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| Tazkîyah: Its Aim and Scope Amîn Ahsân Islâhî
Tazkîyah in the Arabic language means purification
of something (from adulterants), its growth and development and to bring
it to the height of its perfection. The action of tazkîyah on different things
will appear in different forms on the surface. On material objects it will
take one form and on abstract objects quite another. But this apparent
difference will not change the reality. The spirit of purification, growth
and development and its final perfection will be visible in its actions
everywhere. For instance the action of tazkîyah may be
performed on a tract of land and also on the inner self of a person.
Although due to variations in the fields of action, there will be a
difference in the form, yet in reality and in its object there will be no
difference between the two. The tazkîyah of the tract of land will
comprise clearing it of the weeds, brushwood and brambles, leveling it,
ploughing it to make it soft and porous, then watering it so that it may
become capable of developing the healthy seeds of some sort in keeping
with its natural capacity, and take it to the final stage of blossoming
and fruition. The tazkîyah of the inner self of a person involves eradication of erroneous thought and false assumptions, the correction and leveling of the perversions and angularities created by the corrupt morality and bad habits; removal of the ills produced by blind emulations and ritualism; treatment and cure of the evil of spirits and cowardice created by craving for ephemeral carnal pleasures so that his eyes may be opened and his mind may become capable of thinking freely, his drooping spirits may be raised, his habits may be reformed and through development of his mental, moral and spiritual powers according to his natural capabilities, may attain the heights God endowed him with to reach. The Technical Sense of Tazkîyah More or less the same or some such sense is
conveyed by the word tazkîyah used as a technical term. Literally it
means as already stated above, purification and development to the stage
of its perfection. Technically it conveys the sense of checking ourselves
from erroneous tendencies and leanings and turning them to the path of
virtue and piety (fear of God’s displeasure) and developing it to attain
the stage of perfection. This sense of tazkîyah is borne out by the
following verse of the Qur’ân: “By the soul and the proportion and order
given to it; and its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right; - truly
he succeeds that purifies it and he fails that corrupts it!” (Al-Qur’ân
– 91:7-10) The above verse clarifies the issue. God
has so ordered the soul that it has both inclinations – good and
evil, and man has been endowed with the power of distinction between the
two; and the path of prosperity for man lies in choosing the side of the
good in the struggle between it and the evil, and striving to make it
prevail over the evil. With rightly guided consciousness the extreme struggle to make the good prevail and to vanquish the evil is tazkîyah in the Qur’ânic sense of the term. The Scope of the Knowledge of Tazkîyah With the sense of tazkîyah in view if we were to contemplate over it we must come to the conclusion that all of the arts and sciences dealing directly with our inner selves, medical science is the only one resembling the knowledge of tazkîyah. Medical science deals with the ailment of our physique and the treatment and cure thereof, whereas tazkîyah treats the subject of the ailments of the spirit and their eradication. But in spite of this resemblance there is also a great difference between the two. The ambit of the discussions of the medical science is very limited, dealing with only one aspect of our selves, the body and its ailments. On the contrary tazkîyah deals with all the apparent and hidden aspects of our selves. It critically judges all the powers and the capabilities of which we are constituted, discusses all our emotions and feelings and corrects and reforms them; it takes stock of all the variegated and multifaceted ties that we are bound with, and creates an order in and regulates them all under a particular principle and regulation. Our thoughts, our apprehensions, our inclinations, our movements, our eating and drinking, our engagements, entertainments, and interests, the daily routines of our lives, in short, no department and nothing that touches our lives is outside the pale of tazkîyah. The Real Task of Tazkîyah And it is not only that tazkîyah deals
with all the aspects of ourselves or removing their evils, presents the
right sort of replacements, but the real job of tazkîyah lies beyond this
discussion, critical study and correction. It also enters our souls from
