Discovering God

source of authentic guidance is a prophet. He thus wholeheartedly accepts the Prophet as his guide. After all these discoveries, he naturally becomes a modest person. He begins to live in the greatness of God. God’s creations become a perpetual impetus to His remembrance. He accepts the Prophet as the perfect guide and Paradise becomes his greatest goal. These are the experiences relating to the realization of God which can be described as tazkiya. Tazkiya and Introspection Tazkiya is not a one-time course. That is, it is not possible to take a course for a temporary period and become a permanently purified person. The truth is that purification is a continuous process, which lasts for a lifetime. Tazkiya is an act of introspection, in which one has to monitor one’s own actions. One who is desirous of tazkiya must be careful about his speech and actions at every moment. With total objectivity, he must repeatedly engage in selfappraisal. This process of introspection is set in only in one who repents and does introspection. This present world—a testing ground—has been created by the Creator in such a way that at every moment one is beset by trials. Repeatedly faced with the demands of the self, satanic temptations may lead him to do something undesirable; and unfavourable circumstances, coupled