Taqwa
God-consciousness or God-fearing piety. Also rendered as “god-fearing,” “right conduct,” “virtue,” “wariness.” Taqwa and its derivatives appear more than 250 times in the Quran; Abu al-Ala Mawdudi (d. 1979 ) identified taqwa as the basic Islamic principle of God-consciousness, together with brotherhood, equality, fairness, and justice, on which the true Islamic society is established. Sayyid Qutb (d. 1966 ) systematically elaborated the significance of taqwa in his Quranic commentary, which is characterized by an emphasis on political activism. Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988 ) identified it as “perhaps the most important single concept in the Quran,” an inner vision that helps humans overcome their weaknesses.