Tazkiya–Spiritual Nourishment

The body requires physical food. When it receives its food, it becomes healthy. Similarly, the soul requires spiritual provision. When the soul is provided with such food, it becomes healthy. This process is called purification of the soul and this healthy soul is called a purified and cleansed soul.

According to the Quran, the food for the soul is in thinking (3:191). At every moment certain incidents take place in the life of a person. These incidents appear at the level of society, history, the universe, and so on. Thinking about these incidents or events and deriving lessons from them, is food for the soul.

One who develops his consciousness to such an extent that he sees the glory of God in the events which take place around him, and for whom these events become a means of remembering God, has obtained the divine provision for his soul. His soul will continue to receive this healthy nourishment until he finally leaves this world to be ushered into the Divine Presence.

The most important source of tazkiya is the lessons one learns to take from every happening. The ability to learn lessons is the basis of tazkiya. This is the soil from which tazkiya grows. Trying to encourage its growth at any other place is like trying to grow a green tree on a rock. The source of tazkiya is divine provision and not human provision. It is the result of that process which is directly established between God and man through a psychological relationship. Tazkiya is not achieved through any intermediary between God and man. Tazkiya is a blessing which one directly receives from God.