every angle in such a way that they become tranquilized and peaceful. The tranquilization of the soul means that our knowledge may be founded on such a firm belief that no vicissitudes of distress and comfort or pain and pleasure may be able to shake and alter our trust in God and our expecting only good from Him, but that we may remain pleased with God and satisfied with His decrees. Similarly, the
foundations of our deeds may be laid in such a firm character that no
temptations, in adversity or prosperity; fear or hope, may take our feet
off where the divine Sharî`ah has planted, so that we may fulfill our
mission of the demands made on us by God, and thus become His desirable
servants. Such a tranquilized soul is the aim of tazkîyah. The
Qur’ân addresses the tranquilized or peaceful soul in the following
words: “O, [you] soul, in complete rest and satisfaction! Come back you to your Lord; - well-pleased [yourself] and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter you, then, among My devotees! Yes, enter you My Heaven.” (Al-Qur’ân – 89:27-30) The Quest for Ever-increasing
Superiority The above discussion has also revealed that tazkîyah has an air of art too about it, since it does not rest contented with somehow bringing the soul to the right path, but over and above that, it strives to take it to ever-increasing heights of superiority. Tazkîyah does not stop at the stage where we learn a little about God and the Sharî`ah conferred by Him on man, but it is its endeavor that we may attain a true and firm knowledge of God and His attributes. Tazkîyah does not keep before it as its goal that our habits be reformed to a certain degree but strives after the goal of making ourselves the embodiment of all the beautiful traits of man’s character. Tazkîyah is not satisfied with the creation of a sort of harmony and accord in our notions, but in addition to that it aims at producing a sort of pathos, refinement and the power to effect passions or their expression. Tazkîyah does not demand only that our soul may somehow be subordinated to the Commandments of the Sharî`ah, but its real demand lies in breaking this unruly steed of our soul in such a way that it carries out the orders of God and His apostle in the best possible manner. It does not only demand from us the service where the slave comes to imagine that he is beholding his Lord with his eyes (physical vision). In short, it means that
tazkîyah places before us the demand of îmân or belief, Islâm or
submission and Ihsân or utmost sincerity, at the same time. It demands
that we believe in God with all His attributes, also that we obey His
Commandments in every sphere of our lives and above all that this belief
and obedience may not be formal and superficial but fully conscious and
deeply sincere in which our hearts must coordinate with our bodies. This nature of tazkîyah makes it a
perpetual striving and a continuous struggle without any break or a period
of rest. In this journey there is no turn or stage which may be mistaken
for the last lap of the journey – the destination where one may sojourn
a while or become permanently at ease. At every stage in this striving one
goes on looking for greater excellence and higher standards and nowhere
his eyes can come to rest on any degree of excellence. With the greater
polish of the deeds, the morals and the exterior and the inner self, the
fineness of morals and the exterior and the inner self, the fineness of
tastes, the degree of sensibility and keenness of eye-sight also
progresses by leaps and bounds, with the result that no sooner has one
washed the old stains off his raiment some more stains come in sight to be
cleansed. Because of this, tazkîyah is a very
difficult task indeed. Even if a person is not bewildered by its vast
scope, its never-ending activity instills fear into him that he may not be
able to sustain himself through its life-long occupation. But if this
activity is taken up and performed in the natural course with the
gradualness and the order prescribed for it by the prophets, it becomes
for a lover of the Truth the most attractive occupation, its vast scope
and perpetuity notwithstanding. Its limitless vastness is awe-inspiring
indeed. But the inspirational guidance that one experiences on this path
is so heartening and solacious that his courage never gives way and he is
never disheartened: “And those who strive in Our [cause], -
We will certainly guide them to Our Paths.” (Al-Qur’ân – 29:69). Thus the fatigue caused by the perpetuity
of the striving is countered by the ever-fresh revelations of realities
and subtleties which in turn confer a refreshed life continually on man. If with the perpetuity of striving fresh gains in the form of inspirations come his way and every fresh success surpasses all the past achievements, continuous labor and its monotony do not make him tire of it, but create in him fresh courage and resolve to begin every new stage with fresh interest and zeal. The Real Theme of Tazkîyah The above details give an idea of the
nature of tazkîyah, its scope and its difficulties to a certain extent.
