Characteristics of Pious People in Quran
The Holy Quran says in Verses 133-135 of Surah Al-Imran: “Hasten to obtain forgiveness from your Lord and to qualify yourselves for Paradise. Paradise, vast as the heavens and the earth, is prepared for the pious who spend their property for the cause of God in prosperity as well as in adversity and who also harness their anger and forgive the people. God loves the righteous ones, and those who, if they commit indecency or wrong themselves remember Allah and ask forgiveness of their sins for who but Allah forgives sins and those who do not persist in what they do while they know.”
The main thing people have been urged to hasten in is making efforts to achieve divine mercy and forgiveness and reach paradise. The reason we are urged to hasten is because our life may end at any moment and we may lose the opportunity to ask for forgiveness and make up for our wrongdoings.
So in the above-mentioned verses, God points to some characteristics of the righteous people.
They spend for the cause of God both in prosperity and in adversity. It is understood from this verse that spending for the cause of God is a duty for the pious in all conditions.
Another characteristic of the pious people is that they harness their anger and forgive and forget others’ mistakes and wrongdoings. At the end of Verse 134, we read: “God loves those doing good.” This points to the fact that the pious ones not only curb their anger and forgive others, but sometimes do good to them as well, which is the highest state of righteousness.
From the characteristics mentioned in these verses and other verses of the Quran, we realize that Taqwa (God-fearing) is not just about avoiding bad things but also includes doing good things and righteous acts.
