We reply:

This objection rests on two things: ignorance of the true nature of piety, scrupulousness, and asceticism; and ignorance of why these are praiseworthy.

First, we say:

Who said that piety consists merely in refraining from evil deeds? Rather, piety—as earlier and later generations have explained it—means doing what you have been commanded to do and refraining from what you have been forbidden. Thus, when strife broke out, Talq ibn Habīb said, “Protect yourselves against it through piety.” They asked, “What is piety?”

He replied:

“To obey Allah, guided by light from Allah, hoping for Allah’s reward; and to refrain from disobeying Allah, guided by light from Allah, fearing Allah’s punishment.”

Allah Most High says in the longest surah of the Quran:

“Alif Lām Mīm.”

“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for the pious.”

“Those who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them.”

And so the passage continues. He thus describes the pious as carrying out what is commanded: faith and righteous deeds, including establishing prayer and giving zakah. He also says:

“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become pious.”

And He says:

“Righteousness does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west. Rather, the righteous are those who believe in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets, and give wealth, despite their love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, and the traveller