The purification of the self

The First Friday of Ramadan

Brothers and sisters, if you haven't noticed, this is your first Friday in this month of Ramadan. It is the first Friday that you pray in this month of Ramadan and may Allah make it a blessed Friday. And I ask Allah to grant us in this day full forgiveness and give us rahmah in this dunya and in the akhirah. Allahumma ameen.

My dear brothers and sisters, we have come to Ramadan. Allah made very clear the purpose of this — and what is it? Cleansing. To clean yourself. He prescribed this fast in Ramadan the way he did for those who came before us. For what reason? So that you might obtain righteousness and piety.

What does that exactly mean? We live that life and our iman, our faith, goes up and down. And every time Ramadan comes, we find this to be an opportunity for all of us to have the self-auditing. I want to see what I've done. What can I do better? This is my chance right now.

You've been given an entire month — 30 days — to test yourself, see and surprise yourself. What can I do in this month of Ramadan that truly makes me feel like, wow, I can do this. I can really do this.

Ramadan is all about recalibrating and seeing the best of you come out in the month of Ramadan, day and night. You will amaze yourself by the number of times you will come to the masjid, you pray in congregation, the endurance of the hardships of fasting, giving in charity, dhikr, adhkar — and even your thoughts are different. Your mind, your heart is at a different level. That's just a testing ground for you in Ramadan.

But the whole purpose of the fast of Ramadan is to make this a reminder for the purpose of this life.

The Purpose of This Life

My dear brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the purpose of this life very clear for us. He said:

"I have not created jinn and mankind for any reason except to worship Me." So we are here to serve Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in a way that is most pleasing to Him. And may Allah make us among those who will do so, ya Rabb al-alameen.

The Level of Ihsan

To do this, a lot of effort needs to be put into that ibadah. And it comes in different degrees, at different levels. The highest level, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam called it: ihsan — excellence.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 50; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 8 — from the Hadith of Jibril)

"That you worship your Lord as if you see Him" — with the eyes that you see with in your head. You see Him as if you see Him. But if you could not get to that level of certainty, then you worship Him knowing that He sees you subhanahu wa ta'ala. To a different level of certainty.

The highest is that when you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you have that vision. You see Him with the eyes of your mind. As the Sahaba radiallahu ta'ala anhum used to have those beautiful memories and moments with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The Hadith of Handhalah

In the very famous Hadith of Handhalah, he said, "Ya Rasulallah, we sit around with you and we listen to you speaking to us —

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2750)

"We listen to you. We have this moment of euphoria, a moment of vision — as if we see Jannah and Jahannam with our own eyes. But the moment we leave, we kind of forget a lot." That's why we're human. We tend to forget.

How can I make sure that those moments of vision — that I see as if it's right there in front of me — how can I make sure that it goes up and continues with me inshallah wa ta'ala? That is what the ulema call tazkiyat al-nufus — the purification of yourself.

Tazkiyat al-Nufus: The Purification of the Self

The purification of the self — why? Because it will prevent me from getting where I want to be. On the way to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, there are a lot of obstacles.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2822)

Jannah was surrounded with hardships — trials and tests. And you're going to have to do a lot to get over all these obstacles to get to Jannah. The path to Jannah is not easy, but it is accessible to everybody. And in order for me to overcome these obstacles, I need to exercise my spiritual muscles so I can stay consistent and hopefully reach that level of ihsan. May Allah make us from the people of ihsan, ya Rabb al-alameen.

The Meaning of Tazkiyah: Growth

So we have come to tazkiyat al-nufus — the purification of the self. This should be your goal in this month of Ramadan. Let me talk to you about the meaning of it and how we can achieve this inshallah wa ta'ala in such a short time like Ramadan.

The first thing we need to know about tazkiyat al-nufus is that it is all about growth. The word tazkiyah — like zakah — is all about growth and purification. In essence, when you work on yourself, you are growing. You are growing spiritually. You are growing with your iman, with your certainty. And you are purifying it on the path. As you go through, you drop a lot of those residues, those distractions and temptations — because you are heading to a higher place, and it becomes more purified.

So that is the meaning of tazkiyah — I am growing. And by the way, if you are not growing, you are dead. Look at anything that is dead — it doesn't grow. It is a sign of life that you grow. And if your iman is not growing, then be careful. That is the essence of tazkiyat al-nufus: you need to work on yourself, to grow spiritually.

How do I do that? How do I measure that? Ask yourself every single day: What did you do different today? What are you going to do tomorrow? How do you guarantee that the next day, the next taraweeh, is better than the one before? How do I make sure that my breaking of the fast today is going to be better than yesterday? How do I make sure that when I wake up for fajr tomorrow inshallah ta'ala, I do better than what I've done yesterday? You measure yourself by growing — always improve. That is the least you can do when it comes to tazkiyat al-nufus.

Why Is Tazkiyah So Important?

But why do I even need to do that? Why is it so important for us? Look — I think it is enough evidence of its importance that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in Surah al-Shams, chapter 91, swore by eleven oaths — eleven oaths at the beginning of the surah. All the way through, eleven oaths. For what? To prove what? He says subhanahu wa ta'ala about al-nafs — about that nafs:

"Successful is the one who purifies himself — purifies his soul. And a loser and doomed is the one who corrupts it." This is the longest qasam in the Quran — the longest set of oaths in the Quran — and it is about what? About that nafs that resides within ourselves. So when it comes to that nafs, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is demanding from you that you work on it.

