Allah, the Exalted, says: “O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared”. (3:102) “So, keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can...'' (64:16) This second verse explains the meaning of the first one. “O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth”. (33:70) “... And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine...'' (65:2,3) “If you obey and fear Allah, He will grant you Furqan [(a criterion to judge between right and wrong), or (Makhraj i.e., a way for you to get out from every difficulty)], and will expiate for you your sins, and forgive you; and Allah is the Owner of the great bounty”. (8:29) Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that someone asked the Prophet (peace be upon him), “O Messenger of Allah! Who is the most honorable amongst mankind?'' The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The most honorable of them is one who is the most pious of them.'' They said, “We are not asking you about this”. He said, “Then, the most honorable of men was Yusuf (Joseph), the Prophet of Allah, the son of Allah's Prophet, who was the son of the Prophet of Allah, who was the son of the Khalil of Allah [i.e. Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him)]”. They said, “We are not asking you about this.'' He enquired, “Are you then asking me about the classes of the Arabs? The best of them in the pre-Islamic period ofignorance are the best in Islam, provided they comprehend the religious knowledge”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. The above Hadith teaches us that the families which enjoyed popularity and prestige for their eminent qualities such as generosity, chivalry, honesty, in the pre-Islamic period were also credited for these values after their acceptance of Islam. But now their respect was due to their religious knowledge and practice. Their capabilities, self-respect and other qualities were secondary factors to determine their piety. __
