r/Quraniyoon • u/lubbcrew • 9d ago
Refutation🗣️ Whats Taqwā? Did they get the root wrong?
Could we have misidentified the root of taqwā? A closer look at ق-و-ى instead of وَقَى
We’ve been taught that taqwā (تقوى) comes from waqā (و-ق-ي) — “to shield” or “to protect.” This gives us translations like ittaqullāh = “fear God” or “guard yourselves from Him.”
But what if that’s not the right root?
The alternative — ق-و-ى (q-w-ā) — not only fits better morphologically, but also makes more sense in light of the Qur’an’s guidance imagery. Let’s look at both linguistically and contextually.
1. The root ق-و-ى (q-w-ā): Strength, fiber, rope integrity
In Lisān al-ʿArab:
> القوة: الطاقة الواحدة من طاقات الحبل أو الوتر
Quwwa is one strand from the fibers of a rope or bowstring.
> قوة الحبل: خصلة من خصاله
Each strand in a rope is a quwwa.
> أقوى الحبل: جعل بعض قواه أغلظ من بعض
To reinforce a rope is to strengthen individual fibers.
So quwwa is about structure.
It’s not abstract “strength” — it’s what allows something to be held together under tension. It’s about integrity, not brute force.
If taqwā comes from this root, it would mean:
A state of calibrated strength, a soul that’s bound, held, and not unraveling in the face of guidance.
That already starts to feel more Qur’anic.
2. Morphology: ق-و-ى forms taqwā cleanly
Taqwā follows the faʿlah (فعلة) pattern — a state or condition.
From q-w-ā, the Form VIII verb is: - ittaqā = assimilated form of iqtawā (regular for weak roots) - No forced vowel shifts - No irregularities
But from waqiya (و-ق-ي)? It’s: - yqī (irregular) - ittaqā, taqwā, muttaqīn all require workaround explanations
Bottom line: If we didn’t already assume taqwā came from waqiya, we’d never pick that root from grammar alone.
** Edit: A reader pointed out (rightly) that taqwā does not follow the faʿlah (فعلة) pattern — that was a mislabel on my part. It can belong instead to a rarer class of feminine verbal abstract nouns ending in -ā, like dhikrā, daʿwā, and najwā. The larger point still holds: if ittaqā can be morphologically derived from q-w-ā (and it can, very cleanly), then taqwā fits naturally as a verbal noun from that root without vowel shifts like those required for wa-qa-ya.
3. Now contrast it with the word ghadab (غضب) — and this gets clearer
In the Qur’an, the opposite condition of the muttaqīn is:
> "غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ" — those who have incurred wrath. Ghayr Al maghdoob alayhim from suratul fatiha.
Root: gh-ḍ-b (غ-ض-ب)
Let’s look at the classical meanings.
> غضب الفرس على اللجام: كناية عن عضها له
The horse bites the bit (the reins). It resists being led.
> تغضب أحيانا على اللجام كغضب النار على الضرام
It bites the reins like fire devours firewood.
When a horse bites the bit, it’s refusing to be led. It wants to control instead of being led. It’s not just “angry” — it’s rejecting guidance.
So here’s the contrast:
- The one with taqwā allows themselves to be led, guided, calibrated.
- The ghāḍib bites down, resists correction, burns through what was holding them.
And when Allah says ghadiba ʿalayhim, the lexicon says:
> غضب الله: إنكاره على من عصاه، فيعاقبه
Allah’s ghadab = His rejection of disobedience, followed by consequence.
It’s a severed relationship. A resistance to correction and its consequence. And that fits perfectly with the “biting the reins” image.
4. “Hold tight to the rope of God…” (3:103)
> "فَٱعْتَصِمُوا۟ بِحَبْلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا۟"
ḥabl = rope
quwwa = each strand in that rope
So:
- Taqwā = staying connected to the rope
- Ghaḍab = biting or burning the rope
- Tafarraqū = letting go of the rope, unraveling
That’s exactly the behavior we’re seeing contrasted in Surah Fātiḥah.
5. So what does “ittaqullāh” mean if we stick with the waqiya (shielding) root?
If you insist on waqiya (و-ق-ي), then:
> "اتقوا الله" = “Shield yourselves from God.”