It is also important to understand that the whole purpose of the revelation of the Quran — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent the anbiya, all of them, to mankind — was for that exact same purpose: tazkiyah al-nafs, to purify yourself.

The Message of Musa to Fir'aun

In the story of Musa alayhi salam, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent Musa to the greatest tyrant ever — Fir'aun. And what was the message of Musa to Fir'aun?

"Go to Fir'aun — he is a tyrant." And what was the message of Musa to this tyrant? "Can I guide you to that which purifies you?" Even Fir'aun was asked to purify himself.

The Du'a of Ibrahim for a Prophet

When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent Ibrahim alayhi salam, he did the same thing too. And Ibrahim alayhi salam made du'a that from his offspring a prophet would come who would do that exact same thing. As he was rebuilding the Ka'bah with his son Ismail, what did he say to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

"Our Lord, send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses, teach them the Book and wisdom, and purify them." And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala affirmed that the Prophet was sent for that exact same purpose.

My dear brothers and sisters, becoming a Muslim, or being a Muslim, or growing in Islam — if that doesn't make you a better person, there is something wrong with what you're doing. There is something wrong with what you're doing, not with Islam itself, but with what you're doing. Because again, growing in spirituality is open to everybody, and it's not a matter of having so much knowledge really — as much as having so much practice of what you already know. The little you know, with conviction, and with strong faith and iman, can take you a long way to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But we just need to do something and start from somewhere.

Two Steps Toward Tazkiyah in Ramadan

My dear brothers and sisters, when it comes to the subject of tazkiyah, you need to start with doing two things — and Ramadan is your best opportunity.

Step One: Takhliyah — Vacating the Heart

The first one is called, in the Arabic language, takhliyah — which means to vacate this heart from anything that is overwhelming it and occupying it unnecessarily.

You see, before Ramadan, there were so many things occupying you, your mind and your heart. You wanted to do this, you wanted to do that — and now that Ramadan has started, you're telling yourself, "It's not a priority now, I don't have time for this, and I shouldn't be thinking like that." You realize some of these things are not necessary. Your heart is just one vessel — it can't carry all these things. If it's going to be filled up with all that stuff, it's going to get heavy and dark, and it won't be able to function properly.

So the first thing you need to do in Ramadan right now — just clean it. And you have the opportunity, because the incentive for many of these things that distract you is not there anymore. So you have a golden opportunity right now to check on your heart and just clean it. Vacate it from anything that is unnecessary right now. Whatever desires you have that are wrong, whatever needs that you think are just too much — whatever that is, just vacate the heart, clear that. This is called takhliyah.

Step Two: Tahliyah — Adorning the Heart

And then, once you are done with that — or as you go through the process — you move to level two. It is called tahliyah. Tahliyah means to sweeten the heart, decorate and adorn the heart. With what? With what you believe you will earn from this Ramadan that will definitely help you in the dunya and in the akhirah.

Such as: the strong belief in Allah, the desire for the akhirah more than this dunya, the attachment to ibadah — the worship of Allah — to the house of Allah. All these beautiful things. Also, being truthful, being honest — all these things now, I believe in them wholeheartedly. I want to fill my heart with these beautiful manners and akhlaq. That's how you fill it with tahliyah. It becomes sweet, and it becomes well decorated with beautiful things.

Doing these two things in Ramadan should be your task. And if you haven't done it yet in the past six or seven days — alhamdulillah, we still have three more weeks. You have three more weeks. Don't say, "What am I going to do in three more weeks — it's not enough for me." Allah, with good intention and the right effort, and a good plan inshallah, you can make miracles.

And at the end of the day, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will judge by the intentions — that's number one. Number two, bi husn al-khatimah — the good end. How are you going to end your effort in the month of Ramadan? That's what's going to matter. Maybe you don't start right, but don't end it wrong. Don't end it wrong.

You have a golden opportunity to grow spiritually this month of Ramadan. So make sure to start vacating this heart from all these things, and then fill it with that which is right inshallah wa ta'ala.

The Quran: The Key to the Heart

My dear brothers and sisters, what can help me to do that anyway? Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen, this month of Ramadan once again is the golden opportunity. Everything you do in this Ramadan can help you to vacate the heart from that which is unnecessary, and fill it with that which inshallah wa ta'ala is necessary for you. The Quran is the key.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: shouldn't they reflect and ponder over the Quran?

"Or are there locks upon their hearts?" So Allah is telling you — the Quran is the key to this heart. The Quran is the key to your heart. You want to open it and start cleaning it up, take all the clutter out, and then start fresh inshallah wa ta'ala — start with the Quran.

Where do I start? "I don't even know how to read the Quran." Let's start from there. One letter at a time. One word at a time. One ayah at a time. Learn how to read the Quran. Read the translation. Get the meaning of it. Soak your life with the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. How often do you do that outside of the month of Ramadan? This is a golden opportunity. Open the heart so that inshallah, by the end of this month of Ramadan, it is wide open to the khayr — wide open to receive guidance inshallah wa ta'ala — and hopefully we will continue with this afterwards.

Make a commitment for this Ramadan inshallah that you grow spiritually and you grow with the Quran.