Ten Foundations in Purification of the Soul –Restraining the Soul from Sins Then Adorning It with Piety

Tuesday 26-Mar-2019, 10:32AM / 1925

Being A Summary of the Text Prepared by Ash-Shaykh AbdurRazaaq bn Badr bn AbdilMuhsin al-‘Abaad
May Allaah preserve the son and the father upon goodness. 
Abridgement by: Aboo Aamir Ishaaq b. AbdirRaheem – may Allaah forgive him and his dead parents.

Bismillaah-ir-Rahmaan-ir-Raheem 

One of the ways to cleanse the soul is to restrain it from sins and inequities then to adorn it with acts of obedience to Allaah and following the Messenger of Allaah – salallaahu alahyi wa sallam.

Allaah the Mighty said:

خُذۡ مِنۡ أَمۡوَٰلِهِمۡ صَدَقَةٗ تُطَهِّرُهُمۡ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيۡهِمۡۖ إِنَّ صَلَوٰتَكَ سَكَنٞ لَّهُمۡۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ  
Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah 's blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (Taubah: 103)

Therefore, whoever wants to cleanse his soul must restrain himself from sins, because sins without doubt kill the soul and block it from the Light of Guidance and Eemaan as the Prophet – sallaallaahu alahyi wa sallaam – said: 

‘Indeed whenever a slave commits a sin, a black dot will be made on his heart, if he stops the act and seeks forgiveness the black dot will be removed but if he commits another sin, the dots will increase until they will overpower his heart that is the raan [stain] Allaah talked about as thus:

كَلَّاۖ بَلۡۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُواْ يَكۡسِبُونَ  
No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.’ [Recorded by at-Tirmidhee in al-Jaami’ ash-Shaykh al-Albaanee graded it as hasan in Saheeh at-Targheeb Wa At-Tarheeb, 2/268]. (Mutaffifeen: 14)

Shaykul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahuLlaahu - said: ‘Cleansing [the soul] even though the basis of it is growth and blessing and additional good, this will only happen when evil is removed, this is the reason the act requires doing this and avoiding that.’