The Criterion of Tazkiyah

What is the criterion of tazkiyah? It is that one becomes so in tune with the Islamic way of thinking and the Islamic way of life that one feels that one is being guided by the voice of one’s own nature. Without any hesitation one should be willing to accept this, even if it runs counter to one’s cherished desires.

The real aim of tazkiyah is attachment to God. This is the whole truth. To put it another way, tazkiyah enables one to focus so totally on God that one become free of all other considerations, save devotion to God. Tazkiyah enables one to make God the centre of one’s attention in the complete sense.

Making God one’s sole concern is no simple matter. It is akin to bringing about a total revolution in man’s psyche. One who experiences such a revolution takes God as the Giver in the full sense, and regards himself as the taker in the full sense. His thinking becomes God-oriented: his feelings are centred entirely on God. His words and deeds reflect the divine culture. Modesty grows within him, he becomes a man cut to size. His heart is full of well-wishing instead of hatred for others. Instead of becoming haughty and insolent, he becomes modest.

His attitude to others is submissive rather than insolent. In all matters, he owns up to his own mistakes rather than blame others. He begins to prefer remaining silent rather than be talkative. Instead of occupying the front seat, he prefers to take the back seat.

Before uttering a single word, he gives thought to whether his words in the presence of God will be accepted or rejected. In private, he is as cautious as he is in public.