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  • Understanding The Criteria For Success In The Hereafter I.e. Tazkiya

    Posted by Abdullah Zeeshan on May 20, 2023 at 5:58 am

    I understood that the final outcome that we must attain is Tazkiya/purity. The more the Tazkiya the higher the success in the Akhirah. I have 3 questions (and some sub questions)

    1. Where does Amal E Saleh fit into this? There is a concept of good deeds and bad deeds and more the good deeds more are a persons chances with success in the Akhirah. Is there correlation between these good deeds and Tazkiya? A common ness? Or are the good deeds like extra bonus points?

    1.1 For example: If I am reading an Islamic book to attain knowledge, is it a good deed that will give me some points in the Akhirah or mere an intellectual fulfillment in this world. Clearly there is no element of Tazkiya when I am reading.

    1.2. There is this concept of worldly acts turning into good deeds based on niyyah. If I exercise with a certain niyyah, it is said that the time and effort spent doing it will be converted into good deeds and will be used in the Akhirah while measuring my deeds. How much truth is there in it?

    2. If my goal is to gain the highest level of Tazkiya, how do I evaluate these various levels of it in the four areas – body, akhlaq, food & drinks, nafs?

    2.1 For example, how exactly might an uneducated farmer move ahead in the Akhirah based on his level of Tazkiyah than an educated person living in a modern city? This is not to look down upon the farmer but a mere comparison of some critical aspects of Tazkiya.

    Clearly, education doesn’t matter, even being an Imam doesn’t matter, even doing a great Islamic scholarly work doesn’t matter. Unless Tazkiya is done. The farmer who has done more Tazkiya will be ahead. (Again the same question can be asked here about the deeds an Imam will get and will it matter, Q1).

    Anyways, what exactly might the farmer be doing? Keeping the 4 areas of Tazkiya, body, food & drinks, akhlaq, nafs.

    Let us take body for example, I mean a city person has access to more lavish soaps and perfumes and what not. Will these make any difference?

    Based on food and drinks, apart from Halal/Haram if a city person eats from Mc Donalds while a farmer is eating a rather clean meal at home, does this make a difference.

    Similarly how do I measure the various levels of Tazkiyah in Akhlaq and Nafs?

    3. I think Tazkiyah a journey but not a destination in this world. We have ro do it till death. Am I right?

    Jazak’Allah

    Abdullah Zeeshan replied 11 months ago 3 Members · 10 Replies
  • 10 Replies
  • Understanding The Criteria For Success In The Hereafter I.e. Tazkiya

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar May 20, 2023 at 6:44 am

    Tazkia comes against something impure. For neutral things there is no purity nor impurity. Such things are done for various purposes like to install AC to get more comfort.

    To get the higest level of Tazkia one needs in addition to be honest in thoughts and beliefs and their requirements like prayer, earning halal etc, clean physically and eat halal food, do offer more prayer, spend money in the ways of good, help others etc. One may choose according to one’s aptitude the field of doing more good work.

    It is true that good intention makes ordinary actions earn reward from God.

    Status does not matter, one will be judged according to the circusmstances and resources he has that how much he could attain tazkia.

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar May 20, 2023 at 6:44 am

    Yes Tazkia is preparation for our destination.

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar May 20, 2023 at 6:46 am

    you can hardly mearsue all the different levels of Tazkia, it is God who will judge in the light of His absolute knowledge and justice.

  • Abdullah Zeeshan

    Member May 20, 2023 at 9:19 am

    Just adding a few more questions.

    4. If a person opts a lifestyle of laziness and has no ambitions in life, is this a sign of lack of Tazkiyah? S/he keeps the body clean, eats and drinks only halal, does the religious obligations, has a good character whenever meeting people. But is just lazy and wastes his life. S/he could he a good writer for example but doesn’t bother.

    PS: I just want to deeply understand this Tazkiya thing in a crisp and clear way without fabrication. What it includes and what it doesn’t.

