Taqwa – The best spiritual preparation for Ramadan

The end of the month of Sha`baan ushers us into the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of fasting and restraint. At such a time, when we focus our spirituality and obedience on the Almighty, the Creator of all, and the only One most worthy of all our worship, it is prudent that we also review all our previous deeds, good or bad. This is a most necessary action if we wish to prepare ourselves properly to enter this blessed month and a prerequisite in order to gain from its blessings and to ensure that our fasting is indeed an act of Ibadah and not just an act of hunger and starvation.

There are many things that we could write about to illustrate the blessings of this month and other prerequisites for a more spiritual outcome. However, the focus of this article is on the efforts required of us in creating an atmosphere where a consciousness of God is ever present, both in our attitudes and mindset, that will guide us through this blessed month. Spirituality is not about routine acts but rather about what such acts are meant to achieve.

A right mindset helps us not only to reach our goals but also in making our thoughts worthy of appreciation in the Sight of Allah. If we read the Quranic verse which directs us to the obligation of fasting we can see clearly that there was a precise goal set out in it. It says in the Quran in Surah 2 and verse 183: ‘Believers! Fasting is enjoined upon you as it was enjoined upon those before you, that you become God-fearing’.

This stated purpose sets out the tone and direction of  our fasting. 'God-fearing' is a translation from the Arabic term of ‘Taqwa’. It is not a direct translation of the terminology, and another translation is 'Awe of God'.

To understand the comprehensive nature of the meaning of ‘Taqwa’ we need to understand this hadith of the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, which is narrated in the Tabrani which says: ‘hold fast on to the Taqwa of Allah, as it is the essence of all goodness’.

Thus, Taqwa is the ever present conscience in the heart of a believer which directs his actions in the right direction, which in turn creates an action that pleases Allah and is not in defiance to His Guidance. It helps strengthen the relationship between a person and the Lord, Allah the Almighty. 

Allah becomes the conscience behind and the deciding factor, in every aspect of our lives, creating a clear belief in accountability and generating the hope for a generous reward from Him.

The comprehensive benefit of Taqwa is such that it has been the essential part of Allah’s guidance to people through all His Messengers and Prophets. It says in the Surah 4 and verse 131: ‘We, indeed, enjoined upon those who were given the Book before you, and also yourselves, to have fear of Allah’.

So, inviting people to be ‘God fearing’ has been part of all His revelations, from the earliest to the last and therefore must be regarded as the ‘core message’ of Allah. Taqwa transforms the life of a person if he really fears Allah, does only what may please Him, avoids all that may displease Him and if he fears the accountability and consequences of his actions. God is an always present transparent reality in this existence and He is the owner of the heavens and the earth and all they contain.

So an occasion, like Ramadan, deserves special attention from us all. We need to create a mindset of total spirituality and demonstrate a total dedication to Allah, and that can only be achieved through ‘Taqwa’.

The importance of being in this state of consciousness is such that Allah says in the Surah 3 and verse 102: ‘O believers! Fear Allah as He should be feared and see that you do not die save in submission to Allah’.

So ‘Taqwa’ helps believers achieve a full state of submission to Allah.

Before I conclude this article, I would like to mention at least two other very important outcomes of taqwa.

The Quran says: ‘and whoever fears Allah, Allah will find a way out for him and will provide him sustenance from whence he never even imagined’. S65 V3

In the same surah verse 4, it also says: ‘and whoever fears Allah, Allah will create ease for him in his affairs’.

If a person doesn’t care about 'God fearing', then he will create his own set of rules, do as he wishes and follow a very different mindset. That mindset is described in this wonderful hadith which says: ‘if you don’t have a shame then do whatever you wish’.

'God fearing' includes feeling shame if a wrong has been committed. Fearing God or ‘Taqwa is the reason  a person's own conscience makes him feel embarrassed or ashamed and urges him to desist from wrongdoing.

In another hadith, the prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him says: ‘leave what is doubtful to what is not’. This can only be achieved through a sense of Taqwa.

Our time of fasting in Ramadan creates the environment where we can groom our awareness of Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and feel His closeness through our actions and deeds. The month is not just about the act of fasting. It also presents us with a whole host of other righteous deeds by which we may cleanse our thoughts and actions and sets us on a path that can only lead towards Allah and that is the ‘Straight Path’.

May Allah accept all of our good deeds and bring to us His blessings and mercy that we all seek so eagerly.