Document Type : Original
Author
Member of the faculty of the Quran and Studies Department of the Social Research Institute of Islamic Sciences and Culture
Abstract
taqwa is among the most frequently employed and conceptually multidimensional notions in the Qur’an. In Qur’anic, ethical, and juristic studies, it has commonly been interpreted as an individual virtue or a criterion of spiritual perfection. However, its explanatory potential regarding social relations and the production of social order has received comparatively limited attention. The central question of this study is how the Qur’an transforms taqwa from an inward personal quality into an effective mechanism for regulating social behavior, organizing human relations, and reproducing social order.
Adopting a descriptive-analytical approach grounded in conceptual analysis and systematic inference from Qur’anic verses, this research reexamines the social implications of taqwa within the framework of theories of social order. The findings indicate that, in the Qur’anic logic, taqwa is not merely a psychological state or moral virtue; rather, it constitutes a continuous awareness of divine presence and supervision that regulates social action at micro, meso, and macro levels through the internalization of norms, self-regulation, responsibility, commitment to justice, trustworthiness, fidelity to covenants, and the strengthening of public trust.
Accordingly, taqwa can be conceptualized simultaneously as a mechanism for generating social order, a normative institution, and a form of moral capital linking individual action, institutional relations, and social cohesion. The study’s originality lies in offering a sociological reading of taqwa based on the Qur’an’s internal logic and in opening a theoretical dialogue between Qur’anic studies and contemporary theories of social order.
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