Tazkiyat al-Nafs Mafhumuha wa Maratibuha wa Asbabuha
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Tazkiyat al-Nafs: Mafhumuha wa Maratibuha wa Asbabuha (Self-Purification: Its Concept, Levels, and Causes) is a treatise on Islamic ethics and spiritual rectification by the contemporary Saudi scholar Ibrahim bin Amir al-Ruhayli .
Composition and Origins
The treatise originated as an audio lecture delivered by telephone to students of Islamic knowledge in Algeria . After the students transcribed the recordings and urged its publication, al-Ruhayli reviewed, revised, and expanded the transcript into a concise booklet, completing it on 14 Safar 1431 AH (2010 CE) . The author emphasized relying on authentic scriptural vocabulary from the Quran and Sunnah rather than ungrounded non-Sharʿi terms when addressing spiritual refinement .
Concept and Types of Purification
Linguistically, tazkiyah derives from zakā, signifying growth (namā'), increase (ziyādah), and blessing . In Islamic law, it denotes the spiritual cultivation and reform of the heart, which directly influences the actions of the physical limbs and leads to overall prosperity (falāḥ) .
Al-Ruhayli divides purification in the Sharīʿah into two distinct categories:
- Blameworthy (madhmūm) and forbidden: Praising, commending, and glorifying oneself through speech, as prohibited in the Quranic verse: فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَى ("So do not claim purity for yourselves; He knows best who fears Him") .
- Praiseworthy (mamdūḥ) and prescribed: Purifying the soul through righteous actions, sound beliefs, lawful speech, and acts of obedience .
Levels of Purification
The author outlines two primary ranks of self-purification:
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Purification through performing the prescribed (fiʿl al-mashrūʿ): Known among scholars as spiritual adornment (al-taḥliyah) . It operates across three domains:
- Beliefs (iʿtiqād): Cultivating inward acts of the heart such as love, fear, hope, reliance (tawakkul), sincerity (ikhlāṣ), and reverence for Allah and the religion .
- Speech (aqwāl): Engaging in Quranic recitation, the remembrance of Allah (dhikr), and verbal enjoining of good .
- Physical deeds (aʿmāl al-jawāriḥ): Fulfilling outward acts of worship, including ritual prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage, and commanding right and forbidding wrong . These actions are subdivided into obligatory acts—which secure essential faith (al-īmān al-wājib) and paradise for the righteous (aṣḥāb al-yamīn)—and recommended acts, which elevate the practitioner to the higher tier of foremost believers (al-sābiqūn al-muqarrabūn) .
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Purification through abandoning the prohibited (tark al-maḥẓūr): Known as spiritual divestment (al-takhliyah), which requires relinquishing all major and minor sins and unlawful acts .
Regarding the comparative merit of the two ranks, al-Ruhayli notes that scholars consider performing prescribed acts greater in potential reward because of the active exertion and demonstration of faith involved, whereas abstaining from prohibitions is subjected to stricter demand because it is not conditioned upon physical ability (istiṭāʿah) .
Divine Enabling and Human Agency
Addressing whether purification is achieved by God or the servant, the work cites Ibn Taymiyyah's preference that the servant purifies himself through obedience, while affirming that this can only occur through divine guidance and grace (tawfīq Allāh) . Al-Ruhayli refutes the doctrine of the Qadariyyah, noting that believers must not rely solely on their own strength, but must acknowledge their perpetual dependence on Allah .
Causes of Self-Purification
The treatise details five primary means for achieving self-purification:
- Trust and supplication (al-tawakkul wa-l-duʿā'): Beseeching Allah for righteousness and guidance .
- Religious understanding (al-fiqh fī al-dīn): Acquiring sound knowledge of worship, ensuring that deeds are performed with sincere intention and strict adherence to the Prophetic Sunnah (al-ikhlāṣ wa-l-mutābaʿah) .
- Understanding the spiritual toll of sins: Recognizing how misdeeds affect the soul, reflecting on their divine decree, and seeking prompt repentance without justifying errors through fatalistic arguments .
- Prevention and knowledge of expiations (al-wiqāyah wa-l-mukaffirāt): Following bad deeds with good deeds to erase them, and blocking the avenues leading to temptation (sadd al-dharāʾiʿ), such as lowering the gaze, avoiding corrupt gatherings, and keeping the company of the righteous .
- Gratitude for divine assistance (shukr Allāh): Attributing all righteous conduct to Allah's favor rather than personal merit, which preserves deeds from vanity (al-ʿujb) and fosters humility .
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