Taqwa as a Lifestyle
Ustadh Michael Wolfender poses the question every human should consider: do you want true success or simply to have fun?
Allah discusses those who don’t follow him and His messenger ﷺ in Surat Al-Jathiyah (45 The Crouching) as they choose to follow their own desires instead of His instructions:
“Have you seen ˹O Prophet˺ those who have taken their own desires as their god? ˹And so˺ Allah left them to stray knowingly, sealed their hearing and hearts, and placed a cover on their sight. Who then can guide them after Allah? Will you ˹all˺ not then be mindful?” (45:23)
The consequences include Allah letting such people go astray, even though they’ve amassed knowledge. Allah provides solutions to ensure He doesn’t seal your hearing or heart and obstruct vision: pray five times, do good deeds, be good to those around you and use good language. Surat Al-Jathiyah illustrates examples of people who do right and those who wrong themselves.
So Allah advises to be free of this world by being a slave to Him, thus freeing yourself of anyone who tries to control you.
Allah rewards good words, forgiving sins. Whoever follows Allah and His messenger ﷺ attains true success.
In verse 22 of Surat Al-Mulk (67), Allah asks: Who is ˹rightly˺ guided: the one who crawls facedown or the one who walks upright on the Straight Path?
The picture illustrated takes some consideration, first to understand the straight path, as referenced in Surat Al-Fatihah, where believers ask Allah to guide them on the Straight Path. In contrast, those who ‘crawl facedown’ or ‘walk on their face’ are consumed by what is before them, rather than seeing ahead to the treasures of eternal reward from following Allah’s Guidance. Surely, Allah sent the Qur’an as His guide to the straight path.
In Surat Ash-Shams (91 The Sun), Allah indicates He has given every soul its desires and capabilities. Allah has also provided humans consciousness. Using this means being mindful of Allah and the consequences of our actions; this is called ‘taqwa.’