What is Tazkiyyah?
Attaining purity of the heart is through consistent repentance and maintaining the heart’s purity is through Tazkiyyah. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: “There is a piece of flesh in the body. If it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good, but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.” [Bukhari]
Tazkiyyah is the process with which we reform our heart. The first step to maintaining a sound and pure heart is to be in the company of the pious and those already with pure hearts. Allah the Supreme teaches us this in the Qur’an: “And keep yourselves familiar to those who call upon their Lord in the morning and evening, seeking his pleasure.” [Surah Kahf: verse 28]
Sayyidi Pir Saqib Shaami (Hafidhahullah) teaches us that “Your heart imitates the company that it keeps.” Thus, we should aim to be in the company of those who are working on or have completed their Tazkiyyah.
Imam Ghazali (Alayhi Rahmah) states that the heart has seven gates from where Satan enters to corrupt and disease it, namely:
(1) Tongue; (2) Eyes; (3) Ears; (4) Hands; (5) Private Parts; (6) Stomach; and, (7) Feet.
It is through these organs of the body that one can sin. For example, if one listens to haram music, eventually one begins to sing that music and may even dance to it, which could in turn lead him to a haram place where that kind of music is played. As you can see, once Satan enters a gate he begins to infiltrate and spread like cancer.
To avoid this we close each gate to the heart for a period of 40 days each.
Method of Starting the Tazkiyyah Course
- Recite Surah Qadr 46x after Fajr salah.
- Do PRAN (see How To Do Tauba Note) for the sins of all the seven gates to the heart.
- Work on one of the gates (Pir Sahib recommends to start with the tongue).
- Do PRAN for all the sins of the tongue.
- Take note of the first day and continue for 40 days.
- After every Fard salah do the dhikr ”la illaha illallah” 5x.Start with placing the chin by the left shoulder, move the head to just above the heart, raise the head up and then down to the heart. So the head movement should be like a triangle shape. When you move your head up above the heart imagine throwing all the filth of the heart out as you say “ha” and then when moving the head down to the heart imagine a Noor from Allah entering into the heart saying “illallaah”.
- Before sleep perform two Nafl of gratitude to Allah Almighty for giving you the ability to not commit haram from the gate you are working on.
- After Nafl ask yourself ”Do I still want to sin?” If the answer is ‘yes’ then shed tears and beg Allah Almighty by saying: “Oh Allah I cannot purify my tongue (or whichever gate you are working on) without your help. Oh Allah purify me”.
- Recite Durood Shareef upon RasoolAllah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) 313 times. In a standing position, facing the Qibla imagine you are standing in front of the blessed gates (Jaali Mubarak) of RasoolAllah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam), and through the blessings of reciting the Durood, He (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) is observing and cleansing the filth of your heart.
Sins of Each Gate That Break The Tazkiyyah Course
Tongue:
Backbiting, slander, lying, tail bearing, swearing.
Eyes:
Looking at haram, looking down upon a person, looking at someone in anger.
Ears:
Listening to haram music, backbiting, lying etc.
Hands:
Touching the opposite sex (non-mehrum), hitting someone, picking up haram.
Feet:
Walking towards haram places i.e. clubs, pubs, disco etc.
Stomach:
Eating haram food.
Private Parts:
Fornication and masturbation etc.
What To Do If The 40 day Chain Breaks?
1) Immediate TAUBA (PRAN).
2) Read two Nafl of Repentance.
3) Give Sadka (Charity) in the way of Almighty Allah (enough to make you think twice before
committing another sin).
4) Recite Durood 1200 times standing up (see Step 9).
5) Recite Astaghfirullah 70 times.
6) Keep a fast the following day.
FAQs:
Question:
If I am working on my tongue and commit a sin with my eye do I have to do the six extra
things?
Answer:
No. Just repent with the four conditions of Tauba (PRAN)
Question:
If I have completed 40 days of the tongue and I commit a sin with the tongue, do I need
to start again?
Answer:
No. Repenting with the 4 conditions of Tauba is sufficient.
May Allah Almighty give us all the ability and the steadfastness to embark on the path of
spirituality and truly purify our hearts. Ameen
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