Definition of ikhlāṣ: Abū’l-Qāsim al-Qushayrī (may Allah have mercy on him), defining ikhlāṣ, says: “Ikhlāṣ (ikhlas, sincerity) is to dedicate one’s intention (niyyah) in obedience solely to Allah. Ikhlāṣ is to seek nearness to Allah in acts of devotion without entering a path that would hinder nearness to Allah, without making artificial gestures for any creature, without hoping for praise or commendation from people, and without being lauded in their presence. It is also correct to say: ‘Ikhlāṣ is to purify the act by avoiding the observation of created beings.’[1]
Abū ʿAlī al-Daqqāq (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Ikhlāṣ is to avoid the observation of people.”
He says: “The person with ikhlāṣ is one who does not show off.”[2]
Fudayl b. ʿIyāḍ (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Abandoning action for the sake of people is ostentation (riyāʾ), and acting for the sake of people is shirk (associating partners with God). Ikhlāṣ is when Allah the Exalted protects His servant from both.”[3]
Imām Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Ikhlāṣ is a secret between the servant and Allah. The angel does not know it to record it, nor does Satan know it to corrupt it, nor does caprice (hawā) understand it so as to incline it to any path other than the Truth.”[4]
Shaykh al-Islām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “It is appropriate for the person with ikhlāṣ not to show anyone that he is sincere, nor to trust in his own sincerity! Whenever he does not act accordingly, his ikhlāṣ is not complete. Indeed, some have even named this ostentation (riyāʾ).”[5]
Thus, these words and various expressions about ikhlāṣ return to one aim: that in any devotional act performed with body, heart, or wealth, the nafs (the lower self) should have no share, and one should not see or deem one’s own ikhlāṣ sufficient.
A. The Importance of Ikhlāṣ in the Book and the Sunnah
Since the acceptance of deeds depends on the presence of ikhlāṣ, Allah the Exalted commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to teach ikhlāṣ in worship to his community.
In Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 11:
“Say: I have been commanded to worship Allah, making the religion sincerely His.”
Again, in Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 14:
“Say: I worship Allah, making my religion sincerely His.”
Again, in Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 2:
“So worship Allah, making religion sincerely His.”
Allah the Exalted commanded His creation in Sūrat al-Bayyina, verse 5, to be sincere in all their acts of worship—verbal, physical, and financial—and to avoid ostentation: “Yet they were commanded only to worship Allah, dedicating religion purely to Him, inclining to the Truth, to establish prayer, and to give zakat. That is the upright religion.”
Allah Most High explained in Sūrat al-Kahf, verse 110, that on the Day of Resurrection, the way to attain His pleasure and blessings is through righteous, sincere deeds free from the consideration of people:
“So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord—let him do righteous work and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.”
It is understood from the hadiths that direct the servant to ikhlāṣ in all his deeds and warn him against seeking the praise and commendation of people in worship, that every deed lacking ikhlāṣ will be thrown back in the face of its doer. These hadiths also clarify that Allah the Exalted does not look at the outward form of a servant’s deeds, but rather at his intentions and purposes in his heart. For deeds are dependent on intentions, and all matters are according to their purposes.
Indeed, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) called ostentation (riyāʾ) in one place “minor shirk,” and elsewhere “the shirk of secrets.” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah the Exalted will distance Himself from those who show off and send them to those for whose sake they associated partners with Him.
Here are some hadiths that clarify the importance of ikhlāṣ and the meanings mentioned above:
1. Abū Umāmah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “A man came to the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked: ‘Tell me about a man who fights for reward and to be mentioned—what does he get?’ The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘He gets nothing.’ The man repeated the question three times, and each time the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: ‘He gets nothing.’ Then he said: ‘Indeed, Allah only accepts deeds that are done purely for His sake, free from ostentation, and in which His pleasure is sought.’”[6]
2. Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): “Indeed, Allah does not look at your bodies or your forms, but He looks at your hearts.”[7]
3. Shaddād b. Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “Whoever fasts and shows off has committed shirk. Whoever prays and shows off has committed shirk. Whoever gives charity and shows off has committed shirk.”[8]
4. Maḥmūd b. Lubayd (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of his house and said: “O people! Beware of the shirk of secrets.” They asked: “O Messenger of God, what is the shirk of secrets?” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A person stands to pray and beautifies his prayer when he sees others looking at him—this is the shirk of secrets.”[9]
