In this part of the article titled “Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings”, we shall focus on “Taqwa” (Piety) as one of the important themes of Nahj al-Balaghah here.
Taqwa (Piety)
Taqwa is one of the most frequent motifs of the Nahj al-balaghah. In fact, it would be hard to find another book that emphasizes this spiritual term to the extent of this book. Even in the Nahj al-balaghah, no other term or concept receives so much attention and stress as taqwa. What is taqwa? Often it is thought that taqwa means piety and abstinence and so implies a negative attitude. In other words, it is maintained that the greater the amount of abstinence, withdrawal, and self-denial, the more perfect one’s taqwa. According to this interpretation, taqwa is a concept divorced from active life; secondly, it is a negative attitude; thirdly, it means that the more severely this negative attitude is exercised, the greater one’s taqwa would be. Accordingly, the sanctimonious professors of taqwa, in order to avoid it is being tainted and to protect it from any blemish, withdraw from the bustle of life, keeping themselves away from involvement in any matter or affair of the world.
Undeniably, abstinence and caution exercised with discretion is an essential principles of wholesome living. For, in order to lead a healthy life, man is forced to negate and affirm, deny and posit, renounce and accept, and avoid and welcome different things. It is through denial and negation that the positive in life can be realized. It is through renunciation and avoidance that concentration is given to action.
The principle of tawhid contained in the dictum (la ilaha illa Allah) is at the same time a negation as well as an affirmation. Without negation of everything other than God, it is not possible to arrive at tawhid. That is why rebellion and surrender, kufr (unbelief) and iman (belief), go together; that is, every surrender requires a rebellion and every faith (iman) calls for denial and rejection (kufr), and every affirmation implies a negation. The Quran says: So whoever disbelieves in taghut and believes in God, has laid hold of the firmest bond …. (1)
However, firstly, every denial, negation, rejection, and rebellion operates between the limits of two opposites; the negation of one thing implies movement towards its opposite; the rejection of the one marks the beginning of the acceptance of the other. Accordingly, every healthy denial and rejection has both a direction and a goal, and is confined within certain definite limits. Therefore, a blind practice and purposeless attitude, which has neither direction nor a goal, nor is confined within any limits, is neither defensible nor of any spiritual worth.
Secondly, the meaning of taqwa in the Nahj al-balaghah is not synonymous with that of ‘abstinence’, even in its logically accepted sense discussed above. Taqwa, on the other hand, according to the Nahj al-balaghah, is a spiritual faculty which appears as a result of continued exercise and practice. The healthy and rational forms of abstinence are, firstly, the preparatory causes for the emergence of that spiritual faculty; secondly, they are also its effects and outcome. This faculty strengthens and vitalizes the soul, giving it a kind of immunity. A person who is devoid of this faculty, if he wants to keep himself free from sins, it is unavoidable for him to keep away from the causes of sin.
Since society is never without these causes, inevitably he has to go into seclusion and isolate himself. It follows from this argument that one should either remain pious by isolating himself from one’s environment, or he should enter society and bid farewell to taqwa. Moreover, according to this logic, the more isolated and secluded a person’s life is and the more he abstains from mixing with other people, the greater is his piety and taqwa in the eyes of the common people. However, if the faculty of taqwa is cultivated inside a person’s soul, it is no longer necessary for him to seclude himself from his environment. He can keep himself clean and uncorrupted without severing his relations with society.
The former kind of persons is like those who take refuge in mountains for fear of some plague or epidemic. The second kind resembles those who acquire immunity and resistance through vaccination and so do not deem it necessary to leave the city and avoid contact with their townsfolk. On the other hand, they hasten to the aid of the suffering sick in order to save them. Sa’di is alluding to the first kind of piousness in his Gulistan when he says:
Saw I a sage in the mountains,
Happy in a cave, far from the world’s tide.
Said I, “Why not to the city and return,
And lighten your heart of this burden?”
He said, “The city abounds in tempting beauties,
And even elephants slip where mud is thick.”
The Nahj al-balaghah speaks of taqwa as a spiritual faculty acquired through exercise and assiduity, which on its emergence produces certain characteristic effects, one of which is the ability to abstain from sins with ease. I guarantee the truth of my words and I am responsible for what I say. If similar events and experiences of the past serve as a lesson for a person, then taqwa prevents him from plunging recklessly into doubts. (2) Beware that sins are like unruly horses whose reins have been taken away and which plunge with their riders into hell-fire. But taqwa is like a trained steed whose reins are in the hands of its rider and enters with its rider into Paradise. (3)
In this sermon, taqwa is described as a spiritual condition which results in control and command over one’s self. It explains that the result of subjugation to desires and lusts and being devoid of taqwa degrades one’s personality making it vulnerable to the cravings of the carnal self. In such a state, man is like a helpless rider without any power and control, whom his mount takes wherever it desires. The essence of taqwa lies in possessing a spiritual personality endowed with willpower and possessing mastery over the domain of one’s self. A man with taqwa is like an expert horseman riding a well-trained horse who with complete mastery and control drives his tractable steed in the direction of his choice. Certainly, the taqwa of God assists His awliya (friends) in abstaining from unlawful deeds and instils His fear into their hearts. As a result, their nights are passed in wakefulness and their days in thirst [on account of fasting]. (4)
Here Imam Ali (a) makes it clear that taqwa is something which automatically leads to abstention from unlawful actions and to the fear of God, which is its necessary effect. Therefore, according to this view, taqwa is neither itself abstinence nor fear of God; rather, it is a sacred spiritual faculty of which these two are only consequences: For indeed, today taqwa is a shield and a safeguard, and tomorrow (i.e. in the Hereafter) it shall be the path to Paradise. (5)
In khutbah 157, taqwa is compared to an invincible fortress built on heights that the enemy has no power to infiltrate. Throughout, the emphasis of the Imam (‘a) lies on the spiritual and psychological aspect of taqwa and its effects on the human spirit involving the emergence of a dislike for sin and corruption and an inclination towards piety, purity, and virtue. Further illustrations of this view can be cited from the Nahj al-balaghah, but it seems that the above quotations are sufficient.
Continue in the next article: ( Nahj al-Balaghah and Its Spiritual Teachings (4) )
NOTES:
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1. Qur’an 2:256
2. Ibid., Khutab 16
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., Khutab 114
5. Ibid., Khutab 191
