Tazkiyya [Soul cleansing]

[Liqaye]

And by the sun and its brightness; and by the moon as it follows it,; and by the day as it shows up (the sun's) brightness; And by the night as it conceals it; And by the heaven and Him who built it; and by the earth and He who spread it; and by Nafs (Adam or a soul or a person) and Him who perfected him in proportion; Then he showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him; Indeed, he succeeds who purifies his himself, and indeed he fails, who corrupts himself..."

(Surah ash-Shams, 91:9-10)

 

An article on Tazkiyyah :

 

Jamaal al-Din M Zarabozo; taken from his Commentary on the Forty Hadith of Al-Nawawi, vol.1, pp. 158-160

 

Some people ask: Why is it that the unbelievers are punished in hell forever while they were not disobedient to Allah forever? Similarly, why will the believers be rewarded with heaven forever while they were obedient to Allah for only a short time in this life? The answer is that the unbelievers had the intention to disobey Allah forever while the believers had the intention to obey Allah forever. Thereby, they are rewarded according to their intentions .

 

As al-Qaari pointed out, entrance into Paradise is due to faith, the levels of Paradise are due to the deeds performed and remaining therein forever is due to the intention that the person had to obey Allah as long as he could have lived. Similarly, entrance into Hell is due to disbelief, its levels are due to the evil deeds that the person performed and its eternity is due to the intention the unbeliever had to forever disobey Allah.

 

The disbelievers may do some deeds that seem to be good because they bring positive results for others, such as humanitarian acts. However, that does not mean that such acts are good for the person himself. Ibn Rajab stated,

 

Ordering good is a type of charity. Bringing about reconciliation and peace between two is a good deed, even if it is not done for the sake of Allah, due to the benefit that it brings for others. The people receive goodness and good. However, as for the one who brought it about, if he did that for the sake of Allah and seeking His pleasure, then it is good for him and he shall be rewarded. If that was not his intent, it is actually not good for him nor shall he be rewarded for it.

 

The problem with the deeds of all the disbelievers- in general- is that none of them, no matter how utilitarian or humanitarian they seem, are for the sake of Allah. They perform deeds for the sake of the false, claimed gods, such as Jesus. Or they perform deeds to make their own egos feel good. Sometimes- many times- they do acts to impress others. Hence, their deeds are never really for the sake of Allah and therefore, they are not deserving of reward from Allah in the Hereafter.

They claim to be doing good while at the same time they are refusing to submit to Allah. Hence, there can truly be no good in them. They are as those described in the Qur'an,

 

 

" Say (O Muhammad): Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life while they thought they were acquiring good by their deeds? Those are they who deny the signs of their Lord and the meeting with Him [in the Hereafter]. So their works are in vain, and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall not give them any weight. That shall be their recompense - Hell, because they disbelieved and took My signs and My Messengers by way of jest and mockery." (al-Kahf, 18/103-106)

 

However, Allah may reward them for their deeds in this world. Allah has stated, as was mentioned earlier,

 

 

"Whosever desires the life of this world and its glitter, to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds they did therein, and they will have no diminution therein. They are those for whom there is nothing in the Hereafter but Fire; and vain are the deeds they did therein. And of no effect is that which they used to do." (Hood, 11/15-16 )

[Liqaye]

Bismillahi rahmani rahim:

 

A definition of tazkiyyah:

Taken from www.allahuakbar.net

 

Tazkiyah means The purification of one's heart and the soul

 

Allah conferred indeed a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger (i.e., Muhammad-sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) from among themselves reciting unto them His Verses (i.e., the Qur'an ) and purifying them (from sins by their following him) and instructing them in the Book (i.e., the Qur'an ) and Wisdom (i.e., the Sunnah), while before that they had been in manifest error." - The Qur'an 3:164.

 

The Qur'an and Sunnah are the only sources for tazkiyah. The Prophet Muhammad- sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam-is the purest of mankind in soul and his character was that of Qur'an. There is none who approaches him in this. For this reason he is the model for tazkiyah. Allah says: "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow..." - The Qur'an 33:21.

 

The Prophet's Companions and the rest of Salaf-us-Saliheen are also, as a whole, a fine model to follow in tazkiyah. There is no way of drawing closer to Allah except by adhering to what the Prophet Muhammad-sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam-came with.

 

The Prophet-sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam-has said: "If anyone introduces into this affair of ours anything which does not belong to it, it is rejected." - Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

 

There does not exist any specific set of acts which lead to tazkiyah rather the whole of Islam leads to tazkiyah. Allah says: "O you who believe! Enter perfectly into Islam (i.e., obey all the regulations of the Islamic religion) and follow not the footsteps of Satan, Verily! He is to you a plain enemy." - The Qur'an 2:208

 

The farce referred to as "Sufism" has corrupted the beliefs, deeds, and morals of the Muslims.

 

The True Manhaj stands between the two extremes of mysticism (i.e., Sufism) and scholastic formalism(i.e Mu'Tazilah).

 

This Manhaj represents a true exemplification of piety. It is faith and not hypocrisy, purity and not filth

.