5. Maḥmūd b. Lubayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): “The thing I fear most for you is minor shirk.” They asked: “What is minor shirk, O Messenger of God?” The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is ostentation (riyāʾ).” When people are rewarded for their deeds, the Mighty and Majestic Allah will say: “Go to those for whom you showed off in the world and see if you find any reward with them.”[10]
6. Abū Saʿīd Ibn Abī Fudālah (may Allah be pleased with him), who was among the Companions (ṣaḥāba), said: “I heard the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) say: ‘On the Day of Resurrection, when Allah gathers the first and the last, a caller will call out: “Whoever associated anyone with Allah in his deeds, let him seek his reward from them. Indeed, Allah is the least in need of partners in partnership.”’”[11]
B. The Words of the Scholars on the Importance of Ikhlāṣ
Makhūl (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “When a servant performs his acts of worship with ikhlāṣ for forty days, springs of wisdom (ḥikma) will appear from his heart upon his tongue.”[12]
When Sahl b. ʿAbdullāh al-Tustarī (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: ‘What is most severe for the nafs (the lower self)?’ he replied: “Ikhlāṣ.” He said: “For in ikhlāṣ the nafs has no share at all.”[13]
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Whenever a servant attains ikhlāṣ, most of the whisperings and ostentation are cut off from him.”[14]
Ibn ʿAjība (may Allah have mercy on him), in his commentary on the saying of ʿAṭāʾullāh al-Iskandarī (may Allah have mercy on him) in his ‘Ḥikam’: “Deeds are standing forms; the spirits of those forms are the presence of the secret of ikhlāṣ within them,” says: “All deeds are but appearance and body. Their spirit is the presence of ikhlāṣ within them. Forms subsist only by spirits; otherwise, they are like fallen corpses. Likewise, the existence of bodily and spiritual acts is only possible with the presence of ikhlāṣ within them. Otherwise, they are but empty forms and hollow shadows, which are of no value.”[15]
The words of the scholars and gnostics (ʿārifūn) about ikhlāṣ are too numerous to count. All these words emphasize the greatness of the importance of ikhlāṣ and the magnitude of its effect.
C. The Degrees of Ikhlāṣ
Ibn ʿAjība (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “Ikhlāṣ is upon three degrees: the ikhlāṣ of the common people, the ikhlāṣ of the elect, and the ikhlāṣ of the elect of the elect.
Ikhlāṣ of the common people: To remove people from dealings with the Truth, and to seek worldly and otherworldly shares (preserving body and wealth), seeking abundance of provision, palaces of Paradise, and its houris.
Ikhlāṣ of the elect: To seek not worldly shares, but otherworldly shares.
Ikhlāṣ of the elect of the elect: To remove all pleasures from the heart. Their acts of worship are to fulfill servitude, to seek and love to behold Him, and to fulfill the duties of lordship.
In a poem by Ibn al-Fāriḍ (may Allah have mercy on him):
“My desire for Paradise is not to attain abundance,
Nor to obtain blessings,
My love and desire for it is only to behold You.”
In another poem, in meaning:
“All of them worship out of fear of Hell,
And see salvation as a great share,
Or they wish to dwell in Paradise,
And drink from the Salsabīl river in its gardens,
But I have no thought of Paradise or Hell,
I seek nothing in return for my love.”
And he said: “In summary, escaping from the nafs and being freed from the subtleties of ostentation is never possible without a shaykh.”[16] Allah the Exalted knows best about this matter.
The highest aim of the Sufis is to ascend to the highest degrees through their ikhlāṣ. In their acts of worship, they do not seek reward, but only the pleasure of Allah the Exalted.
In a poem:
“Their aim is neither the Gardens of Eden, nor beautiful houris, nor pavilions,
Their aim is only to gaze upon Allah the Exalted,
This is the aim of the noble people (the Sufis).”
As Rābiʿa (may Allah have mercy on her) said: “I did not worship You out of fear of Your fire or hope for Your Paradise. I worshipped You only for Your Essence.” Even if there were no reward, punishment, Paradise, or Hell, they would not delay their worship nor abandon their obedience. For they worship Allah for Allah’s sake. Their deeds arise from a heart cultivated by the quest for the love, nearness, and pleasure of the One God after having tasted His blessings and beneficence. Thereafter, they attained His blessings and tasted the sweetness of His goodness and beneficence.
This does not mean that they do not wish to enter Paradise or to be distant from Hell,
as some foolish enemies of Sufism have understood![17]
They do not like the Fire (Hell) and fear it, for Hell is the place where Allah’s wrath, anger, and vengeance are manifest. They love Paradise and desire it, for it is Allah’s pleasure, approval, and nearness. As the wife of Pharaoh, Āsiyah, said in Sūrat al-Taḥrīm, verse 11:
“My Lord! Build for me a house with You in Paradise!” Before seeking Paradise, Āsiyah sought nearness and proximity. She sought proximity before the house.
In a poem:
“It is not the love of the abode that has deceived my heart,
But the love of the One who dwells in the abode.”
Her desire was not for Paradise itself, but for love, nearness, and the pleasure of Allah the Exalted.
Thus, when a servant’s himma (spiritual aspiration) and aim are elevated, whether worldly or otherworldly, he does not consider bodily pleasures or personal interests. In all his acts of worship, he seeks love and nearness. In himself, pure servitude is realized. The servant’s desire is according to the measure of his himma.
