"And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness)." (3)

Stages of piety:

1- Avoidance of disbelief and polytheism: The first thing a person must avoid is associating partners with Allah in worship.

2- Avoidance of heresies: By believing in things that contradict the truth which Allah sent to the Messenger (peace be upon him) or worshipping things which Allah prohibited.

3- Avoidance of grievous sins: When Satan whispers to a person, he decorates for him major sins and beautifies them in his eyes and opens for him the gate of long hope.

4- Avoidance of minor sins: Satan insinuates to man saying: You have no blame if you commit minor sins as long as you avoid major sins. Have not you known that minor sins are expiated when you avoid major sins and by doing good deeds?

Satan keeps underestimating the matter of sins until a person insists on doing them, so the committer of major sins who fears to do them shall be in better condition than him. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Beware of (evil) deeds for the similitude of evil deeds is like a people who camped in the middle of a valley and some of them brought a branch of wood and some brought a branch of wood until they could cook their bread. When a person accumulate evil deeds, they destroy him."

5- Avoidance of permissible matters: There is no blame on a doer of permissible matters, but going too far in doing them may harm their doer and could make him fall into prohibited matters.

6- Avoidance of preferring outweighed actions: Satan commands a person with outweighed righteous actions by decorating and approving them in his eyes and shows him the profit and reward they contain to busy him from what is better. When Satan succeeds in making him loses the origin of reward, he becomes greedy to make him lose perfection and virtue.

Some people guard themselves from remaining forever in Hell-Fire by admitting monotheism and believing the Messenger (peace be upon him), but they cannot guard themselves against Hell-Fire. So, they neglect obligations and fall into violations; this is part of piety even if at lowest degree. Moreover, their doers cannot be called pious because he deserves punishment even if the mercy of Allah do not touch them. Allah (may He be Exalted) says: "Verily, Allâh forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners (in worship) with Him, but He forgives whom He wills sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allâh, has indeed strayed far away." [Surat An-Nisa': 48].

Some people avoid disbelief and major sins, nevertheless they commit minor sins and do not perform much voluntary matters. No doubt, such people are closer to salvation but they shall not take their full share of Hell. There will be negligence in obligatory matters and committing of some minor sins which are feared to indulge its doer into major sins, but in the meantime, they have no voluntary actions to complete their piety.

Real piety is that a person exerts efforts in abandoning all sins whether minor or major and exert efforts in righteous actions whether obligatory or voluntary actions, and such people are the pious.

How to fear Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He):

Ibn Al Qayyim (may Allah show mercy to his soul) said: "Love is a tree in the heart; its veins are humbling oneself to the beloved one, its stem is knowing Him, its branches are fearing Him, its leaves are showing shyness from Him, its fruit is obeying Him, and the substance which waters that tree is mentioning Him. So, when love misses something of that, it will be imperfect."

Of the things that bring about the love of Allah are:

1- Reciting the Qur'an prudently and understanding its meaning and what is meant thereby.

2- Drawing closer to Allah by voluntary actions after obligatory ones.

3- Frequent mentioning Him at all conditions by tongue and heart.

4- Knowing His Names and Attributes and going deep in their garden, so whoever knows Allah by His Names, Attributes, and Actions shall love Him.

5- Watching His Kindness, Benevolence, and His Obvious and Hidden Favors.

6- Social intercourse with beloved and truthful people, and picking their sweetest words as a person picks up good fruits.

7- Setting aside every reason stands as a barrier between the heart and Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) such as desires and doubts.

These causes busy the heart with Allah's Obedience and keeping him a loaf from sins as a lover obeys his beloved.

You disobey God while you claim loving Him. By my life, this awful in analogy. If your love had been truthful, you would have obeyed him for a person who loves obeys his lover.

When a person enters this palace (the love of Allah), righteous actions become beloved to him and he finds therein his happiness.

So, loving Allah (may He be Glorified and Exalted) is one of the greatest reasons of piety because a lover becomes pleased of serving his beloved and obeying him without being able to disobey him. Some Righteous Predecessors said: I cannot disobey my Lord, which means his organs cannot disobey Allah.