We spend years building careers, reputations, and bodies but how much time do we spend nurturing the one thing that will outlive all of it: our soul? If you’re feeling spiritually exhausted, distracted, or disconnected, I pray this article serves as a reminder.
Edmund Percival Hillary, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953, said after his historic climb, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
And since I’m in the business of presenting meaningful mountain metaphors to you this morning, here’s another that might whet your appetite: “The steeper the mountain, the sweeter the peak.”
These quotes sound great on Instagram reels: ‘that’s deep bruh!’ but when put into a real life context, such quotes ring hollow to a person who hasn’t willingly put themselves through a program of rigorous self-improvement, and faced unimaginable storms a long the way.
Tazkiyah al-Nafs is ongoing. It’s painful. Soul-stretching work always is.
But, I know what you’re thinking: I don’t want to hear a conversation about how to work on my flaws, I don’t have the emotional budget. Save the eye rolls for a second, and hear me out. The uncomfortable truth is this: the nafs never volunteers for its own surgery. It seeks distraction, and reassurance; anything that allows it to avoid the mirror, preventing the Muslim from rushing to repair the rapture in their relationship with Ar-Rahman, with Al-Wudud.
In the modern era, purification of the soul remains a war against the lower self. But the battlefield has now expanded. Victory in this age demands mastery over the lower self (the nafs) through a conscious struggle against the fangs of modernity. Ultimate victory of course, can only be achieved by the mercy of Allah.
These fangs sink deeply into the heart subtly and slowly: when we are entertaining ourselves to death; when we are desperate for the oxygen of attention, when we are perpetually hungry for online validation — transforming life into a performance for the gaze of others.
Astonishingly, man has normalised fire-hosing himself in the eyeballs with a daily mocktail of nonsense; doom scrolling; turning minds into mashed potatoes, not paying attention to how deeply intertwined the heart and the mind are; a sad and stratospheric delusion.
In the process, we have lost the quiet reserve that once allowed the soul to withdraw and recalibrate. The erosion of silence has led to the death of reflection; the endless intrusion of notifications, breaking news, the overwhelming flood of uninformed perspectives… all leave little room for muḥasabah (self-reckoning) or sincere contemplation.
In his 1670 book Pensees (Fragment 139), French thinker and philosopher Blaise Pascal said, “All men’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
And, through the paradox of hyper- Individualism and the decay of individuality, we have become a collective of clones sleepwalking into a nightmare, like a Black Mirror episode; individuals who are shaped through cultural trends, algorithms, online personas, lexicons, and external validation. Amongst us, there are many who have never met themselves. They have explored countless external realities, yet have never ventured into the depths of their own souls.
A profound tragedy of the human condition is that we may weep over the death of others while remaining unaware of the death of our own souls. It is only through this realisation that we can embark upon the journey of training the soul in the first instance. Furthermore, as the saying goes: “If you do not spend enough time getting to know yourself, you will eventually absorb everyone else’s definition of you.” The person who has never encountered themselves will inevitably struggle to form truly meaningful connections with those around them. Our conversations and relationships are deepened when they emerge from a place of self-awareness and sincerity. How well do we truly know one another? Have we encountered the hearts and minds of those around us, or have we merely become familiar with the carefully constructed performances we present to the world?
Moreover, many of us have become disconnected from the ultimate source of security: Allah. Consequently, we witness unprecedented levels of anxiety and an ever-increasing tide of psychological noise; a restless state of uncertainty, and inner agitation — handicapping believers from moving. These conditions nurture the very diseases of the heart that Islam came to cure, distancing the soul from tranquillity, remembrance, and its natural orientation towards its creator. Moreover, the heart cannot conceal its reality; the way we move through the world is a reflection of what we have come to believe about Allah. We can only gain true knowledge of who we are, once we understand who Allah is.
Al-Ghazali’s Ihya’ Ulum al-Din (Book of the Wonders of the Heart) reads:
“The heart is like a mirror, and the realities of things are like forms reflected in it. Desires are like rust upon the mirror. If the rust is removed and the mirror polished, the realities are reflected in it as they truly are.”
