Discovering God

Purification of the Self Hadith is enthusiastic about it, he will feel as if he is actually experiencing the companionship of the Prophet. In this way, there will be a manifold enhancement of his understanding of the Hadith. On reflection, it will be realized that the reader of the Hadith is not just a reader: he is more of a ‘listener’ seated along with the Companions in the presence of the Prophet of Islam. This is one of the creative ways of studying the Hadith. And studying the traditions of the Prophet in this creative manner is undoubtedly the greatest source of purification. Tazkiya –A Continuous Process Aisha, the wife of the Prophet of Islam, says of him: “On every occasion, the Prophet of Islam remembered God.” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 373). This tradition shows the prophetic way of purification, that is to say that the Prophet purified himself on all occasions. This shows that tazkiya is not the name of any short training course, but is rather a continuous process. When a believer discovers the truth, due to the awakening of his conscience, every event or experience in his life becomes a point of reference for his purification. This enables him to receive spiritual nourishment on a daily basis. In this way, this process of tazkiya continues till his last breath. Just as physical energy is generated by constant nourishment, so also is tazkiya achieved by constant effort. There is the general