Wasilah In Doing Tazkiyyah A Nafs
In order to perform Tazkiyyah A Nafs, a person needs to take
the wasilah prescribed in religion. Any effort of Tazkiyyah A Nafs aimed at
getting closer to God through wasilah that is not prescribed is futile and can
even lead astray. The need for this wasilah can be seen in the words of Allahﷻ.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ
الْوسِيلَةَوَجاهِدوا في سبِيلِِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
It means: O you who believe, you should fear Allah and seek His will, and fight in the way of Allah (to establish Islam) so that you will be successful.
All religious practices are essentially a wasilah that
contains the element of tazkiyat al-nafs. This fact can be seen in the words of Allahﷻ.:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ عْبدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ
مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
Meaning: Oh man, worship (worship) Allahﷻ who has created you
and also those before you, hopefully (surely) you will fear (Him).
Practices such as obligatory prayer and circumcision
(nawafil), obligatory fasting and circumcision, zakat and almsgiving, Hajj and
Umrah, and other practices required by religion are a wasilah that contains
elements of Tazkiyyah A Nafs that can lead to an increase in the status of
piety and the achievement of a position close (qurb) to Allahﷻ There are
many verses of the Qur'an and also hadith of Rasulullahﷺ which explains
this fact. These practices work to increase a person's spiritual level if they
are carried out diligently and according to the correct methods as described by
the tasawwuf scholars in their works.
However, something that is very emphasized in this Tazkiyyah A Nafs effort is dhikrullah. The suggestion to do a lot of dhikrullah is found
in many verses of the Qur'an and also the hadith of the Prophet s.a.w. enough
to show the importance of this practice. In fact, this element of dhikrullah is
found in all practices such as prayer, fasting and so on, in fact a practice is
considered empty if it is not accompanied by the presence of the heart which is
in fact dhikr. Sufism scholars such as Imam al-Qushayri and others have agreed
to state that this dhikrullah is an important foundation in the effort to
purify the heart on the way to knowing (ma`rifah) Allahﷻ. and achieve His
pleasure. That's why the practice of dhikrullah is very emphasized in the Sufi
order.
Reflection on the verses of the Qur'an and also the hadiths
of Rasulullahﷺ. found that dhikrullah plays an important role in removing
the hijabs of the heart as well as increasing the level of a person's piety.
Among them is the word of Allahﷻ which describes the group of ulu
al-albab (those who have eyes of the heart) which are:
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآَيَاتٍ لِأُولِي الْالْبَابِ. الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
Meaning: Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth
and the change of day and night there is a sign (of God's majesty) for the ulu
al-albab group. Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting and lying down
and meditate on the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying) "O our
Lord, You did not make all this in vain, You are holy, so protect us from the
punishment of hell".
Based on this verse, one of the characteristics of the Ulul
al-albab group is always dhikrullah and tafakkur in any situation until the
hijab of the heart is lifted. This can be seen in their speech which is
"how holy are you" which actually shows what has been achieved by the
eyes of their hearts which is the testimony to the divinity and monotheism of
God. Similarly, they can witness the reality of servitude ('ubudiyyah) of
poverty, weakness and self-humiliation which can be seen in their request and
prayer which is "protect us from the punishment of hell". Witnessing
these two facts, namely the divinity (uluhiyyah and rububiyyah) of God and the
servitude (`ubudiyyah) of humans is the spiritual level of the ulu al-albab
group.
