Love of God

THE REALITY OF TAZKIYAH attaining it. In this context he should be looked upon by mankind as a unique model of self-purification. With his contemporaries, the Prophet’s approach to this task of tazkiyah was direct. For later generations the performance of the Prophet’s task has to be continued indirectly. On the subject of self-purification, complete records of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds, and the sayings and deeds of the Prophet’s companions, have been preserved in the books of Sirah (the Prophet’s biography) and later generations should feel themselves duty-bound to seek guidance from these records. Those who can read can do so directly, while those who cannot read themselves may seek the assistance of religious scholars, so that they can adopt that course in their lives. THE REALITY OF TAZKIYAH Tazkiyah can be attained, not through meditation but through contemplation. This entails pondering over or thinking about oneself and the universe, and receiving intellectual sustenance for God realization. As stated in the second chapter of the Quran, one of the duties of the Prophet vis-à-vis his contemporaries was “to teach them the Scripture and wisdom, and purify them.” (2:129). It is necessary for every believer to purify himself. Without purification, that calibre of personality, which is called in the Quran a God-oriented personality