The Qur'an describes the inner person through the nafs (self/ego) and the qalb (heart, seat of understanding). The task is to purify them.
The self: open to two directions
- "By the soul and the One who proportioned it, and inspired it with its wickedness and its mindfulness…" (91:7-8)
- "Whoever purifies it has succeeded; whoever buries it (in corruption) has failed." (91:9-10)
- "For the one who feared the standing before his Lord and restrained the self from desire — Paradise is the refuge." (79:40)
The heart: the place of peace
- "Hearts find rest only in the remembrance of God." (13:28)
- The saving heart is the one that comes with a "sound heart (qalb salīm)." (26:89)
Inner purification (tazkiya) is the real task the Qur'an asks of us.
Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal). Presented with a text/interpretation distinction.