Piety is when a muslim dedicates their inward state, such as their intention, and outward actions to the obedience of Allah, the Exalted. This is achieved by fulfilling the commands of Allah, the Exalted, refraining from His prohibitions and by facing destiny with patience. And it involves turning away from the obedience of everything else unless this obedience leads to the obedience of Allah, the Exalted. For example, the obedience of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, leads to the obedience of Allah, the Exalted. Chapter 4 An Nisa, verse 80:
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah…”
Therefore, piety refers to the work of the heart and body. The external limbs follow the commands of the inner spiritual heart. In other words, the heart is the king which commands the soldiers, namely the outward limbs. This has been indicated in a Hadith found in Sahih muslim, number 4094, where the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, advised that when the spiritual heart of a person is pure then their whole body will become pure. But if it is corrupted then the whole body will become corrupt. The Holy Quran has advised that a person can only achieve success when their spiritual heart is sound and pure. Chapter 26 Ash Shu’ara, verses 88 and 89:
“The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.”
The spiritual heart is only kept sound when one purifies it of evil traits and replaces them with the good characteristics which are discussed in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. The root of all the evil traits is when one is content with themself. Only when one is unhappy with their bad characteristics will they struggle to remove them. But if one is satisfied with themself they will never strive to remove them. This will only cause a person to adopt more evil traits. When a muslim strives to adopt good characteristics it will improve their relationship with Allah, the Exalted, such as being patient with His decrees and their relationship with people, such as being sincere when advising them.
One of the characteristics of piety is being vigilant of the divine surveillance of Allah, the Exalted. This means that a muslim becomes fully aware that Allah, the Exalted, sees and hears all their words, deeds, thoughts, and desires. Even though, all muslims believe this yet, many fail to act on this truth throughout their day. Whenever one becomes heedless of this fact it leads to sins and disobedience. When a muslim adopts true vigilance and is very rarely overtaken by heedlessness it leads to true modesty of Allah, the Exalted. This is the one who does not commit an act in private which would embarrass them if they did it in front of people. When a person adopts true vigilance of Allah, the Exalted, they reach the level of excellence (Ihsan). When one reaches this high level of faith they act and worship as if they can witness Allah, the Exalted, observing their inner and outer being. This inspires them to abstain from sins and encourages them to perform righteous deeds.
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