the basis and foundation of every felicity.

Hazrat Sahl ibn Abdullah (may his secret be sanctified) says: "La mu'ina illallah, wa la dalila illa Rasulullah, wa la zada illa al-taqwa, wa la 'amala illa al-sabru 'alayh."

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Baydawi, vol. 1, p. 25.

Translation: There is no helper except Allah Most High, no guide and leader except the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, no provision (for the Hereafter) except taqwa, and no deed except patience upon the deed.

He further says that Allah Most High tests His servant through illness and well-being, poverty and wealth and the like. If the servant is patient with the hardship of deeds, He will reward him, and if he is grateful for blessings, He will reward him. In short, there is no good of this world or the Hereafter except that it can be attained through taqwa, and there is no evil of this world or the Hereafter, outward or inward, except that it can be warded off through taqwa. The mercies of Allah Most High are for the first generations and for the later ones as well. For some further benefits and advantages, read the following verses carefully.

Some Verses

1. Allah, the Lord of Honour, Exalted and Most High, says:

وَلَقَدْ وَصَّیْنَا الَّذِیْنَ أُوتُواْ الْکِتَابَ مِن قَبْلِکُمْ وَإِیَّاکُمْ أَنِ اتَّقُواْ اللّہَ ؂

"And We have enjoined those who were given the Book before you, and you, to fear Allah."

We enjoined those who were given the Book before you, and you, to fear Allah, that is, to adopt taqwa.

The Holy Quran has expressed the emphasis on taqwa as a solemn injunction (wasiyya), and has enjoined it upon all, the earlier and the later. From this manner of expression and its generality, its worth and value in the sight of Allah Most High and the good it holds for His servants can be well understood.

2. It brings salvation from Hell: "Thumma nunajji alladhina ittaqaw", then We shall save the people of taqwa.

3. The people of taqwa are granted the (special) company (ma'iyya) of Allah:

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1. Surah al-Nisa' 4:31.

2. Surah Maryam 19:72.

وَ اعْلَمُوۡۤا اَنَّ اللہَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِیۡنَ؂

"And know that Allah is with those who have taqwa."

4. Allah Most High brings the people of taqwa out of calamities, troubles and hardships, and provides for them from where they could never imagine. He says:

وَ مَنۡ یَّـتَّقِ اللہَ یَجْعَل لَّہٗ مَخْرَجًا وَّ یَرْزُقْہُ مِنْ حَیۡثُ لَا یَحْتَسِبُ ؂

"And whoever fears Allah, He will make a way out for him, and will provide for him from where he does not expect."

Whoever fears Allah Most High, He makes a way out for him and provides for him from a place the servant never even imagined.

5. He grants ease:

‘‘وَ مَنۡ یَّـتَّقِ اللہَ یَجْعَل لَّہٗ مِنْ اَمْرِہٖ یُسْرًا ’’ ؂

"And whoever fears Allah, He will make his affair easy for him."

Whoever fears Allah Most High, He makes his affair easy for him.

6. Through taqwa sins are expiated and a great reward is granted.

۔‘‘ وَ مَنۡ یَّـتَّقِ اللہَ یُکَفِّرْ عَنْہُ سَیِّاٰتِہٖ وَ یُعْظِمْ لَہٗۤ اَجْرًا‘‘ ؂

"And whoever fears Allah, He will remove his misdeeds from him and will magnify his reward."

Whoever adopts taqwa, Allah Most High removes his misdeeds from him (and changes them into good deeds) and makes his reward great.

7. For adopting taqwa there is the promise of the gardens and rivers of Paradise:

‘‘اِنَّ الْمُتَّقِیۡنَ فِیۡ جَنّٰتٍ وَّ نَہَرٍ ؂

"Indeed, those who have taqwa will be among gardens and rivers."

Without doubt the people of taqwa will be in gardens and a river.

8. He grants honour in this world and the Hereafter, and the greater the taqwa, the greater the honour:

‘‘اِنَّ اَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنۡدَ اللہِ اَتْقٰکُمْ‘‘ ؂

"Indeed, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the most taqwa."

1. Surah al-Baqarah 2:194.

2. Surah al-Talaq 65:2, 3.

3. Surah al-Talaq 65:4.

4. Surah al-Talaq 65:5.

5. Surah al-Qamar 54:54.

6. Surah al-Hujurat 49:13.

Indeed, the most honoured and noble among you is the one who has the most taqwa.

