QUALITIES OF A PIOUS MUSLIM

Qualities of a pious Muslim are expressed in Ayah 177 Surah al-Baqarah as: “Righteousness is not determined by facing East or West during the prayer. Righteousness consists of the belief in Allah, the Day of Judgment, the angels, the Books of Allah, His Prophets; to give money for the love of Allah to relatives, orphans, the destitute, those who are on a journey and in urgent need of money, and beggars, to set free slaves and to be steadfast in the prayer, to pay the religious tax (zakaat), to fulfill one’s promises, and to exercise patience in poverty, in distress, and in times of war. Such people who do these acts are really truthful and pious.

This is the most comprehensive Ayah of the Glorious Qur’an which was revealed on the occasion of the switching of Qibla from Bait-ul-Muqaddas to Ka’bah. The Christians used to prostrate facing the East and Jews faced towards West. The Ka’bah is in the middle of the two directions.

The Ayah defines the believe, manners, and deeds under six headings;

Faith in Allah, Day of Judgment, Angels, the Divine Books, Prophets, Charity and distribution of wealth, Prayers, Religious Tax, Fulfillment of promises, and Patience.

Tauheed along with His other Attributes is the foundation of Islam.

Day of Judgment is also one of the “Roots of Islam” which stimulates the faithful to perform virtuous deeds, abstain from prohibited acts with a mixture of hope and fear of the rewards and punishment on the Day of Judgment.

Faith in the Angels who are praying to Allah as ordained by Him including the prominent angels like Jib’raeel, Mika’eel, Is’rafeel and Iz’raeel (the angel of Death).

The four Divine Books are Zuboor, Taurait, Injeel and the Glorious Qur’an.

The Prophets numbering 124,000, the first being Adam and the last being the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.)

Distribution of wealth includes the six categories i.e. relatives, orphans, destitute, travelers (who lost money), beggars, free slaves (now inapplicable). There is category of relatives in the order of preference; the parents, family members, siblings and so on.

Promises should be fulfilled irrespective of religion of the person to whom the promised was made.

Prayers (salaat) should be established.  Please read my article on the subject at Zulfiqar5.blogspot.com

Religious Tax – Zakaat

Patience. The Commander of Faithful Ali (a.s.) said: “Patience is half of Faith”. Patience is a multi-faced word which includes fasting, exercising patience in the face of poverty, sickness, sorrows and calamities, steadfast in the struggle against aggression and other social situations facing insults etc.

At the end, the Ayah affirms that the people who possess the above-mentioned qualities are the “Truthful”. The truthfulness embodies all the attributes of knowledge and actions. Man has three things; faith, speech, action and character. When he becomes truthful, the three components are united in his personality. He does what he says, and says what he believes.

Sources used: The Glorious Qur’an (Urdu Translation) Ayatollah Sayyid Muhaammad Husayn Tabatabai

The Glorious Qur’an (Urdu Translation) by Ayatollah Nasir Makarem Shirazi

The Glorious Qur’an (English Translation) by S.V.Mir Ahmed Ali & Ayatollah Agha H.M.M. Pooya Yazdi