Character Building Based on Tazkiyatun Nafs: A Conceptual Study on the Development of Moral Education Materials

Moral education within the Islamic education system today remains predominantly cognitive and normative, thus failing to deeply address the affective and spiritual dimensions of learners. In fact, holistic character formation requires the integration of value knowledge, inner awareness, and practical application in everyday life. This study aims to develop a conceptual framework for moral education materials based on tazkiyatun nafs integrated with a character-building approach. Its main focus is to respond to the need for a reflective, transformative, and applicable model of moral education. The research employs a critical literature review with narrative synthesis and thematic analysis. The sources include classical works such as Ihya' Ulumuddin and Madarijus Salikin, as well as contemporary books and journals published between 2019 and 2025. The findings reveal that integrating tazkiyatun nafs into the character-building model enables the development of moral learning materials that encompass three dimensions of personality: cognitive (moral knowing), affective (moral feeling), and psychomotor-spiritual (moral action). The stages of takhalli-tahalli-tajalli and the mapping of nafs levels (ammarah, lawwamah, and mutmainnah) serve as foundational elements for designing gradual moral learning suited to learners' psychological development. This study formulates an integrative model grounded in Islamic spirituality that remains underexplored in conventional character education. Furthermore, the study identifies the teacher's role as a spiritual facilitator and moral reflection guide as crucial to successful value internalization. These findings highlight the need for curriculum reconstruction and the development of moral education materials that are spiritually grounded, applicable, and centered on strengthening the teacher's role as a moral educator. The implementation of this model has the potential to produce learners who are not only intellectually intelligent but also emotionally and spiritually mature in facing contemporary challenges.