Here honour has been tied to taqwa, not to wealth and lineage. Let those of bad conduct, who boast of their affiliations and remain complacent about their faults, take heed; and let those who look down upon the religious because they are not of high lineage take admonition.

9. The foundation of friendship with Allah (wilaya) and spiritual eminence is taqwa. One without taqwa has no wilaya, even if he is among the descendants of the friends of Allah, sits on their seat as a hereditary successor (gaddi-nashin), or wears the robe and cloak.

‘‘اِنْ اَوْلِیَآؤُہٗۤ اِلَّا الْمُتَّقُوۡنَ وَلٰکِنَّ اَکْثَرَہُمْ لَا یَعْلَمُوۡنَ‘‘

"Its guardians are none but those who have taqwa, but most of them do not know."

The friends of Allah Most High are only the people of taqwa, but most do not know. He also says:

الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَکَانُوۡا یَتَّقُوۡنَ‘‘

"Those who believed and used to be God-fearing."

Translation: The friends (awliya) of Allah Most High are those who believed and adopted taqwa.

It is thus understood that neither a disbeliever or polytheist can be a friend of Allah, nor one of bad conduct.

10. Only the people of taqwa receive guidance from the Quran: "Hudan li'l-muttaqin",

that is, the Book of Allah is guidance for those who have taqwa.

It should be known that the scholars of exegesis have generally taken "muttaqin" to mean al-sa'irin ila al-taqwa, those who are on their way to taqwa. The reason is that a muttaqi will be one who is already guided, so the Quran being guidance for him would have no meaning. Hence it should be taken to mean that those in whose destiny the felicity of taqwa has been written, and who are eventually to become people of taqwa, are the ones who receive guidance from the Quran, that is, they act upon it and gradually become people of taqwa. So the benefit of the Quran in reality falls to these very people, and in reality the Quran became guidance for them. In the deficient opinion of this faqir Mujaddidi (may he be pardoned), another subtle

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1. Surah al-Anfal 8:34.

2. Surah Yunus 10:63.

3. Surah al-Baqarah 2:2.

meaning can be intended, namely that taqwa too has degrees, and guidance also has countless degrees and stations. The outward and inward of the Holy Quran is an ocean without a shore; good deeds lead to other, higher good deeds. It is evident that every righteous deed becomes a means of building the inner self, and whatever limit the people of knowledge reach through the outward and the inward, from there they become aware of new knowledge and gnosis (ma'rifa). Among the countless degrees of wilaya this is an endless chain of Allah, Glorified be He; every new stage is a new guidance and a new taqwa. All these points are derived from the Quran and Sunnah and the sayings of the scholars. From this it is understood that the higher the taqwa towards which a servant advances, the more he benefits from the guiding grace of the Quran.

In Tafsir al-Baydawi and other works, the countless degrees and particulars of taqwa have been set out under three general categories:

1. Cleansing oneself of the darknesses of disbelief and polytheism and illuminating oneself with the light of faith.

2. Completely avoiding the commission of forbidden things and major sins, and, according to some, even minor sins (and this is what is commonly understood by taqwa in the Shari'ah).

3. Filling the outward and inward with such abundance and light that the heart becomes entirely pure and clean of the remembrance of anything other than Allah and of heedlessness, and one begins to traverse the stages of the journey to Allah (sayr ila Allah) and then the journey in Allah (sayr fi Allah). These degrees have been derived, in order, from the following verses of the Holy Quran.

(الف) وَأَلْزَمَہُمْ کَلِمَۃَ التَّقْوَی ؂

(a) "And He made them adhere to the word of taqwa."

By this the first degree is meant.

(ب) وَلَوْ اَنَّ اَہۡلَ الْقُرٰۤی اٰمَنُوۡا وَاتَّقَوۡا ؂

(b) "And if the people of the towns had believed and had taqwa..."

1. Surah al-Fath 48:26.

2. Surah al-A'raf 7:96.

(ج) یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللہَ حَقَّ تُقٰتِہٖ ؂

(c) "O you who believe! Fear Allah as He deserves to be feared."

By this the very highest degree is meant.

12. A deed is accepted only when it is accompanied by taqwa. Allah Most High says:

اِنَّمَا یَتَقَبَّلُ اللہُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِیۡنَ ؂

"Allah accepts only from those who have taqwa."

That is, Allah Most High accepts from the people of taqwa.

