Al-Madinah Academy

As for love, then this is indeed a necessity and a part and parcel of being a Muslim. A Muslim loves Allaah more than anyone or anything else; how could we not when He is the on Who brought us into existence and He is the One Who provies for us and we depend on. We worship Him out of love and fear. And perhaps part of that fear is due to the love, that is, we fear to disappoint the One Whom we love so much and want to please.
I've kept it brief but hope it answers your question Inshaa Allaah.

I am grateful for the community of 'unseen' believers who i am fortunate to 'meet' here in this forum with whom i am deepening my critical appreciation and awareness of the holy Quran.

جزاك الله خير

Sister Raihanah jazakumullaahu khairan for sharing your beautiful observations. When I read these verses earlier, the meaning of taqwa I had in mind was the protect/ shield definition. Basically being conscious that Allaah is constantly watching us and this consciousness makes us more aware of what we are doing and more focussed on doing right and avoiding wrong.

When you asked this question, I was reminded of the first time the definition of the muttaqi comes up in the Qur'aan, right on page 2! And in those verses we see that the muttaqi (one who has taqwa) believes in the unseen, establish salaah and spends from what they have been provided. This person believes in the unseen (a major part of which is belief in Allaah who is unseen). This belief translates into action, and so he establishes salaah and spends. So his belief is manifested in his actions.

So my turn to ask Sh. Younus a question: can we apply this definition of taqwa to these verses?

2. Taqwaa also implies that one is always conscious of the "presence" of Allaah; in other words, that He is ever Watchful over us. An example to perhaps make this more clear is that of a person at work; he may do his work well, but when the boss is standing over him he is more conscious of what he is doing and tries to perform better (this is out of a type of fear). And the best example belongs to Allaah.
3. One of the companions answered to the question of what is taqwa in the following manner: “Have you ever had to traverse a thorny path?” Omar replied in the affirmative and Ubay then continued, “How do you do so?” Omar said that he would carefully walk through after first having collected all loose and flowing clothing in his hands so nothing gets caught in the thorn. Ubay said: “This is the definition of Taqwa.”

There are many of us who I feel are left with a sense of lost in life largely due to this lack of connection with our Creator and this verse reminds me that we too have a role to play in ‘assisting’ Allah “accomplish His purpose”. Thus each and every one of our lives should be lived like it holds greater meaning than just to our lonesome selves. We should not give up hope too easily as what we do will affect others, including family and loved ones, directly or otherwise.