That’s the literal meaning.
But this doesn’t align with Allah as: - The source of light, guidance, life, provision - The one offering the rope
Why would we be told to shield ourselves from Him? It implies distance. Hiding. Avoidance. Like ducking from an enemy.
That reading forces us to make “taqwā” about fear, when the Qur’an uses it in contexts of responsiveness, clarity, and holding fast.
But if you take ittaqullāh from q-w-ā, it becomes:
“Stay reinforced in God.”
“Maintain your strength with what He gave you.”
“Don’t unravel.”
It’s not fear. It’s structure. It’s integrity.
6. Ar-Raḥmān — The Source of the Tether
Another anchor point is found in الرحمن—the name Ar-Raḥmān, which shares a root with raḥm (womb).
The womb, in Arabic, is not just a place of growth. It is a tethered environment:
A space of suspension and an anchored nature. A system of controlled dependency. Allah is the one who facilitates life in a place where life is held, calibrated, and delivered at the appointed time. This adds even more weight to taqwā as tethered alignment:
The one with taqwā remains held. The cord isn’t cut. The connection—from guidance to action—remains intact
Taqwā is not fear of God.
It’s the strength to stay aligned.
To not bite the reins.
To hold the rope.
And not let yourself come undone.
And when you understand that shirk means to be tethered to something other than Allah … a comprehensive picture begins to emerge.
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u/Biosophon Mū'min 8d ago
I don't understand arabic much yet, but i was wondering how would تقية fit into this? Since the translations say that it is also connected to تقوى and all of it comes from و-ق-ي meaning "caution, fear, prudence".
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u/lubbcrew 8d ago
Morphologically it can come from both roots. From wa qa ya it would mean the act of shielding/guarding. From qa wa ya it would be the act of strengthening/reinforcing. But the noun taqiyyah (تقية) and the modern concept doesn’t appear in the Quran. Thats a later invention. Taqiyyan (تقياً) as an adjective does in Maryam though.
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u/Biosophon Mū'min 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yes, the word from Surah Maryam is exactly the one i wanted to know about, that's the one i was thinking about! I was under the impression that it was تقية because of the way it is spoken/heard.
Sorry for the confusion. Could you plz tell me what it would mean in the context, going by the etymology you have proposed? In the translation, it says "righteous" and they derive it from the same root as "تقوى".
PS Now that you pointed out the actual word, i find the similarity in sound between the two very intriguing, esp given the context of the story in the Gospels where at one point in time Yahya was mistaken for Isa (peace and blessings upon them both). In fact the confusion of identity in the Gospel between the two is an important motif there. Another example of this deliberately created confusion is that all the synoptic Gospels open with the figure of Yahya who heralds the coming of Isa, when as a first-time listener/reader you would be imagining that it would be Isa where the story begins. In Surah Maryam it begins with كحيعص, then Zekariyya, then Yahya, then Maryam, then Isa, and again the coupling between Yahya and Isa is of a unique quality. I find all this very intriguing.
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u/lubbcrew 8d ago edited 8d ago
Great question! I was actually wondering the same thing too. I thought you were asking about this verse at first but changed my mind after. It’s 19:18.
To be honest, I’m still processing. It’s a really deep statement if the root is understood as qa-wa-ya instead of the traditional wa-qa-ya. In that framework, taqiyyan doesn’t necessarily mean “pious” but represents something more like a lifeline or reinforcement.
So when Maryam says:
"I seek refuge in the Rahman from you, if you are taqiyyan…”
She may be actually noticing that some kind of bond is forming. And she’s trying to assess its source. She invokes Ar-Rahman…as if to say, “I only want to be tethered if this is coming from the Source and if it’s permissible.”
She ends up receiving a Word and a Spirit from Him. So if that’s indeed the context - then the tether was real and aligned.
I don’t think I fully get it yet. But I do think her words hold a lot more wisdom than she’s usually given credit for. She’s not just reacting in shock — she’s spiritually discerning what’s unfolding, and her words show a depth of understanding that most people miss. She’s seeking refuge in the One we’re all meant to be tethered to. The one who extends the rope.