A Subtle Point

Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) gave charity, or had an offering made, and then the thought came to his heart that he did not know whether it had been accepted or not, since it is from the people of taqwa that deeds are accepted, and he was not one of the people of taqwa. Then it was inspired to him: your charity is accepted, and you are among the people of taqwa.

13. Taqwa and deeds have degrees, some higher than others. Allah Most High says:

لَیۡسَ عَلَی الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ جُنَاحٌ فِیۡمَا طَعِمُوۡۤا اِذَا مَا اتَّقَوۡا وَّ اٰمَنُوۡا وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ ثُمَّ اتَّقَوۡا وَّ اٰمَنُوۡا ثُمَّ اتَّقَوۡا وَّ اَحْسَنُوۡا وَاللہُ یُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِیۡنَ ؂

"There is no blame on those who believe and do righteous deeds for what they have eaten, so long as they have taqwa and believe and do righteous deeds, then have taqwa and believe, then have taqwa and do good; and Allah loves those who do good."

Translation: Those who believed and did good deeds bear no sin for what they have tasted, provided that they fear and keep faith and do good deeds, then fear and keep faith, then fear and remain good; and Allah loves the doers of good.

In this verse Allah Most High has established faith in three degrees and made the fourth degree excellence (ihsan). The words of Allah Most High, "Laysa 'ala alladhina amanu", are the first degree of faith, in which He declared them to be believers. Then He said: "Idha ma ittaqaw wa amanu wa 'amilu al-salihat"; this is the second degree of faith, which is higher than the first,

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1. Surah Al Imran 3:102.

2. Surah al-Ma'idah 5:27.

3. Surah al-Ma'idah 5:93.

and with it He joined taqwa and righteous deeds. Then He said: "Thumma ittaqaw wa amanu"; this is the third degree, with which taqwa is bound. Then He said: "Thumma ittaqaw wa ahsanu."

So the first is faith without taqwa, which is attained merely by affirming the blessed Kalima, La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah, along with accepting its conditions. The second is faith together with acting upon the laws of the Shari'ah; this is higher than the first because it involves taqwa, that is, avoiding forbidden things, though in it one may act upon concessions (rukhsa) and interpretations. The third is faith in the third degree, with which there is also taqwa: guarding against certain doubtful matters, adopting the stricter rulings ('azima), and keeping away from concessions and interpretations. Then the fourth degree is the realm of excellence (ihsan), which is higher than faith in the unseen; this is the realm of certainty, attained by way of direct witnessing (mushahada). In this degree too taqwa has been established, namely that the servant purifies his heart of everything other than Allah, Glorified be He. (Taken from Risala Makkiyya.)

Attaining Perfect Taqwa

The attainment of perfect taqwa, and of the results and fruits that follow from it, truly becomes possible for a servant only when he completely gives up following the desires of the self, when through purification of the self (tazkiya) he cleanses the commanding self (nafs ammara) of its innate and natural mischief, and when every word and deed is done solely with the intention of following Allah Most High and His Greatest Messenger ﷺ. It is upon this that Paradise is promised. Allah Most High says:

"But as for him who feared standing before his Lord and restrained the self from desire." And he who feared standing before his Lord and restrained the self from desire.

The meaning is that the servant should act according to the pleasure of his Lord, not according to his own desire. The word in the verse is hawa, which in the language comes in the meaning of love. In the Shari'ah it is the name for the self inclining towards

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Surah al-Nazi'at 79:40.

something contrary to the Shari'ah. Following the desire of the self is the root of all mischief, just as taqwa is the foundation of all felicity. That is why it is said in the hadith:

"What I fear most for my Ummah is following desire and long hopes. As for following desire, it keeps one away from the truth; and as for long hopes, they make one forget the Hereafter." (Bayhaqi)

A second point is that, just as desires are mixed and blended into a person's blood and flesh, likewise the dominion and domination of Satan also pervades a person's blood and flesh and surrounds the heart on all sides. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: "Indeed Satan runs in the son of Adam like blood."

It is also in the hadith: when you see that avarice is obeyed, desire is followed, the world is preferred over religion, and every person is engrossed in his own opinion, then wait for the Resurrection.

The purification of the self that frees one from the captivity of desire used to be attained through the company of perfect shaykhs and through their spiritual influence (tasarruf) and the striving they prescribed. Now such perfect ones have departed, the khanqahs have abandoned their real work, and the work of purifying the heart and purifying the self has come to a stop. So desires of the self have come to dominate every class, and all four signs mentioned in the above hadith are found today among both common people and the elite. Whatever is happening today in the name of religion, and all the disorder, disagreement and corruption found among us, is the result of following the desire of the self.