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar May 21, 2023 at 1:47 am

    See these two narrations reported from the holy prophet:

    Messenger of Allah, direct me to a deed by which I may be entitled to enter Paradise. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet) remarked: You worship Allah and never associate anything with Him, establish the obligatory prayer, and pay the Zakat which is incumbent upon you, and observe the fast of Ramadan. He (the bedouin) said: By Him in Whose hand is my life, I will never add anything to it, nor will I diminish anything from it. When he (the bedouin) turned his back, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: He who is pleased to see a man from the dwellers of Paradise should catch a glimpse of him. (Muslim 15)

    Would I enter Paradise if I say the obligatory prayers and deny myself that which is forbidden and treat that as lawful what has been made permissible (by the Shari’ah)? The Prophet (ﷺ) replied in the affirmative. (Muslim 16)

  • Abdullah Zeeshan

    Member May 21, 2023 at 3:31 pm

    I understood the following things today after thinking a bit around the theme of Tazkiya VS Deeds and their relationship with each other, (the Q1 I mentioned above). Please tell if they are correct.

    Once Tazkiya is done, all the actions exhibited by a person are Amal E Saleh. S/He is consistent in prayers, has good Akhlaq, keeps the body clean, refrains from sins, etc. If Tazkiya is not done it might be quite the opposite.

    Al-Hikmah and Al-Kitab is the means through which Islam facilitates this Tazkiya.

    So Amal E Saleh is like an outcome that comes after Tazkiya is done, but once Tazkiya is done, the person is eligible for success in the Hereafter. The Amal E Saleh will be rewarded above the Tazkiya a person has done.

    Is this consistent?

  • Dr. Irfan Shahzad

    Scholar May 22, 2023 at 6:55 am

    Yes, with the addition that good deeds are sometimes necessary for Tazkia and sometimes they add to and enhance Tazkia.

  • Abdullah Zeeshan

    Member May 22, 2023 at 10:29 am

    Jazak’Allah fpr your responses. Things are a bit clear now.

  • Umer

    Moderator May 23, 2023 at 6:50 am

    Tazkiya has two dimensions:

    i) removal of impurity/achieving purity

    ii) nourishing the purity further

    This Tazkiya is required both at an individual level and at a collective societal level as well. Quran mentions Kitab (Sharia) and Hikmah (The metaphysical and ethical bases of ibadah or in order words ‘imaniyat and ‘ikhlaqiyat’) as containing the content of required Tazkiya (Please also refer to the video in the [Footnote 1]).

    And within this sphere of Tazkiya, refinement of morals holds the center value.

    Please also refer to the link below from 41:18 to 42:55

    https://www.youtube.com/live/8kke9bt1sRs?feature=share&t=2478

    When true faith, in its essence, enters the heart and receives its confirmation from it, then on the very basis of its presence requires Righteous Deeds (amal-e-salih) to be performed as a necessary corollory to true faith. Righteous Deeds here is a very broad term and encompasses all good deeds which are done with a religious motive (to serve God or to serve his creation for pleasure of God) for success in the hereafter. These righteous deeds when studied from the content of Tazkiya (Kitab and Hikmah) can be further divided into bare minimum deeds required and deeds required to achieve further ranks (which flourish Tazkiya further):

    Bare Minimum For Paradise:

    Discussion 69643

    For High Ranks:

    Discussion 37174

    As for the worldly matters which are secular by nature, for example, exercise to stay healthy, sleeping on time etc. they do not effect tazkiya directly but they do complement one’s efforts in other domains which are required to either achieve Tazkiya or flourish it further. So they do contribute in an indirect way but not directly (hence they can become a source of reward if they actually complement it and the intention is there). In comparison, if one is studying medicine for example, to serve humanity to please God then it becomes a religious notion becasue serving humanity is no doubt a religious endeavour (because of its high moral value thus resulting in refinement of morals or nourishment of morals) and hence reward will ensue for all the effort.

    For comments of Ghamidi Sahab, please refer to the link below from 34:03 to 37:14

    ilm-o-Hikmat 03-04-2016

    ____

    [Footnote 1]

    Please refer to the link below from 25:43 to 29:07

    https://youtu.be/oVG2U_rfdfE?t=1543

    ________________________________________________________________________________________

  • Abdullah Zeeshan

    Member May 23, 2023 at 7:32 am

    Lovely Umer bhai! Thank you very very much.

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