TAZKIYA OR PURIFICATION
Calls for Sacrifice
THE attainment of tazkiya is no simple matter: it always requires some sacrifice, which is psychological rather than physical in nature. This sacrifice is to completely renounce those things that run counter to acquiring purification. It is a principle of nature that in order to achieve something, one has to let go of some other thing. This is an important requirement of tazkiya.
One of the things to rid oneself of is bad habits. Due to environmental influences, people get accustomed to certain habits which are detrimental to the attainment of purification. It is absolutely necessary for a seeker of tazkiya to totally rid oneself of such habits. Some of these include speaking excessively without thinking, busying oneself with the demands of one’s family, taking a lot of interest in eating and clothes, pursuing the culture of entertainment, speaking to others of someone’s negative points or shortcomings, going for shopping and outings, spending extravagantly instead of limiting oneself to needs, having superficial tastes, becoming angry at criticism and feeling happy when praised, being greedy for material things, not restricting oneself to one’s needs and preferring affectations to simplicity.
A person who wants to attain purification, but is not ready to give up all that which are obstacles in attaining it, such a person should be considered as not being serious in this quest.
The price for attaining tazkiya is abstaining from everything that goes against achieving this goal. A person who wants to attain tazkiya, but is not ready to give up all that which are obstacles in attaining it, such a person should be considered as not being serious in this quest.
A person who is serious in the pursuit of purification will realize things which are favourable to it and those that are not. It can never become a reality if the seeker is of a non-serious temperament. A frivolous mentality and tazkiya do not go together.
One's sincerity will compel one to pursue whatever is favourable to it and refrain from anything which goes against it. Sincerity is a guarantee that a person will certainly reach the stage of purification.