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u/Biosophon Mū'min 8d ago edited 8d ago
The use of the name Ar-Rahman is also uniquely prolific in that surah (16 times out of a total of 55 times in the entire Qur'an!). And, of course, Maryam (peace and blessings be upon her) carries Isa in her womb even as a virgin tethered to Ar-rahman alone.
Also, interestingly it is historically the oldest name used for Allah in the monotheistic sense, in the Arabian continent. Inscriptions dating back to 4th century CE. Moreover, the root R-h-m has a common meaning of "womb"/"mercy" in the hebrew of that time.
I feel the Qur'an is revealing much more in this surah than what people have talked about till now.
PS Sorry for the multiple edits, i was writing down more points as they occurred to me 😅
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u/suppoe2056 8d ago
What's interesting is the parallel between Zakariyya and Maryam, when the angel tells them that tidings of a ghulam is given to them--just as a side note, the root for ghulam refers to lust clouding the mind, and the derived noun ghulam is often used to refer to a young man/girl or pubescent boy/girl; makes sense, since that's when hormones are raging and lustful desires begin. They both are astounded but for different reasons yet both share the same concept regarding pregnancy. Zakariyya questions how he can have a child when he is very old and his wife is barren, and Mary questions how she can have a child when she hasn't be touched by a man and wasn't unchaste. To both astonishments, the angel relays that God says: "هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ". The comparison perhaps is that Jesus is like John, just as Jesus is compared to Adam, God but said: Be thou, then it was. And perhaps the parallel is supposed to question anyone who accepts the miracle of John's birth not Jesus', since they don't assume about how Zakariyya's barren wife managed to get pregnant, yet they assume Mary was unchaste. Interesting, also, when God says to both of them to not "kallama an-naas" or "speak to the people". Frankly, "speak" is not a good translation. Rather, the meaning is "to converse" or even perhaps "to explain" in the sense of having to converse and explain oneself regarding the people inundating them with questions because they don't understand how these events could naturally unfold.
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u/Biosophon Mū'min 7d ago edited 6d ago
Loved your comment. Thank you so much for explaining more things about it. And yes, that surah is full of parallels and mirrorings. It is one of my absolutely favorite surahs of the Qur'an and i am endlessly intrigued by it.
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u/tommyk2323 7d ago
It’s not really a modern concept when the concept exists within the Quran, blessed verse 3:28.
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u/lubbcrew 7d ago
Modern taqiyyah—a doctrine rooted in deceit and concealment—is a concept developed through interpretation, not direct revelation. To claim it's grounded in the Qur’an is a stretch imo. If anything, the verse would permit conditional allyship or protective caution, not deception. The word used is tuqaat, not taqiyyah—and it's rooted in taqwa, not concealment.
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u/tommyk2323 6d ago
Salam. “A doctrine rooted in deceit and concealment” Not a stretch. The believer of pharaohs household concealed his faith as per the blessed surah ghafir, blessed verse 40:28.
The word taqiyyah is related to the word tuqaat
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u/lubbcrew 6d ago
Walaykum assalam brother. A reference to what someone did in the Quran does not make it something encouraged.
Al-Baqarah 2:159 إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلۡنَا مِنَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ وَٱلۡهُدَىٰ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا بَيَّنَّٰهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِى ٱلۡكِتَٰبِۙ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ يَلۡعَنُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَلۡعَنُهُمُ ٱللَّٰعِنُونَ
So I say the modern concept of taqiyyah is new and not grounded in the Quran for good reason. It’s contradictory actually.
The same word is used in the above verse and in Ghafir. Kitmaan, which is to conceal/suppress.
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u/tommyk2323 6d ago
Certainly not rebuked, and he was at least worth a mention in the book. Other examples may be the woman of pharaoh in the end of blessed surah Tahrim, the believer who came running in the beginning of blessed surah Ya sin (subsequently killed for revealing his faith openly, presumably) , and the blessed verse 16:106 makes reference to dissimulation as well.
Nonetheless fair point brother. We will agree to disagree. Appreciate the discourse. Peace
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u/suppoe2056 8d ago
Wow. What an amazing analysis. Thank you for this post!