It is recorded in a tradition that Umar Faruq once asked Ubayy ibn Kaab what taqwa was. He replied, “Have you ever passed by thorny bushes?” He said he had. Ubayy ibn Kaab then asked, “What did you do then?” Umar Faruq said that he had gathered up his clothes and cautiously kept away from the thorns, so as not to get entangled. Ubayy ibn Kaab replied that that was taqwa. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, vol. 1, p. 75)

We learn the reality of taqwa from this tradition. Taqwa actually means that in this world, one should keep away from all kinds of trials and tribulations. It can be summed up in one phrase, a ‘cautious approach’. At all times in the world there are different types of temptations, and great and small tribulations. In such conditions, the way of taqwa is for a person to keep sedulously away from all these and adopt a cautious approach on all occasions.

Source: Spirit of Islam May 2019