What is Taqwa?

Piety (taqwa) is the act of guarding against what is disliked. Its root is "wiqaya" (protection), and its essence is performing commanded acts and avoiding prohibited ones. Talq ibn Habib explained piety as: "To act in obedience to God upon a light from God, hoping for His reward, and to abandon disobedience to Him upon a light from God, fearing His punishment." When Ubayy ibn Ka'b was asked about it, he gave an analogy of someone walking on a thorny path who gathers his clothes and is cautious. Such is the state of the pious person.