Purification of Soul (Islah al-Nafs) in the Quran: An Analysis of Al-Ghazali's Method

This article is an effort to bring forth guidelines and code of purification of soul (manhaj islah al-nafs) as presented in the Quran from the perspective of Al-Ghazali, one of the most prominent mujaddid (reformer) in the history of Islamic thought. The main objective of the study is to explore the concept of purification of heart in the Quran, extract its method according to al-Ghazali's views and provide guidance in form of tasawwur (conceptualization) as required from each Muslim individual in their interaction with the Quran. The study is qualitative in nature in which the researchers employed textual analysis on the theories and methods adduced by al-Ghazali in his Kitab Adab al-Tilawah, one of the chapter in his magnum opus, Ihya' Ulum al-Din. The work has been selected for the scope of study due to its status as one of the important work, produced by distinguished scholar who offered concrete and comprehensive discourse in this field. His ideas and thoughts on manhaj tadabbur have been considered as a major reference by many great scholars of tafsir including al-Qurtubi, al-Nawawi, al-Suyuti, and Muhammad Abduh. The study in its finding proposed specific guidelines on purification of heart through the concept of tadabbur. It also confirmed that manhaj islah al-nafs has been practiced and promoted by many Muslim scholars as a guideline to eradicate undesirable impurities in line with moral code (akhlaq) in order to produce a better Muslim world.