But to bring into view all its aspects, the suitable method will be to
focus on the real theme of tazkîyah and then try to encompass all the
aspects of this theme, since it must have as many facets as are to be
found in the theme itself. The garments are fitted to the stature, and if
we can take measurements of the stature, the measurements of the dresses
are automatically determined. Evidently enough the theme of tazkîyah is
human soul. But what is soul is an important question stressed in the Islâmic
philosophy and in that of Jâhilîyah too. The arch of the doorway to the
temple in ancient Athens bore the inscription of the sayings of Socrates:
“Man know thyself!” This is a pointer to the fact that in Greek
philosophy knowledge and cognizance of the soul was considered of
fundamental importance. In our society too an old saying is well known: “One who knows himself comes to know His
Lord.” That makes it incumbent on us to analyze
this issue of the soul as to which attributes and demands go into its
composition, so that we may be able to find out what will be required of
us in its analysis. By the analysis of the soul we do not mean here the process adopted by the philosophers in finding the real nature of any object. To us soul defies such analysis and enquiries to find its true nature. And it is not necessary for our purpose to find its true nature. We shall endeavor here to find our its attributes and demands and deal only with such of its mental and moral aspects which come or should come into question in the knowledge and exercise of tazkîyah. The Various Aspects of Man’s Ego Let us now contemplate the various aspects
of our ego that can be brought under the action of tazkîyah, and without
that much tazkîyah of those aspects, man’s perfect development
according to his natural capacities is not possible. When we contemplate our ego, the two
aspects that are directly acted upon by the process of tazkîyah are that: 1) the ego has understanding and perception. 2) the ego acts. Perception is the essence of ego without
which man is no more important than inanimate objects. Then, apparently
enough, this perception is not limited to the minor details but includes
that of generalities and broad facts as well. And it is this quality of
our ego which distinguishes it from animals, and without which man would
not have deserved any higher status than that of beasts. This perception
of generalities opens up for him vast avenues of thought and reasoning,
and all his arts and sciences and thought and creed and assumption come
into existence with it. And it is with its help that he goes from the
created to the Creator and from the handiwork to the Artisan. In its light
he gets an idea of the attributes and the likes and dislikes of the
Designer from the designed. And thus guided he decides the right course for
himself, and also what obligations and responsibilities devolve on him as
a man, and with what degree of consciousness and sense of responsibility,
promptitude and wholehearted activity he should discharge his duties. Just think how important this aspect of our ego is! I t is apparent that all other aspects of our ego are subordinate to it. If it is corrected and reformed, the ego as a whole can be reformed. And any evil of slightest degree persisting therein, will not allow it (the ego) to right itself. It is man’s thought that makes him rightly guided or sends him astray. One false step and the whole philosophy of life is erased, and an ordinary slip in the deduction will bring the whole building of our knowledge toppling down. As a result of this crookedness the whole life with its various aspects becomes rife with corruption. Tazkîyah of Knowledge and Perception Due to the importance of knowledge and
perception their tazkîyah carries great weight in our programme of tazkîyah.
In this, priority goes to the settlement of the questions that are
essential for keeping our thoughts and intentions firmly focused on the
right path. For instance, Definite and decisive answers to these questions are inevitable for saving our ego from the crookedness of knowledge and mental straying. It is also imperative that the dust of blind following, inertia and stagnancy, negligence and forgetfulness should not collect on the correct answers provided to these questions. And, God forbid, if any aspect of it is getting rusty, it must be rubbed constantly and kept clean.
