tazkiya

Tazkiyah, from the Arabic term تَزْكِيَة, means purification, cultivation, or growth. In Islamic thought it is used in several related senses tied to inward and outward reform.

In spiritual and ethical contexts, tazkiyah refers to the purification of the heart and soul (nafs) from moral and spiritual maladies such as arrogance, greed, envy, and heedlessness. It is a central concern in Islamic ethics and is emphasized in Sufi traditions as a disciplined program of self-improvement, remembrance of God (dhikr), repentance, and righteous conduct to achieve moral integrity and closeness to God. The phrase tazkiyah al-nafs, or purification of the self, is a common formulation in traditional Muslim spirituality.

In the science of hadith, tazkiyah denotes the evaluation and certification of a narrator’s trustworthiness and reliability (tazkiyat al-rijal). Islamic scholars assess a narrator’s memory, honesty, and integrity to determine whether their reports are dependable. Biographical dictionaries and works on rijal evaluation are often described as tazkiyat, and such assessments are essential for establishing the credibility of transmitted hadith.

In contemporary usage, tazkiyah can appear as a doctrinal or educational concept related to moral formation, and it also functions as a given name or surname in many Muslim communities. Spelling varies in transliteration (tazkiyah, tazkiyya, tazkiya) but the underlying idea remains purification and reform.

See also: tazkiyat al-nafs, tazkiyat al-rijal, hadith studies, Sufism, Islamic ethics.