Purification of the Soul (Tazkiyatul-Nafs)

Introduction

Alhamdulillah; all Thanks are due to Allah. All Praises are for Allah. All good are in the Good Hands of Allah. All affairs shall be returned to Allah. No god deserves to be worshiped but He. We seek His Forgiveness at all time, and to Him, alone, we repent. May His Peace and Blessing be upon the Master of all times; Habibi Muhammad, his family members, his companions and all those who follow his guided path.

This article comes after I was invited by the NTU Muslim Society (NTUMS) to share and discuss Islamic issues in the holy month of Ramadhan. Thanks to the NTUMS for the opportunity. And thanks to Broher Asyraf Ahmad who constantly liaised with me prior to the talk. I would like to request from you, if you are reading these lines, to kindly make du'a for his beloved dad, who was admitted to the hospital the same day of the talk, for speedy recovery and cleansing of his past sins. Thank you.

The lecture, which I delivered last night, 27/7/2012, was the 3rd of their ‘Vacation Series of the Soul' (VSS): Leadership Edition. Honestly I was humbled and pleased to be one of them last night. I was impressed by their response and level of interactions. The sense of brotherhood and humour I observed among them was overwhelming.

Good job Guys! Please keep it up! May Allah preserve you all for your nations and for Islam. Ameen.

The title of my lecture was “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” and I summarized it into the following:

What is (are) “Tazkiyah” and “Nafs”?

As you may have assumed; both “Tazkiyah” and “Nafs” are terms derived from the most beautiful language; Arabic.

“Tazkiyah” therefore literally means, “Purification or Cleansing”. And “Nafs” means the “Soul”. When the two terms are phrased, they mean, “Purification of the soul.”

I asked Imam Al-Ghazali (by referring to his books) of his opinion, and he said, “Tazkiyatul-Nafs is educating [the heart or the soul], thus, any nation without education possesses no good”.

Technically, according to Imam Al-Ghazali, “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” means, “completing the perfection of one's soul (Nafs) by cutting down its desires, and allowing its noble characteristics to evolve.”

Allah says in Surah Al-Shams, 91:9-10:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا * وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا

It means, “He who purifies it (the soul) will indeed be successful. And he who corrupts it is sure to fail.”

Imam Ibn Kathir said in giving his opinion on the technical meaning of Tazkiyatul-Nafs, as part of his comment on the meaning of the verses above, that “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” is cleansing the soul from its evil characteristics and moral dirt and wastes, reducing its bad habits, and developing good habits and characters.”

“Tazkiyanul-Nafs” in the Qur’an

The are several verses in the Qur'an which address “purification”. Below are some of those which directly discuss our subject matter.

Allah said on behalf of Sayyidina Ibrahim and his son Sayyiduna Ismail a.s. after they established Makkah and the Ka'bah, among the dua's they both supplicated is:

رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

It means, “Our Lord, send forth to them (our offspring) a messenger of their own to recite Your revelations to them, to teach them the Scripture and wisdom, and purify them. You are the Mighty, the Wise One.” [Al-Baqarah, 2:129].

Allah s.w.t. also said in Surah Al-Baraqah, 2:151, as a form of reminder of his favours on us:

كَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولًا مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْلَمُونَ

It means, “Thus We have sent among you a Messenger of your own to recite Our revelations to you, purify you and teach you the Book and wisdom, and to teach you what you did not know.”

Also in the next Surah, Aali Imran, 3:164, Allah s.w.t. emphasized and reminded us of His countless favours on us:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّـهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِين

It means, “Indeed, Allah has conferred a great favour on the believers in sending a Messenger from among themselves, to recite His revelations to them, and purify them, and teache them the Book and wisdom, for, before that they were surely in manifest error.”

