Self Development and Purification

One of the most important fact of the Islamic faith is purification of the self (nafs). Human beings have combination of soul and body.. Both are necessary for an alive person. As like we take food for nourishment of our body our soul also needs some diet for purification. The purification of self (tazkiya nafs) means that human beings must keep both their bodies and souls clean, since one affects the other directly. A pious person is not one who keeps himself dirty and don’t have knowledge of his surroundings, dress and bodily needs. In fact, cleanliness and the concept of purity of both body and nafs has been ingrained in the Muslim psyche, through instructions of the Quran and different hadiths of the Holy Prophet SAW and his practices (Sunnah). Many scholars, both in the fields of psychology and in sociology, have described the process of self-development in their own ways ..

Psychological Perspectives on Self-Development

Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was one of the most influential modern scientists to put forth a theory about how people develop a sense of self. He believed that personality and sexual development were closely linked, and he divided the maturation process into psycho-sexual stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital. He posited that people’s self-development is closely linked to early stages of development, like breastfeeding, toilet training, and sexual awareness (Freud 1905).

According to Freud, failure to properly engage in or disengage from a specific stage results in emotional and psychological consequences throughout adulthood. An adult with an oral fixation may indulge in overeating or binge drinking. An anal fixation may produce a neat freak (hence the term “anal retentive”), while a person stuck in the phallic stage may be promiscuous or emotionally immature. Although no solid empirical evidence supports Freud’s theory, his ideas continue to contribute to the work of scholars in a variety of disciplines.

Psychologist Erik Erikson (1902–1994) created a theory of personality development based, in part, on the work of Freud. However, Erikson believed the personality continued to change over time and was never truly finished. His theory includes eight stages of development, beginning with birth and ending with death. According to Erikson, people move through these stages throughout their lives. In contrast to Freud’s focus on psycho-sexual stages and basic human urges, Erikson’s view of self-development gave credit to more social aspects, like the way we negotiate between our own base desires and what is socially accepted (Erikson 1982).

Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was a psychologist who specialized in child development who focused specifically on the role of social interactions in their development. He recognized that the development of self evolved through a negotiation between the world as it exists in one’s mind and the world that exists as it is experienced socially (Piaget 1954). All three of these thinkers have contributed to our modern understanding of self-development.

Islamic concept of self purification (tazkiya nafs):

The word tazkiyah means to cleanse and purify. It also denotes increasing, improving, and a blessing. From this semantic perspective, tazkiyah comprises the entire process of spiritual education.

Purifying the nafs means is to cleanse it primarily from unbelief, ignorance, evil thoughts, false convictions and immorality. In other words, the purification of the  self is an act of cleansing aimed at eliminating all kinds of theoretical and practical impurities. This process ends in filling the nafs with good religious and moral qualities, such as sound belief, knowledge, gnosis, wisdom and spirituality.

But while dirt and grime is visible and easily removed, it is less obvious for one to observe the spots on one’s nafs. The word is used in the Quran in the meaning of desires, attributes, feelings, emotions leading to actions. These exist also within beasts, such as anger, carnal desire, hunger and thirst.

When human beings submit to their desires without putting any limits or boundaries, they are using their nafs-i-ammarra. God has given humans the capacity to do wrong and commit sins as well as to distinguish between right and wrong and correct themselves. As it is stated in the Quran: “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!” (91:7-10).

When one realizes that one has committed a sin and regrets and repents, his nafs begins to purify itself and evolves into the nafs-i-lawammah. The third and the most desired type of nafs is the nafs-ul-mutmainnah which is the state reached at which the person and God are satisfied. The Quran says: “(To the righteous soul will be said:) ‘O (thou) soul, in (complete) rest and satisfaction! ‘Come back thou to thy Lord — well pleased (thyself), and well-pleasing unto Him!” (89:27-28)

The evolution of the nafs from one of ammara to mutmainnah is the process of tazkiyah and is entirely within the power of human beings. One should first determine one’s own weaknesses and strengths to assess where the inclinations for sins begin. It is important to recognise that there are several actions or feelings that may be harbingers of sin.

Regarding a person’s purification of his own self, the Holy Quran reads, “By the nafs and He Who shaped it and inspired it to wickedness and righteousness! Prosperous is he who purifies it, and failed has he who seduces it [by way of ignorance and sins].” (as-Shams, 7-10) According to the requirements of this Quranic statement, the prosperous and saved ones will only be those whom the Almighty has purified by freeing them of sins and equipping them with His blessings and fear. Another Quranic verse describes the distinguished position of such people in the world to come as follows, “Enter you among My servants! Enter you My Paradise!” (al-Fajr, 29-30) Still another verse says,

قَدْ اَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكّٰى وَ ذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلّٰى

“Prosperous is he who has purified himself and mentions the name of his Lord, and prays.” (al-Ala, 14-15) The command to purify mentioned in the last verse is quite significant. The servant is expected to: 1) First cleanse his heart, body and possessions from all negativity and immorality; which 2) results in the unveiling the curtains of ignorance that stand between the servant and the Almighty; 3) after which, with a body nurtured by lawful food and a heart mindful of the Almighty, the servant enters into the realm of mature servant-hood and spiritual enjoyment.

