35 Preface يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابتَغوا إِلَيهِ الوَسيلَةَ وَجاهِدوا في سَبيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُم تُفلِحونَYusuf AliO ye who believe! Do your duty to God,1 seek the means of approach unto Him, and strive with might and main in his cause: that ye may prosper.2Taqwā here too might be translated “fear of God”, but the very next clause shows that “fear of God” does not mean “fear” in the ordinary sense, which would make you avoid the object of fear. On the contrary the “fear of God” is the intense desire to avoid everything that is against His Will and Law. It is in fact duty to God, for we are told to seek ardently the means by which we may approach Him, and that can only be done by striving with might and main for His cause.“Prosper” in the spiritual sense, for that is all that matters, as the life of this world is brief and fleeting, and of small account as against Eternity.