Allah, the Exalted, said:
رياض الصالحينAbū Zakariyyā Muḥyī al-Dīn Yaḥyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī٦ - باب في التقوى
٦ - باب في التقوى
O you who have believed, fear Allāh as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].
And He, the Exalted, said:
فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مَا ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ وَأَنفِقُوا۟ خَيْرًا لِّأَنفُسِكُمْ ۗ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
So fear Allāh as much as you are able and listen and obey and spend [in the way of Allāh]; it is better for your selves. And whoever is protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be the successful.
وهذه الآية مبينة للمراد مِنَ الأُولى. وَقالَ تَعَالَى:
This verse makes plain what is intended by the first one. And He, the Exalted, said:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَقُولُوا۟ قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا
O you who have believed, fear Allāh and speak words of appropriate justice.
وَالآيات في الأمر بالتقوى كثيرةٌ معلومةٌ، وَقالَ تَعَالَى:
The verses commanding God-consciousness (taqwā) are many and well-known. And He, the Exalted, said:
فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ فَارِقُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ وَأَشْهِدُوا۟ ذَوَىْ عَدْلٍ مِّنكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلشَّهَـٰدَةَ لِلَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ يُوعَظُ بِهِۦ مَن كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُۥ مَخْرَجًا
And when they have [nearly] fulfilled their term, either retain them according to acceptable terms or part with them according to acceptable terms. And bring to witness two just men from among you and establish the testimony for [the acceptance of] Allāh. That is instructed to whoever should believe in Allāh and the Last Day. And whoever fears Allāh - He will make for him a way out1
وَقالَ تَعَالَى:
And He, the Exalted, said:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن تَتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَيُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلْفَضْلِ ٱلْعَظِيمِ
O you who have believed, if you fear Allāh, He will grant you a criterion1 and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allāh is the possessor of great bounty.
والآيات في البابِ كثيرةٌ معلومةٌ.
The verses on this subject are many and well-known.
وأما الأحاديث:
As for the hadiths:
فالأول: عن أبي هريرةَ - ﵁ - قَالَ: قِيلَ: يَا رسولَ الله، مَنْ أكرمُ النَّاس؟ قَالَ: «أَتْقَاهُمْ ». فقالوا: لَيْسَ عن هَذَا نسألُكَ، قَالَ: «فَيُوسُفُ نَبِيُّ اللهِ ابنُ نَبِيِّ اللهِ ابنِ نَبيِّ اللهِ ابنِ خليلِ اللهِ» قالوا: لَيْسَ عن هَذَا نسألُكَ، قَالَ: «فَعَنْ مَعَادِنِ العَرَبِ تَسْأَلوني؟ خِيَارُهُمْ في الجَاهِليَّةِ خِيَارُهُمْ في الإِسْلامِ إِذَا فقُهُوا». مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيهِ. و«فَقُهُوا» بِضم القافِ عَلَى المشهورِ وَحُكِيَ كَسْرُها: أيْ عَلِمُوا أحْكَامَ الشَّرْعِ.
The first: On the authority of Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most noble of people?" He said: "The most God-conscious of them." So they said: "It is not about this that we ask you." He said: "Then it is Yūsuf, the prophet of Allah, son of the prophet of Allah, son of the prophet of Allah, son of the intimate friend of Allah [Ibrāhīm]." They said: "It is not about this that we ask you." He said: "Then is it about the lineages of the Arabs that you ask me? The best of them in the pre-Islamic era are the best of them in Islam, when they gain understanding [of the religion]." Agreed upon (by al-Bukhārī and Muslim). And "faquhū" is pronounced with a ḍamma on the qāf according to the well-known reading, though a kasra has also been related: that is, they came to know the rulings of the Sacred Law.
الثَّاني: عن أبي سعيد الخدري - ﵁ - عن النَّبيّ - ﷺ - قَالَ: «إنَّ الدُّنْيَا حُلْوَةٌ خَضِرةٌ، وإنَّ اللهَ مُسْتَخْلِفُكُمْ فِيهَا فَيَنْظُرَ كَيفَ تَعْمَلُونَ، فَاتَّقُوا الدُّنْيَا وَاتَّقُوا النِّسَاءَ؛ فإنَّ أَوَّلَ فِتْنَةِ بَنِي إسرائيلَ كَانَتْ في النِّسَاءِ». رواه مسلم.
The second: On the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Indeed the world is sweet and green, and Allah is appointing you as successors in it to see how you will act. So beware of the world, and beware of women; for the first trial of the Children of Israel was in connection with women." Narrated by Muslim.
الثالث: عن ابن مسعودٍ - ﵁: أنَّ النَّبيّ - ﷺ - كَانَ يقول: «اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسألُكَ الهُدَى، وَالتُّقَى، وَالعَفَافَ، وَالغِنَى ». رواه مسلم.
The third: On the authority of Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him): that the Prophet ﷺ used to say: "O Allah, I ask You for guidance, God-consciousness, chastity, and self-sufficiency." Narrated by Muslim.
الرابع: عن أبي طريفٍ عدِيِّ بن حاتمٍ الطائيِّ - ﵁ - قَالَ: سمعتُ رسولَ الله - ﷺ - يقول: «مَنْ حَلَفَ عَلَى يَمِينٍ ثُمَّ رَأَى أتْقَى للهِ مِنْهَا فَليَأْتِ التَّقْوَى». رواه مسلم.
The fourth: On the authority of Abū Ṭarīf ʿAdī b. Ḥātim al-Ṭāʾī (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: "Whoever swears an oath and then sees something more God-fearing towards Allah than it, let him take up the more God-fearing course." Narrated by Muslim.
الخامس: عن أبي أُمَامَةَ صُدَيّ بنِ عجلانَ الباهِلِيِّ - ﵁ - قَالَ: سَمِعتُ رسولَ الله - ﷺ - يَخْطُبُ في حجةِ الوداعِ، فَقَالَ: «اتَّقُوا اللهَ وَصَلُّوا خَمْسَكُمْ، وَصُومُوا شَهْرَكُمْ، وَأَدُّوا زَكَاةَ أَمْوَالِكُمْ، وَأَطِيعُوا أُمَرَاءَكُمْ تَدْخُلُوا جَنَّةَ رَبِّكُمْ». رواه الترمذي، في آخر كتابِ الصلاةِ، وَقالَ: «حديث حسن صحيح».
The fifth: On the authority of Abū Umāma Ṣudayy b. ʿAjlān al-Bāhilī (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivering a sermon during the Farewell Pilgrimage, and he said: "Fear Allah, perform your five [daily prayers], fast your month, pay the zakāt on your wealth, and obey your leaders—[then] you will enter the Paradise of your Lord." Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, at the end of the Book of Prayer, and he said: "A good and sound hadith (ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ)."