Concept of Sufi purification:

The Sufi purification concentrates on lessening the lowly desires of the nafs, breaking its authority over the body and establishing the spirit’s authority instead. This occurs only through practices of abstinence that strengthen the will-power against the lower self; and this involves a strict self-discipline with regards to food, sleep and speech. Sufism thus outlines the methods of disciplining the soul through three interconnected concepts: little of food (qillatu’t-taam), little of sleep (qillatu’l-manam), and little of speech (qillatu’l-kalam). In establishing a spiritual authority over the nafs, these rules constitute the earliest steps. It should also be borne in mind that a wayfarer should not exaggerate the practice of these rules. Since our body has been entrusted to us by the Almighty, we have to keep in mind the need to deal with it in moderation.

How can self-purification is achieved???

Avoid sins and forbidden acts:

Since sins are basic hurdle in attaining pure soul..

 Allah says, “He who purifies it will indeed be successful,” (TMQ, 91:9), and, “and he who corrupts it is sure to fail.” (TMQ, 91:10). Sheikhul-Islam says, “Same goes for the soul and the actions; they are not purified till whatever contradicts with them is removed. No man will be purified except if he abandons evil because it corrupts his soul.” Ibn ul-Qayem also said, “So the cleansing of hearts hinges on their purity just the same way the cleansing of bodies hinges on expelling everything corrupted and bad.”  

Self accountability.

Self accountability is useful method to know about yourself , where are we standing now. Ibn ul-Qayemsaid, “Purifying the soul and cleansing it hinges on holding it accountable and this is the only way to do it… By holding it accountable we can realize its shortcomings and we can hence seek to fix them.”

Negation of shirk and Believe in One God:

The original thing that purifies the hearts and souls is monotheism.”  Allah SWT describes polytheism as being an abomination and impurity in saying, “Then shun the abomination of the deities and shun all falsehood.” (TMQ, 22:30), and, “Believers, know that the polytheists are impure…” (TMQ, 9:28). Purity and cleanliness can only be achieved through monotheism and that’s why Moses said to the Pharaoh, “…and say, “Will you reform yourself? Do you want me to guide you to your Lord, so that you should fear Him?”‘” (TMQ, 79:18-19).

Praying: One of the best acts of worship that help with self-purification. Allah says, “He who purifies himself, who remembers the name of his Lord and prays, shall indeed be successful.” (TMQ, 87:14-15). .”  Jabir Ibn Abdullah narrated that the Prophet (SAWS) said, “The five prayers are like a river running at your doorstep and in this river you wash yourself five times daily.”

Strong connection with Allah SWT.

we must call Allah and implore Him to help us purify ourselves. The Prophet (SAWS) used to pray, “O Allah! Grant me the sense of piety and purify my soul as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend.”

We must clean our souls :
Cleansing our souls from the immoral things like  ; hypocrisy, conceit, stinginess, avarice, greed, jealousy and feeling secure against Allah’s planning is necessary for purification of our souls .

Beautification of our souls :

we should beautify our souls with the noble manners, after we take the bad ones out, such as; sincerity, turning to Allah, fearing Allah, being grateful to Allah and being humble.

Focus on personal ibadah:

Maintaining the acts of worship because they are the best conduit to Allah.

 Doing as many voluntary acts of worship as we can. Allah says in the Divine Narration, “…and my servant will keep trying to get closer to me till I love him…”

Quran is one of best source of purification of hearts:

We know Quran is the best diet for our soul .Pondering the Qur’an because the Qur’an cleanses the hearts. The Prophet says, “The hearts get rusty just like metal and this rust can never go out except by reading the Qur’an and by remembering death.” Allah says, “This is a blessed Book which We sent down to you [Muhammad], for people to ponder over its messages, and for those with understanding to take heed.” (TMQ, 38:29), and, “Do they not ponder on the Quran?” (TMQ, 4:82).

Stay consistent:

Consistency is very important tool for attainment of pure soul . being human we make mistakes repeatedly.. so we should try to avoid sins with our utmost struggle again and again without any hesitation .

Reward of self purification:

We appreciate people for their success in this temporary life.but the real. And permanent success is of Akhirah. So the wise is the person who would be successful in akhirah with pure soul.

One of the greatest benefits of self-purification is that it gives the ones who practice it happiness in this life before the afterlife. Ibn ul-Jawzei says, “He who seeks to purify his conditions must seek to purify his deeds.” Allah says, “If they had followed the right path, We would have provided them with abundant rain (provision).” (72:16).

Al-Darani said, “He who is pure finds purity and he who is muddled finds muddle. He who does well at night is rewarded in the morning and he who does well in the morning is rewarded at night.”

Our forefathers used to go around the gatherings saying, “He who seeks to have a lasting health let him fear God.” Allah also says, “He who purifies it will indeed be successful, and he who corrupts it is sure to fail.” (91:9-10).