Welcome to the fifth episode of Heavenly Call on the occasion of the blessed fasting month of Ramadhan.

Before we start our daily programme here is the special supplication for the 5^th day of Ramadhan:

“O Allah, appoint me this day to be among those who plead for Your forgiveness; place me therein among Your righteous and obedient servants; and appoint me therein among Your close friends; with Your compassion O Most Merciful of  the merciful!”

Among the basic steps that should be taken after having faith in Islam is to acquire piety. The holy Qur’an has mentioned piety and its benefits 110 times, elaborating on its rewards in the world and in afterlife. In defining piety, scholars opine that pious persons fully abide by divine commands and abstain from whatever God Almighty has forbidden. The pious person is in full control of his self and does not become the plaything of carnal desires and satanic temptations.

The Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), one of whose epithets is “Imam al-Mottaqeen” or Leader of the Pious, in defining a pious person says, the rider is in complete control of his mount and rides towards the bliss of paradise calmly and confidently. 

As we said earlier, the holy Qur’an lays special emphasis on piety as means to perfection of faith. In other words, faith and piety are intertwined. In many ayahs of the holy Qur’an, after mentioning faith, God immediately mentions piety. For example, we read in ayah 102 of Surah Aal-e Imran:

“O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah with the wariness due to Him and do not die except as Muslims.”

The message of this ayah is that piety teaches the faithful how to live and how to die. Many people spend their lives without plans and goals, and as a result, they are mentally upset, without any inner satisfaction. But the pious never complain, since they are pleased with whatever God the All-Wise has decreed, and as a result they are wholly satisfied. Even death for them is a great achievement and they are the least worried.

One of the factors which plays a key role in how to live and how to die is to enjoy the insight and power of cognizance. Pious people may not have much academic background, but on the basis of piety, self-purification and observance of divine rules, they are granted insight and enlightenment by God the All-Merciful. In all fields, the pious persons are cognizant of the truth, and since they abstain from the dazzle and deception of the material world, they are immune to what we call social, cultural and political crises. The pious have the vision to differentiate between truth and falsehood, as well as right and wrong. For them power, wealth and lust have no attraction. Nonetheless, there are instances of a pious person making an unintentional slip. They, however, quickly realize the mistake and seek repentance from God the All-Merciful, Who helps and gives them good tidings. This is evident by ayah 29 of Surah Anfaal, which reads:

“O you who have faith! If you are wary of Allah, He shall appoint a criterion for you, and absolve you of your misdeeds, and forgive you, for Allah is dispenser of a great grace.”

This divine grace is due to the fact that the true believer does not intentionally disobeys God, and in turn the Lord Most High forgives these inadvertent mistakes.

FK/AS/SS