Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Mod-

ern Turkey (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968); 

Niyazi Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey

(Montreal: McGill University Press, 1964); Roderic 

H. Davison, Reform in the Ottoman Empire 1856–1876

(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1963).

taqiyya

  See s

hiism

.

taqlid

  See a

khbari

 s

chool

; 

ijtihad

; 

renewal

 

and

 

reform

 

movements

; 

sharia

.

taqwa

Taqwa  is an Arabic term that describes attitudes 

of piety, reverence, and good judgment in Islam 

that are related to worshipping and obeying God. 

Muslims believe taqwa is a characteristic that 

God bestows upon Muslims who desire to submit 

themselves to God, “Those who are rightly guided 

will be given greater guidance by him and he will 

provide them with taqwa” (Quran 47:17). Taqwa

entails that Muslims strictly observe i

slam

’

s

 legal 

codes, showing beneficence toward other people, 

while respecting peace and the sanctity of human 

life. At times, the meanings of taqwa and iman

(

Faith

) overlap. For example, Quran 2:197 reflects, 

in part, the relationship between taqwa, iman, and 

the 

haJJ

, “Make provisions for the journey, and the 

best provision is taqwa.” In this sense, reverence to 

God is equated with faith, meaning that if a Muslim 

believes in God as she or he makes the hajj, that 

person’s physical and spiritual needs will be met 

through God’s steadfastness. Muslims also interpret 

this passage as suggesting that God will provide for 

them consistently as they pursue life’s journey.

Taqwa is also the capacity of good judgment 

that God instills in faithful Muslims, “When the 

disbelievers fostered a sense of honor in their 

hearts, a sense of pagan honor, God sent down 

tranquility on his apostle and the believers, and 

imposed on them the command to act in accor-

dance with taqwa for they were deserving and 

worthy of it” (Quran 48:26). Muslims believe that 

taqwa enables them (1) to properly understand 

the meanings of the q

Uran

, 

hadith

, and 

sharia

without misconstruing or misapplying them and 

(2) to make the correct moral judgments both 

as individuals and as a community. Muslims are 

obliged to fulfill all their ritual duties (such as the 

K  662  

taqiyya

---

F

ive

  p

illars

  of Islam) with a sense of iman and 

taqwa, since without these spiritual and psycho-

logical characteristics, the performance of these 

duties are meaningless.

Jon Armajani