‘Surely the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most godfearing of you’ (Q 49:13). This course covers one of the classics of Islamic ethics and spirituality, al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya of Imam Taqi al-Din al-Birgivi. Its central concern is taqwa — safeguarding oneself from all things that are harmful to one’s spiritual life. By operationalising taqwa in our day-to-day lives, and ridding ourselves of everything that sullies the heart, we find ourselves attaining onto the greatest happiness possible: namely, a life lived with and through the Divine.
- Teacher: Shaykh Talal Al-Azem
Imam Birgivi’s al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya is divided into three parts. The introduction establishes that a life of true happiness is only possible through a life built on the Quran and the Sunnah. The second part, which forms the majority of the work, demonstrates how taqwa is a central concern of the Sacred Law as regards all actions of our body and our hearts. The third and final part addresses things that many people incorrectly assume to be matters of taqwa and scrupulousness, when in fact they are exaggerations and distractions from the truly godly life.
This course is for all students seeking to understand what it means to live a life premised on mindfulness of God.
- Understand the meaning of ‘taqwa’
- Identify how the Quran and Sunnah are the basis of an ethical and spiritual life.
- Define the blameworthy traits of the heart and recognize their indicators
- Learn how to protect oneself from these vices and how to replace them with virtues
- Find the golden balance between excess and deficiency in the moral virtues
- Distinguish between true taqwa and extreme or exaggerated scrupulousness
