The major impediments and dangers to one’s
spiritual purification must be recognized by the Muslim. He must be aware of
them so that he may protect himself from them. Some of these may be summarized
as follows:
(1) Desires, lusts and
passions: These are the urges that occur in the soul and drive a person to
commit an act that he knows is displeasing to Allah. Unless one works to
control and overcome these desires, they can be disastrous for his effort of
purification. Indeed, they can even completely overcome the person and become
the “god” which he starts to worship.
(2) Ignorance, doubts
and misconceptions: It is via ignorance that one does not know what the correct
path is. When a person does not realize his own ignorance, he acts thinking
that what he is doing is correct while it may actually be very harmful. In
addition, ignorance can also lead to doubts and uncertainty. Doubts and
uncertainty in turn affect a person’s resolve and willingness to sacrifice to
remain upon the path of purification.
(3) Innovations and
heresies: These are of extreme danger for the purification of the soul. In
essence, they can lead a person down an errant path while he believes that he
is following nothing but the truth. It is only by sound knowledge and by
following the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
closely that one can avoid falling into this major pitfall.
(4) Sins: One gets
closer to Allah by acts of obedience and one distances himself from Allah by
sins and acts of disobedience. No matter whether the sin is a major or minor
one, it signifies, at least to some extent, a step back in one’s journey of
spiritual purification.
(5) Being overcome by
this world and its glitter: One of the greatest dangers, especially in this day
and age, is to be overcome with all of the “pleasures and excitement” that this
world has to offer. This worldly life can make one lose one’s focus. Instead of
concentrating on the Hereafter, one begins to work to accumulate the goods of
this world. The situation can be so bad that the individual sacrifices the
Hereafter for this life. This would sound a crushing defeat for the soul’s
purification process.
(6) Evil companions,
environment and surroundings: One’s surroundings and one’s friends can greatly
influence an individual. For example, at the very least, evil friends may
suggest deeds and ideas that are displeasing to Allah and harmful to the soul.
Beyond that, they may further encourage and even help the person perform acts
that are clearly disliked by Allah. Such friends and environments can clearly
be a hindrance in one’s path of purification.
(7) Satan and his
soldiers: When Allah created man, He had already created an enemy that was
going to test his will and his devotion to Allah. When mankind gives into Satan,
Satan’s only goal is to drag him into the Hell-fire. To protect himself on the
path of purification, the believer must always be aware of Satan and his ways
of operating.
(8) The enemies of
Allah (those who have earned His wrath and those who have gone astray): These
are the people who have either knowingly or unknowingly gone away from the path
of purification. One must always be wary of them as they will either
intentionally try to drive a person away from the Straight Path or they may
inadvertently misadvise a Muslim causing him to swerve from the Straight Path.