'To be God-conscious is to remember that He is with you wherever you go.'

Chaimaa El takes us through the concept of 'Taqwa' and how one can navigate through life with a constant God-consciousness. Chaimaa is a Graduate in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and frequently writes about spirituality and Islam on her blog.

'The most important aspect of our life should be God-consciousness.'

Growing up, there was a Hadith that my mum always reminded me and my siblings of. It was the Hadith narrated by Abdullah ibn Masud where the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that “رأس الحكمة مخافة الله” which translates to as “the foundation of wisdom is the fear of Allah”. Although there’s no English translation that perfectly conveys the meaning of this Hadith, it mainly relates to the fact that the most important aspect of our life should be God-consciousness. When embarking on anything in life, one should primarily concern themselves with being mindful of the Most Merciful and let that inspire everything they do. Everything else should come secondary. God-consciousness is especially important when one is alone. Many times we may feel encouraged to do good deeds by others, like giving charity, but this desire to do good and act in accordance with the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ should be done at all times, even when we’re alone. God-consciousness is when you do good deeds alone, by yourself, all for the sake of Allah alone.

'To be God-conscious is to remember that He is with you wherever you go.'

God-consciousness, or 'Taqwa' as it’s called in Arabic, epitomizes the entire teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Having taqwa means hopefully reaching a level of Ihsan (excellence) which entails worshipping Allah as if you can see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then worship Him knowing full well that He can see you. Taqwa is to have full conviction that you will be rewarded for every act of goodness you commit or everything you abstain from, simply for His sake. A narration comes to mind whereby Aisha (ra) would perfume her coins in musk before giving them in charity. When asked why she did this, she explained that the charity reaches Allah (swt) before it ever touches the hand of the person in need. She displayed an honourable act of God-consciousness as she remembered Allah and was inspired to give to charity solely for His sake. To be God-conscious is to remember that He is with you wherever you go. As we are reminded in the Quran, “And indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein.” (Quran 50:16).

'When we are experiencing goodness and doing well in life, we are from those who give thanks and are grateful for Allah’s blessings.'

As humans, we’re naturally forgetful beings who often get lost in the chaos of this dunya (worldly life), finding it very difficult to navigate our way through the challenges that life throws at us, but we must learn to take our taqwa with us, wherever we’re headed. We must remain God-conscious during the bad moments, as well as good ones, and witness the face of Allah in everything that we experience. This means that when we are experiencing goodness and doing well in life, we are from those who give thanks and are grateful for Allah’s blessings. May we be never of those who as a result of our forgetful nature, forget Allah when we are successful. Witnessing the face of Allah in everything we experience also means displaying beautiful patience during tough times, knowing that through every hardship, we will be sent a form of ease.

'We must remain God-conscious during the bad moments, as well as good ones'

I remember watching a video of a couple in a war-torn country, running away from bombings that were taking place around their area. At one point they had stopped and hidden in a tunnel. The husband and wife looked at each other and started laughing as both of them were heavily covered in sand, and they found it funny. To me, the fact that this couple found it in them to laugh about something whilst in the midst of fighting for their lives was sent by Allah as a form of ease to momentarily give them something to smile about. 

'One must ask Allah to inspire him/her to goodness, and hold tightly to His rope, knowing that as soon as one makes dua, He responds.' 

The one way we can remember our purpose is by constantly reminding ourselves of the stewards we are, put on earth for no other reason than to worship the Almighty. This is achieved by being in constant remembrance of Allah and making time to get to know Him. How else can we strengthen our sense of God-consciousness if we’re not taking the time to get to know Allah? To start, one must ask Allah to inspire him/her to goodness, and hold tightly to His rope, knowing that as soon as one makes duah, He responds. Allah loves those who ask from Him.

'This is a beautiful display of practising mindfulness, being present with God, and remembering Him throughout the day.'

Another way to display God-consciousness is by learning some simple duahs that are easily found online and in daily adhkar books. The beauty of Islam is that there is a prayer that is to be said for every act you do, from eating to leaving the home to travelling. This is a beautiful display of practising mindfulness, being present with God, and remembering Him throughout the day. It will sometimes be difficult, especially when it gets quite loud in our minds, and we are sucked into the business of this dunya. Practising mindfulness according to Islamic tradition will really help you navigate through life.

'By displaying Taqwa, we are thus on a journey, protecting ourselves from evil and striving towards good, at all times.'

To end, if we look at the term Taqwa (God-consciousness) linguistically, it means “a shield or protective barrier”. By displaying taqwa, we are thus on a journey, protecting ourselves from evil and striving towards good, at all times. May Allah SWT inspire taqwa in our hearts and protect us from heedlessness. May He protect us from feeling spiritually void and if we ever do, may He help us come back to Him.