The third thing which is absolutely essential for the wayfarer (salik) and seeker of the Hereafter is to combine the Shari'ah and the Reality (haqiqa).

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1. Kifayat al-Atqiya, p. 8.

2. Bukhari, Kitab al-Ahkam, hadith no. 7171.

The scholars say that Reality without Shari'ah is false, and Shari'ah without Reality is idle. An example of the first person: you tell someone to pray regularly, and he replies that there is no need for prayer: if I am eternally destined to be fortunate and blessed, I will go to Paradise even if I do not pray; otherwise I will go to Hell even if I pray. An example of the second: a person performs deeds for the sake of Paradise and says that had it not been for my deeds, how could I have entered Paradise? This is what is meant by the Shari'ah being idle, that its existence is like non-existence, because entry into Paradise is by the grace of Allah Most High, as stated in the hadith.

Shari'ah, Tariqa and Haqiqa

The scholars say that the things Allah Most High has commanded to be done and carried out, and the things He has forbidden, that is, the commands and prohibitions, are called the Shari'ah; acting upon them is the Path (tariqa); and keeping in view the inner realities of matters and seeing one's own actions as coming from Allah is the Reality (haqiqa).

In these verses of Surah al-Fatiha, "Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in", the first part observes the outward of the Shari'ah, and the second, "iyyaka nasta'in", observes the Reality. For in the first the regard is to outward acquisition, which is the act of the servant, while the servant's declaring himself free of his own power and strength is the witnessing of the fact that an act can be completed only with the help and aid of Allah Most High. In short, the servant should act upon all the commands and prohibitions, but should not think that it is his deeds alone that can save him and can admit him into Paradise, and that had it not been for them he would not have obtained Paradise. Rather, the purpose of deeds should only be to carry out the command of Allah and to follow the Sunnah. Allah's command is:

"So worship Allah, making religion sincerely His." Worship Allah Most High, making religion purely for Him.

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Surah al-Zumar 39:2.

If He rewards deeds, it is purely His grace; if He punishes, it is purely His justice. Acting upon the religion is the Shari'ah; adopting, in all deeds and acts, the stricter ruling ('azima) and what is more cautious is the Path (tariqa) (the servant should not act upon concessions but should adopt scrupulousness (wara')); and the wayfarer reaching his goal, that is, gnosis of Allah and witnessing the light of divine manifestation (tajalli), is the Reality (haqiqa). Some have said that understanding and comprehending the realities of things, such as witnessing the Names and Attributes, likewise understanding the secrets of the Quran and the secrets of prohibition and permission, and understanding those sciences of the unseen which cannot be acquired from any teacher, is the Reality.

Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Sani (may his secret be sanctified) has stated another subtle and comprehensive distinction between Shari'ah, Tariqa and Haqiqa, namely: lying, for example, is forbidden; not speaking it with the tongue is the Shari'ah; negating it from the heart, if done with effort, is the Tariqa, and if done without effort, is the Haqiqa. The reason this is comprehensive is that the friends of Allah are of two kinds: (1) those who possess unveiling and witnessing (kashf wa shuhud), and (2) those who do not possess unveiling. Those of the first kind witness the unseen lights and their manifestations and also see the light of divine manifestation with the inner sense. But those of the second kind, although they combine Shari'ah, Tariqa and Haqiqa, are still unable to witness. Likewise many people attain the rank of wilaya, yet the understanding of the secrets of the Quran and the secrets of prohibition and permission is not granted to them. The early Sufis, because of their abundant striving (mujahadat) and spiritual exercises (riyadat), were mostly people of unveiling, and so they possessed the matters mentioned above.

Reasons for the Absence of Unveiling

But today those spiritual exercises and strivings are absent, and furthermore food that is purely lawful as in earlier times, free even from doubt, is very rarely available nowadays; that is why unveiling is generally not attained. Moreover, we ourselves see among our own disciples and spiritual brothers that some begin to have some unveiling or other in the early stages, while there are others who have traversed many stages and stations yet have no unveiling.