Perhaps what is most concerning is not the illness of the heart itself, but the direction in which many seek its cure. In an age of inner turmoil, we increasingly turn towards the self-help shelves of Waterstones, immersing ourselves in instruction from Western psychology. Or more commonly, listen to a podcast or an influencer about how to navigate pain. Sadly, on many occasion, we are listening to further misguidance.
Consequently, rather than disciplining the ego, we encourage its endless affirmation; as opposed to calling the soul towards accountability, humility, and submission, directing the human being towards the worship of the self rather than the worship of Allah. And, the result is a culture in which the individual becomes both the judge and the object of devotion, once again, leaving no room for muḥasabah.
The fundamental distinction between Islamic psychology and Western psychology lies in their focus. Western approaches emphasise the mind: Islamic psychology, by contrast, prioritises the heart. Every interaction of the senses leaves an imprint upon it.
But I’m not suggesting for a second that self-improvement can’t encompass western psychology. However, when this blurs the islamic lens with which muslims use to view the world, themselves, one another and ultimately their creator — Houston we have a problem.
Working on the spiritual diseases of the heart is fundamental to our growth. After all, the soul is what will remain long after this world has passed, so it deserves our greatest investment. We must build spiritual habits that outlast moments of inspiration or spiritual highs such as Ramadan or an Ummrah trip. Those moments are gifts, but they are not the destination. The real work begins afterwards: continuing the work until you no longer recognise who you once were.
We must train ourselves until awareness becomes our natural state, not heedlessness. Cleanliness of the soul comes through knowledge of the self, coupled with knowledge of Islam and the disciplined training of the self.
So, devour books, sit at the feet of the ulema, and discover the transformation you are capable of. Put your heart through a regime of beautification.
Understanding the stories presented to us in the Qur’an, and reflecting on how each person was treated by Allah according to the specific spiritual disease they carried is a part of the process. Importantly, the remedy was never the same for everyone. It was tailored to the condition of each soul.
We must use the Qur’an’s unparalleled healing power. For, the absence of Tazkiyah al-Nafs is being a rat, as Lily Thompson once said, “The problem with the rat race is if you win, you’re still a rat.”
On 20th February 2026, mountaineer, Thomas Plamberger was charged with manslaughter after an Austrian judge ruled that he left his girlfriend to freeze to death on the Grossglockner Mountain. Her prosecutors argued that Plamberger had made a series of grossly negligent decisions during their climb as the far more experienced climber.
And there is something to be said about that: purification of the soul is not found in ascending the mountain alone, but in helping others climb with you, particularly if you’re a more experienced climber.Leaving others to die on the mountain impoverishes not only them, but the climber’s own soul.
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said:
“The most beloved people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to people.”
Sahih al-Jami (no. 176)
“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.”
Qur’an 59:19
“Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself, And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself.” Qur'an (91:9-10)
There is something quietly luminous about a person who strives to purify their soul amid all of the chaos, someone who puts in the work, reaches a milestone, and becomes closer to Allah with a heart as soft as ghee. This person is usually found smiling more freely, untouchable, and loving those around them even harder.
And the only people Shaytan cannot get to is the sincere slave. Sincere people are those who have hope in Allah and worship Allah no matter their circumstance. Shaytan is unable to trick them.
“He said: ‘My Lord, because You have put me in error, I will surely make (disobedience) attractive to them on earth, and I will mislead them all, except Your sincere servants among them.’” Qur’an 15:39–40
Consequently, working on our sincerity is perhaps the most important practise in a world of vanity metrics.
As I sit putting these words to paper, I am reminded that perhaps the most important sentence on this page is this: the entire contents of this article are a reminder to myself first and foremost.
You are my brothers and sisters in Islam, and to speak frankly with you: I have a very long way to go in the purification of my own soul. I have every reason to believe that you are far closer to Allah than I am. My intention for this article in shaa Allah, is a reminder that we must never stop climbing the mountain, even if we fall and get to the bottom, we must start climbing again.
May Allah illuminate our hearts with His light, purify them from disease, forgive our shortcomings, and never leave us to ourselves for even the blink of an eye. Ameen.
