معرفت

Based on the pre-Islamic concept, the word “piety” and its derivatives are defined in the Arabic dictionary as “preservation” and identified it with the meaning of “fear”. Before Islam, this word has a more common and non-religious usage. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this paper seeks to study the word “piety” in the Arabic dictionaries to clarify the process of evolution in the meaning of “piety”, at the time of revelation, based on the gradual revelation of the Qur’an. The findings show that, the usage of the word “piety” has increased in number in the Madani era. Maintaining its previous meaning and conforming with the righteous deeds and faith in the Qur’an, it was also found that, the word has been developed in such a way that it comprehends the whole “system of servitude”, so that it has drawn the spiritual way of man towards God.