Save Yourself from Distraction

One principle of success in this world is to abandon one thing in favour of another.

It is human psychology that man cannot focus on two things at a time. If he focuses on one thing, his mind will be diverted from another. This same principle applies to tazkiyah. Also, one who wants to engage in self-purification will necessarily have to totally abandon all things irrelevant to tazkiyah.

The greatest obstacle in the path of tazkiyah is distraction. It is essential for the seeker of tazkiyah to make tazkiyah his supreme goal; to keep himself totally away from all things related to distraction. Concentration is essential for tazkiyah, one who does not have the capacity to concentrate will certainly fall far short of the attainment of tazkiyah.

Everything has its price and tazkiyah too has its price. That price is keeping oneself away from all kinds of distraction, for instance, family programmes, friendship culture, the love of food, clothes, the craving for fame and wealth and other temptations in life.

All such things for a seeker of tazkiyah amount to distraction. Anyone who wants to purify himself must distance himself totally from all such things.

Tazkiyah gives man a noble character and enables man to be deserving of the angels’ company. Tazkiyah brings man close to God. Without this man is like dry wood; whereas with tazkiyah, man becomes a green tree. Tazkiyah is not something mysterious: it can be equated with an awakening of the consciousness of faith.