Tazkiah - Importance of Tazkiah

Importance of Tazkiah

The soul is created devoid of traits. As one progresses through life he develops malakat related to his lifestyle. The soul becomes accustomed to repeated behavior, which then determines actions. Noble faculties manifest moral and wise behavior, while evil faculties manifest immorality. These faculties determine the fate in the akhira. Moral virtues bring eternal happiness and well-bring (falaḥ), while moral corruption leads to everlasting wretchedness. Man must purge blameworthy traits (akhlāq madhmūma) before he can integrate ethical and moral virtues. According to the ulema, obtainment of falaḥ in this life and the next is directly connected to tazkiah. This is based on the Quranic verses:

91:7 وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا

Wanafsin wamā sawwāhā

Consider the human self, and how it is formed in accordance with what it is meant to be

91:8 فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا

Faalhamahā fujūrahā wataqwāhā

And how it is imbued with moral failings as well as with consciousness of God!

91:9 قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا

Qad aflaḥa man zakkāhā

To a happy state shall indeed attain he who causes this to grow in purity

91:10 وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا

Waqad khāba man dassāhā

And truly lost is he who buries it .

This illustrates that Allah created the human soul with both evil and good inclinations, and endowed man with the ability to distinguish between the two: eternal falaḥ is achieved by choosing good in the struggle instead of evil and striving to make it prevail. Similarly, Allah says in sura as-shu'ara :

"On that Day, neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, only he who comes before Allah with a sound heart free of evil."

Thus, the only people who will be saved from punishment on the Day of Judgment are those possessing qulub salīma (sound hearts: بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ). The phrase "salīm" (sound) is related to the word "aslama" because "Islam" is moving towards that state of soundness.

Anas Karzoon offered the following definition of tazkiah al-nafs, "It is the purification of the soul from inclination towards evils and sins, and the development of its fitrah towards goodness, which leads to its uprightness and its reaching ihsaan." Attempts to obey God's commands are successful only when one is purified; then the soul can receive God's unlimited grace.

The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: ("my religion is based on cleanliness"), does not refer to outward cleanliness alone; it also alludes to the soul's inner purity. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates in his "Tarikh" on the authority of Jabir that the Prophet returned from one of his campaigns and told his companions: "You have come forth in the best way of coming forth: you have come from the smaller jihad to the greater jihad." They said: "And what is the greater jihad?" He replied: "The striving (mujahadat) of Allah's servants against their idle desires."

When some Sufi masters were asked about the meaning of Islam, they answered: " slaughtering the soul by the swords of opposition ." The famous Sufi master Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi has argued that the constant struggle against nafs is jihad al-akbar (the greatest war). To attain perfection, it is necessary to struggle against lusts and immoral tendencies, and prepare the soul to receive God's grace. If man travels the path of purification, God will aid and guide him. As the Qur'an maintains in sura al-Ankabut:

29:69 وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

Waallathēna jahadū fēna lanahdiyannahum subulanā wainna Allaha lama'a almuḥsinēna

But as for those who struggle hard in Our cause, We shall certainly guide them onto paths leading unto Us: for, behold, God is indeed with the doers of good.