In Surah Al-Jumu'ah, Allah also said: 62:2:

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ

It means, “It is He Who has raised among the unlettered people a messenger from among themselves who recites His revelations to them, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, for they had formerly been clearly misguided”

In Surah Al-Shams, 91:9-10, Allah says:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا * وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا

It means, “He who purifies it will indeed be successful. And he who corrupts it is sure to fail.”

The Importance of “Tazkiyatul-Nafs”

Upon looking at the definitions given by Imam(s) Al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir, one can easily observe and realize the importance of Tazkiyatul-Nafs in the life of a Muslim.

In fact, the Qur'anic verses outlined above, if reread and reflected upon, clearly present the importance of ‘purification of the soul', especially that, 3 out of 4 of the verses indicate ‘purification' before ‘teaching or learning' and ‘wisdom'.

Also, Sayyiduna Ibrahim asked from Allah to send to his offspring, a Prophet who could purify them. This is in a time when values were highly related to, and high morals were embraced. Despite the fact that, their time was less corrupted morally and value-wise compared to our time, yet Sayyidina Ibrahim did not fail to be mindful to the importance of ‘Tazkiyatul-Nafs”.

What more about our time, in which the strong takes advantage of the weak, just because they're weak? What more about our time, in which one receives services and good treatment based on their contacts/connections in the organization. What more about out time, in which moral and values are being traded-in for worldly gains?

If Tazkiyatul-Nafs, was of importance, in the olden days, then we are more desperate in need of Tazkiyatul-Nafs.

Any time any community finds itself desperate in need to re-embrace morals and values, the Muslim communities need to re-embrace “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” even more and more.

With Tazkiyatul-Nafs, one takes control of their ego, greediness, anger, hatred, jealousy, injustice, and all kinds of heart (or soul) diseases, rather than taking advantage of others due to their weakness, poverty or lack of social support.

Different Types of “Tazkiyatul-Nafs”

Tazkiyatul-Nafs can be categorized into two different categories, both of which are essential:

  • Emptying one’s soul from any existing evil characters.
  • Re-filling it (the soul) with good and desired characters.

Let’s imagine the following scenarios:

You have a glass of water, which is infected and contaminated. You want to fill it with clean water to make use of it. What would you do? I'm sure; since you're concerned about your physical well-being, you will have to, first, cleanse and sanitize the glass, only after which, you will refill it with clean water, and make use of the glass safely and at peace of mind.

In order to furnish our homes with new furniture, we need to empty our homes from the existing furniture, before we can bring in, new ones.

The same thing applies to the soul. When we decide to apply the process of purification to it, we must:

  1. Empty it from any contamination or infections, then;
  1. Refill it with good characters.

How can we apply and instill “Tazkiyatul-Nafs”?

We are likely to attain “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” if we are able to maintain our Steadfastness (Istiqamah).

How we can attain and preserve steadfastness can be achieved in the Hadeeth of Rasulillah s.a.w., when he advised the great companion, Mu’aadh Ibn Jabal, r.a. when he sent him to Yemen, he said to him:

يَا مُعَاذ: اِتَّقِ اللَّهَ حَيْثُ مَا كُنْتَ، وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّئَةَ الحَسَنَةَ؛ تَمْحُهَا، وَخَالِقِ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَن

It means, “O Mu’aadh, fear Allah wherever you are, and follow up a bad deed with a good one; it will wipe it out, and treat people in a kind manner.” [Al-Tirmizhi].

Now, let's ponder on the Hadeeth loudly:

Rasulullah s.a.w. reminded Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal r.a. of three things in order to achieve “Istiqamah”:

  • Taqwa (Fear of Allah) at all time;
  • Following up bad deeds with good ones; and
  • Treating people in kind manner (with respect and sincerity).

Taqwa (Fear of Allah) at all time: is required from our part, if we strive to be steadfast Muslims and subsequently develop ‘Tazkiyatul-Nafs'. We should be mindful of Allah in our private equally to how we “observe Him” in public (in the open). We should be mindful of Allah outside the mosques equally to how we are mindful of Him inside the mosques. We should be mindful of Allah outside Ramadhan similarly to our mindfulness of Him inside Ramadhan. We should be mindful of Allah in our actions similarly to the amount of our mindfulness of Him in our speeches.

