Opinion | Islam – A religion of Self Purification

Islam is one of the biggest religions followed by the 1.9 billion (approximately) believers of the world population and these believers are known as Muslims.They respect all other religions but they believe in one God and His prophets sent time to time with the Holy books.Islam is a religion with extensive ideologies and also the knowledge of spiritually,self purification,good deeds.It is a wider range expands as you delve into it, allowing you to gain more knowledge and spirituality. This is possible only through the acceptance of our Qalb (heart) because the Quran-a holy book for the Ummah of Prophet Muhammad (saw) portrays the heart as the center of the Human personality.In the same Holy book several time Almighty Allah has uses the word ‘Qalb’ with various forms as Qalb e Salim,Qalb e Munib,Qalb e Gafil,Qalb e Qasiya etc.As according to the science heart is the main organ of our body and without it nothing is possible in human body nor the working of systems is possible. Similarly,Allah(Swt) clearly states the Heart as the center for spiritual functioning, personality development and for proper devotion of God.

Before understanding the concept of self purification we need to understand the true meaning of spirituality.However,the word spirituality is a broad concept and have various aspects but for us,it is a connection with greater than oneself or it seems in a religious aspect but beside this there are various other related meaning which we can associate with the word of spirituality.The other perspective of the spirituality is also to find the deeper or real purpose of life or seeking inner peace,sense of well being and making life more productful.For the sense of self purification it is much necessary to achieve the concept of spirituality in life because it reminds us that there is an Almighty power over this world.

•Self purification,its practices and challenges:
The word self purification is comprise of two words;self which means a person’s own nature and purification which means the process of removing of contaminants from something which means purifying or cleaning something.Similarly according to the Islam it is the process of purifying the heart as well as mind which involving some methods,like Prayers,Fasting,Charity and one of the important purifying practice is Remembrance of Almighty Allah.The process of self purification is very easy but need the resistance, courage and consistency.The whole process involves some terms which are important and full of knowledge;
Tazkiyah: It is a term related to cleansing or purifying the soul [self] from the bad habits,bad deeds and replacing them with beautiful qualities which a human being should have.This process aims to purify the heart (Qalb) from the darkness of sins.
Tasawwuf:It is the secondary method of spiritual self purification which states that a person has an obligatory knowledge of Islam especially about Ikhlas,worshiping Allah only for His consent and sacrificing worldly desires only for Allah.Sufism is a also known as the spiritual dimension of Islam that focuses on the same terminology but some people wear long caps and dances,which is not the real task of sufism instead they are on the wrong path.
Role of heart:The holy Quran states that the hereafter life is dependent on purifying our hearts in this life.So,the purification of heart is very important for self purification and is the process of removing the greed,arrogance,sins out from the Qlab and replacing it with the beautiful habits like respect for other,thanking Almighty Allah for the things He provides and indulging into the pathway of God.

There are various more Spiritual and physical practices by which we can purify our nature.The process of dua in which we can talk or share all the problems with Almighty Allah because it is state in Holy Quran that,“I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon me”{Al-baqarah,2:186}.
Similarly Salat is necessary for the self purification utmost for mind because it provides peace to our restless mind and also refreshes our thoughts.Salat is mandatory for all the matured muslims as well it is one among the mandatory 5 pillars of Islam.One of the powerful practice is Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah)in this practice we have to vocalize the ‘greatness of God’ for various consecutive times.By doing this practice we can achieve the higher level near the Almighty Allah.Fasting and Hajj are also pathways to the self purification.While Hajj we are at the Holy place and in the city of Prophet Muhammad (Saw) and during fasting in the month of Ramadan we get flourished by the patience and the prayers after Isha bestowed us with self purification as we get greater opportunities for worship and prayer.
Some physical self purification measures are composed of Cleanliness,personal Hygiene and seeking differences between Halal and Haram.Cleanliness can be done by Tahara-which includes the cleanliness of urine excretion organ,mouth,nose,face,arms, head and feet with water.Similarly,Ghusl is also a purification ritual depends on the circumstances.Whereas,halal and haram is aso a wider concept in Islam,some animals and birds and categorized as muslims can eat and some are not edible for muslims.Corruption and Interest given by banks is also Haram as it is subcategory of self purification practices.
Sometimes,it becomes challenging to be on the same path i.e self purification due to various modern time distraction.Due to the social media platforms we are not aware of what we are going to see on our displays.These modern time distractions can be challenging for a person to be consistent towards the spirituality.These distractions can be overcome by avoiding various non useful platforms and selecting beneficial apps.We should listen the sermons of our religious speakers on a routine basis and also should in contact of religious scholars,which will inspire or motivate us time to time.

•The Ultimate Goal;Nearest to Allah (Swt):
When a person purifies their heart,at a moment they develop a final connection with Almighty Allah.in their body after the process of self-purification they get the feeling of inner peace,gratitude and becomes the follower of truth and for the good geed they read and follow the Quran and Hadith.The main proof of self purification is that a person do excellence in the worship and never spot disagree by the giving of God and spirituality in that kind of person is accompanied by the Moral values,Justice,Charity and avoiding the Ignorance.
A self purified person never becomes the participant of sins or evils,he always wants to purify wealth through Charity.Whereas,that kind of person is full of knowledge,moral ethics,religious spirituality and they are valued in this life as well they have a Refined and Elevated Level in the life of hereafter.

•My own experience and Phrases for Dhikr:
For purifying myself from the Bad deeds,I use to perform Dikhr ‘remembrance of Allah’.Whenever I perform this it creates the energetic and refreshed feeling.I prefer it to act after the Maghrib salah. According to my experience,this practice which is the most powerful is Remembrance of Almighty because at the time of Dhikr you are expressing the majesty of Allah (Swt).Therefore,you can also perform this practice at any time and it will provide inner peace, spirituality and purifies our heart.For this practice there are some phrases which are describing the majesty of Allah (Swt) are as; SubhanAllah which means ‘Glory be to Allah’.Alhamdulillah which means ‘All praise to Allah’.You can recite various other phrases which generally describe the greatness and majesty of Almighty Allah.

Ayaan Saroori,a dynamic school student and celebrated author, contributes thought-provoking pieces. Recognized for his impactful book “Drug: A Risk For Teens,” Ayaan is a passionate advocate for addressing youth issues.(ayaansaroori8@gmail.com)