Causes of Unveiling

This shows that unveiling depends on aptitude: those who have the capacity for it attain unveiling. Then, when remembrance (dhikr), the company of a perfect shaykh, lawful sustenance and some striving are combined, further progress and purity are attained in it, and according to one's capacity, effort and exercise, progress keeps increasing more and more. The friends of Allah (may Allah have mercy on them), whether they are people of unveiling or not, combine all three, Shari'ah, Tariqa and Haqiqa, although there is a difference of rank. The explanation of Hazrat Mujaddid (may his secret be sanctified) covers both. For attaining the station of Tariqa and Haqiqa, and likewise other stations, unveiling is not necessary; rather, being characterised by them (ittisaf) is necessary.

Let it be known that if, by good fortune, the wayfarer finds a perfect shaykh, entrusts himself completely to him, observes the Shari'ah and adopts taqwa, he can attain these stations and states and reach the rank of wilaya, whether he has unveiling or not. Unveiling is not a condition of wilaya; taqwa and scrupulousness, however, are a condition.

Striving in the Way of Allah

The elders have related a hadith qudsi: "Make an enemy of your self, for it has set itself up in enmity to Me." Also, in Mishkat and other works there is a hadith of which one part is: "al-mujahid man jahada nafsahu fi ta'at Allah", that is, the perfect striver is the one who strives against his own self in obedience to Allah Most High.

The elders have described the degrees and kinds of striving. The reality of striving is that whatever the self commands against the Shari'ah is not acted upon, and its opposite, that is, the Shari'ah, is acted upon. For this it is necessary that a person knows the commands and

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Musnad Ahmad, hadith no. 23958.

prohibitions of the Shari'ah in detail. The elders have said that acting upon the Sunnah in every area of life is a great striving. The outward should accord with the Sunnah, that is, eating, drinking, sleeping, waking, speaking, dress, standing, sitting and so on should be according to the Sunnah; and the inward too, that is, love and enmity should all be for the sake of Allah Most High. A person should develop within himself the character of the Prophet, and purify the heart of all filth such as rancour, malice and envy, love of the world, love of rank and position, love of praise and so on. He should purify it of faults such as cowardice, laziness, miserliness, greed and covetousness and the like, and adorn it with good character and lofty qualities such as repentance (tawba), turning to Allah (inaba), trust in Allah (tawakkul), contentment (qana'a), patience and gratitude, fear and hope, love of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, forgiveness and pardon, generosity and self-sacrifice (ithar) and so on. Note that we have discussed striving, spiritual exercises, character and related matters at some length in the book "Tasawwuf aur Us ke Fawa'id" (Sufism and Its Benefits), so study it there.

When the servant has become adorned with faith and taqwa and has been blessed with a perfect spiritual guide, he should set foot on the journey of the path (sayr wa suluk). It should be borne in mind that, to set foot on the path, he should attain the first two degrees of taqwa. As for the third degree, it is generally attained only after a considerable part of the stages of the path has been traversed; and the fourth degree according to the account of al-Fawa'id al-Makkiyya, that is, the degree of excellence (ihsan), is attained only after the complete purification of the self.

When the wayfarer adopts the striving mentioned above, that is, opposing the self in every matter, the self begins to desist from its mischief. As the mischief of the self is removed, his steps advance towards tranquillity. Along with this, when he receives the spiritual attention (tawajjuh) of the perfect guide, keeps regularly to remembrance (dhikr) and spiritual practices (shaghl), and acts upon the Shari'ah, his steps advance rapidly towards purification of the self. For as the lights of the perfect guide and of following the Sunnah illuminate the heart and the self more and more, control over the desires of the self increases, and the self becomes purified. In this way it reaches completion.

Keep a few matters in mind here:

1. At the beginning and in the middle stages, the company of the perfect guide and the acquisition of grace (fayd) from him is extremely necessary for the wayfarer.

2. Regularity in spiritual practices and remembrances is also extremely necessary.

3. He should keep advancing in taqwa.

4. He should mortify the self as far as he can and adopt the way of the elders to some extent, so that the self is quickly overcome.

5. He should read again and again what the elders, especially Imam Ghazali (may his secret be sanctified), have written in Ihya' 'Ulum al-Din and other works about the diseases of the heart and their cure, try to assess the severity or mildness of the diseases, and adopt the cure accordingly.

6. He should avoid forbidden and doubtful morsels and occupations, and use only those foods whose lawfulness is certain, or, in this age, at the very least is most probable.

7. He should observe the rules of conduct (adab) that have been described in detail in 'Awarif al-Ma'arif and other works.

8. He should remain diligent in the service of religion and bear every labour and hardship, so that the body is protected from laziness and remains accustomed to bearing toil and effort.

9. He should confine his time to various acts of obedience and worship, and to spiritual practices and remembrances.