Tazkîyah of Action Action, like knowledge it is also vast
enough. Not a moment of man’s life passes without action, which does not
leave a good or bad impression on his ego. It is not only the question
of prohibition or approbation that arises about these actions, but more
important than this aspect is that of the motives behind them. There is no
single motivation for man’s actions, but so many motives of different
natures incite him to action, so that the same action under two different
motives may become an act of virtue or that of an evil. Then a question also arises about all the
motives of our actions as to which of them is trustworthy and which
otherwise. Which are those whose persuasion and incitement is acceptable
and which those whose blindness is fraught with dangers? At times, we resort to a certain act
compelled by necessity or want. We are compelled to eat when hungry, slake
our thirst when thirsty and rest when we feel fatigued. Similarly so many of our actions are
motivated by desires. For example, for the sake of fame we indulge in acts
of valor; for popularity’s sake we engage ourselves in social service
and to accumulate wealth we expand our businesses of industries and
commerce. Likewise, so many of our acts are motivated
by passions. We love someone, hate someone else; are jealous of somebody
and favorably disposed to another; we oblige one person and revenge
ourselves on another. Moreover, through a careful stock-taking of
our ego we also come to realize that there are so many actions of ours
whose motives are far above those mentioned earlier. Under this category
come all those actions of judgment, thought and sacrifice and selflessness
in which we cannot find a trace of selfishness even on very critical
analysis. This motive we can term the angelic spirit
or reason. All the four motives mentioned at times act
separately and at others are at work jointly. They are also guilty of
excesses and shortcomings in their actions. That is why taking stock of
them in every action and examining them and judging them in their excesses
and training them to be bound by the limits prescribed for them by the Sharî`ah,
is a mighty long chain, arrangement and regulation of which are also the
duties of tazkîyah. Tazkîyah of Relations and Dealings After knowledge and action and passions and
motives, two other aspects of our ego that come before us is that of the
relations and dealings, no less in its scope, rather greater in its
vastness. Among the relations of ego the most
important are those with God and with self. If we take ourselves, not as
the creator but the created, a very pertinent question must arise
regarding the nature of our relations with the Creator, and the way they
can be established on proper bases. Next crops up the problem of our own ego or
self which apparently has so many things in its charge or holds sway over
them. It has a hold over the body, the brain, various faculties and
capabilities, feelings and passions. How should it deal with all of them?
Is he the owner and master of these things and is entitled to use them as
he is pleased to do? Or is it only this that it holds them in his charge
as a trust within the limits prescribed by the Creator? If the second is
the case the question arises as to the limits which must be kept in view
in this connection. And along with that it will also be inevitable to know
all those apparent and hidden qualities that are essential for the proper
discharge of this duty of trusteeship. Next come the relations of the ego or self
with its surroundings. That man is a social entity needs no proof.
Whenever and wherever he is, it is in the capacity of the member of a
family, the individual belonging to a society or the citizen of some
state. Just as a creeper needs some trusses and supports to climb
up, prosper and blossom, man too must have some supports for his
development, progress and attainment of the zenith of his career. In the
absence of these supports his existence is not possible. And if it is
rarely met with anywhere it is in a very stunted state of growth and
development of his faculties. This is why tazkîyah takes stock of all
these relations and firmly establishes them on the right bases, so that it
may attain the zenith of its development and perfection in keeping with
its natural endowments. These details bring to light the fact that tazkîyah is not a simple and limited process. Rather, its multiple facets extend far and wide. Every aspect of our life, apparent or hidden, theoretical or practical, moral or social and political is encompassed by it. The tazkîyah of our ego does not simply mean that a certain aspect of it is lighted up but brightening and spreading light to every nook and corner of it – our knowledge becoming dazzling, our actions pure and clean and our relations and dealings established on just and proper lines… Maintainer’s Note: [1] This a mawdû (fabricated) hadîth as is well-known among the scholars of hadîth: As-Sakhâwî said, “Abû al-Mudhaffar as-Sama’ânî said, ‘This is not known as a hadîth of the Messenger, rather it is only related as a saying of Yahya bin Mu‘âdh ar-Râzî. And likewise an-Nawawî said, ‘it is not established’ ” [‘al-Maqâsid al-Hasanah’ (pg. 491 no.1149)] As-Suyûtî said, “This hadîth is not authentic.” [‘Hâwî lil Fatâwî’ (2/351)] Alî al-Qârî quoted from Ibn Taymiyyah saying, “fabricated.” [‘al-Asrâr al-Marfû‘ah’ (pg. 83)] Al-Allâmah Fairozabâdî said, “This is not from the Prophetic ahâdîth, despite the fact that the majority of people make it so, and it is not authentic at all. It is only related from the Jewish traditions as ‘O mankind! Know yourself and you will know your Lord.’ ” [‘ar-Radd alâ al-Mu’taridîn’ (2/37)] Al-Albânî says, “It
has no basis.”
[‘Silsilah ad-Da‘îfah’ (1/165 no.66)] Excerpt
from:
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