Following up bad deeds with good ones; Human beings are meant to be imperfect in their deeds. However, we are expected to demonstrate that we could attain perfection if we were meant to be perfect. So Islam gives us the prescription for that; “follow up bad deed with a good one; it will wipe it out.”

Treating people in kind manner (with respect and sincerity): Islam has equaled between mankind, especially when we have direct dealing with them. This is regardless of their faith, language, colour, wealth, or social class. If this is expected from Muslims toward people from different faith and culture, what  more will be expected from us towards our fellow Muslims or family members?

In short, Tazkiyatul-Nafs requires actions, more than it requires claims and dreams!

Fruits of Tazkiyatul-Nafs

Purifying one's soul is indeed one of the most challenging attribute one may undergo. No wonder it’s therefore, handsomely rewarding in this Dunia and in the Akhirah.

People of Tazkiyatul-Nafs enjoy the utmost inner-peace. They are given highest level of self-contentment. They are spiritually rich.

One of the mistakes we make is, we sometimes measure Allah’s Pleasure with His servant(s) by the amount of the worldly gains He bestows upon the person.

Rasulullah s.a.w. left this Dunia leaving neither material wealth for his family members to inherit, nor for his Ummah to enjoy. Wasn’t he the most beloved to Allah?

However, Rasulullah’s heart lived the most peaceful moments a heart could or can live. How was that? It was as a result of Tazkiyatul-Nafs.

Ibn Al-Jawzy said, “Whoever wants to purify his spiritual self, must first put in effort to purify his physical deeds.”

Indeed, Allah s.w.t. has already said it all in Surah Al-Shams, 91:9-10:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا * وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا

Meaning, “He who purifies it will indeed be successful, and he who corrupts it is sure to fail.”

Call to Action

Ramadhan is the best opportunity one can seize to get closer to Allah, as possible, at least till next Ramadhan.

However, most of the time, people are not able to achieve some of their goals because they set them between them and themselves, without sharing with anybody. Ambition fades if motivation slims.

What we can do today is… Each one of us can have a seat.. reflect.. point out one or two [bad] characters that prevent us from attaining “Tazkiyatul-Nafs”. Next, each one of us will share that with our most trusted friend.

We seek their assistance to achieve the attribute of “Tazkiyatul-Nafs” by next year. Until next year, anytime we meet up, they should ask us about our progress regarding our goal. We too will do the same to them.

“Habits die hard”. So give yourself enough time to adapt and grow. Insha Allah, one year is more than enough with consistence, self discipline and du'a to Allah.

We'll be doing that, not to impress our friends, but to help one another for Allah's Sake.

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ، وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ، وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ

It means, “Help one another in goodness and in piety. Do not help one another in sin and transgression. Fear Allah!”

As simple as that! If you are able to achieve that (and I pray and believe that you can), please come to this article next year and update us. Your story may change the world!

Conclusion

As I was preparing for the lecture, as well as I was writing this article, I kept on reminding myself that Tazkiyatul-Nafs is dealing with the heart. It's therefore unseen and physically unfelt. Matters of the heart are spiritual, thus I claim that only 1% of it or less can be touched and discussed in a form of lecture or article.

In order to experience it, we should feel it for ourselves. Only then we can know how it feels and tastes.

What are your plans for the purification of your soul? Care to share with us, by commenting below. That way, we can motivate one another and learn from one another. Your input my change my life and others' forever, for good.

I would appreciate it, if you care to share this article with your loved ones. A click on the LIKE and SHARE buttons will help spread the good word (Al-Kalimah Al-Tayyibah).

Thanks for reading this. Please let me know if you think of any topic you would like me to write about in this blog.

Allah knows best.

Allahu Hafiz 🙂

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