Adhkiya – A brief book on how to purify the soul

Jihad Nafs is to purify the soul from its vices, i.e. from evil qualities such as anger, arrogance, miserliness, envy, lust etc. and to adorn it with qualities such as humility, asceticism, and piety.
A scholar who strives to learn about Allah’s attributes and gives attention to the inner beauty of the soul is called ‘Arif’. The author says that Arif is much better than a normal scholar who only focuses on extracting the rules and giving Fatwa without giving much attention to beautifying the soul.

The author blames self-talk and says that it leads to hardness of the heart, because generally self-talk is about worldly affairs and matters. In the next chapter, he guides how to turn inhale and exhale in to Ibadah. Meaning his slef-talk eventually turns into thoughts about Allah and the hereafter.

The author advised students to start the day by waking up early in the morning and praying the Fajr prayer. Then he guided what one has to do step by step. Finally, the author says what one needs to do before going to bed and after sleeping.

Short daytime sleep (nap) has many health benefits. It relaxes and eliminates tension. It boosts memory capacity and increases concentration. A study has revealed that it helps the body run smoothly and gain energy and vitality. Here the author’s suggestion is to sleep after the study before praying Dhuhr prayer.

The Prophet says that one of the major causes of the unaccepted supplication of the believer is that he eats foods that are unlawful.

A teacher must master every branch of knowledge. Some branches depend upon talent while others depend upon a Master. Reading the Quran, Fiqh, Aqedah and Tasawwuf are some of the critical subjects that can only be learned through a master. As for a student of religion, his teacher plays an important role in shaping his personality and imparting knowledge. The student should seek the help of the teacher wherever he finds difficulty in understanding a text.