By this, we do not mean that the one who seeks to benefit from otherworldly blessings and the pleasures of Paradise through his acts of worship, or to be saved from the punishment of Hell, is misguided or astray from the right path. Nor do we claim that he is deprived of Allah’s promise. Rather, he is a believer, obedient, and righteous. However, his rank is lower and less than those whose intentions are elevated by acting with ikhlāṣ for their Lord and whose spiritual striving is greater.
Imām al-Suyūṭī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “To fulfill commands and prohibitions not for the sake of attracting reward or repelling punishment, but only for Allah’s sake—this is the state of those who worship Allah for Allah’s sake. The state of those who worship Allah for reward or out of fear of punishment is contrary to theirs. No matter how much they love, they still worship with consideration for themselves, but they are in the rank of the righteous (abrār). The former are in the rank of the brought-near (muqarrabīn, those close to Allah).”[18]
Ahmad Zarrūq (may Allah have mercy on him) says in “Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf”: “It is obligatory to show reverence to what Allah has magnified. To belittle it is kufr (disbelief). The statement ‘We did not worship out of fear of the Fire or hope for Paradise’ is not appropriate. If we understand it in such a way, it would certainly entail belittling what Allah has valued, and belittling these two is not permissible for a Muslim. From this would follow a sense of independence from Paradise and Hell, which is not suitable for a believer, who should always need his Lord’s blessings. Yes, they did not intend these two in their worship, but rather acted for Allah alone, not for any other purpose. They did, however, ask Allah for Paradise and salvation from the Fire. The proof is Allah’s statement in Sūrat al-Insān (al-Dahr), verse 9:
“We feed you only for the sake of Allah’s pleasure.” Allah’s pleasure is made the cause of action.[19]
D. Things That Corrupt the Ikhlāṣ of the Sālik in His Deeds
The sālik (spiritual traveler) encounters many afflictions that corrupt his ikhlāṣ; these afflictions create veils that hinder his journey to Allah the Exalted. Therefore, it is necessary to point out these afflictions, to warn sāliks of their dangers, and to explain the way to be saved from them until the sālik’s deeds become purely for Allah’s sake.
The first veil: For the sālik to see and admire his own deeds, and to make his deeds a veil between himself and his object of worship.
Knowing Allah’s grace and success upon him saves the sālik from seeing and admiring his own deeds. For he and his deeds are the creation of Allah the Exalted. Allah the Exalted says in Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt, verse 96:
“While Allah has created you and what you do.” The servant has no effect in creation. For the servant, there is only the attribution of kasb (acquisition, effort).
Whenever the attribute of the nafs is examined, as Allah the Exalted described it in Sūrat Yūsuf, verse 53:
“Indeed, the nafs (the lower self) commands to evil.” If a person knows this, he realizes that every good he does is purely Allah’s grace and beneficence. At that point, he tastes the meaning of Allah’s words in Sūrat al-Nūr, verse 21:
“If it were not for Allah’s grace and mercy upon you, none of you would ever have been purified.”
The servant is saved from seeing and admiring his deeds by knowing his nafs and its inner reality. For this reason, a person should strive to know his nafs.
The second veil: Seeking recompense for one’s deeds. Recompense may be in this world or the Hereafter. Worldly recompense includes various carnal desires: seeking to be known, love of fame, desire to be prominent, and other things. It also includes seeking certain states, stations, unveilings, and maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God).
For this reason, the great gnostic Shaykh Arslān (may Allah have mercy on him) advises those who turn to anything other than their true object of desire, beloved, and aim, saying: “O slave of desires and acts of worship! O slave of stations and unveilings! You are deluded!”[20] Shaykh Arslān here emphasized that carnal desires, acts of worship, stations, and unveilings are worldly desires, that they come between a person and Allah, and that the person becomes their slave in order to attain them. Yet being preoccupied with these prevents one from reaching the Creator. Allah the Exalted says in Sūrat al-Najm, verse 42:
“And that to your Lord is the finality.”
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Nābulusī (may Allah have mercy on him), commenting on Shaykh Arslān’s words, says: “If you were truthful, you would not turn to carnal desires, acts of worship, or even stations and unveilings. You would dedicate your intention solely to Allah, leave everything else, and devote all your effort and spiritual aspiration to Allah, abandoning all else.”
Then ʿAṭāʾullāh al-Iskandarī (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book ‘al-Tanwīr fī Isqāṭ al-Tadbīr’, quoting from his shaykh Abū’l-ʿAbbās al-Mursī (may Allah have mercy on him), says: “A walī (friend of God) cannot reach Allah until he is cut off from his desires.” In some sayings: “If you were raised to the summit of the universe and elevated to ‘no-place’ (lā makān), and then felt pride for even a blink of an eye, you would not be among the people of intellect (ulū al-albāb).”
Ibn al-Fāriḍ (may Allah have mercy on him) says in a poem:
“The manifestation of the beauty of everything became apparent to me and wearied me,
I said: My desire is beyond You.”
To be preoccupied with and deceived by the beauty of the universe and creation is to be cut off.[21]
Some, as advice to those in such a state, say:
“Whenever you see all the stations being unveiled to you, avoid them and things like them, for we have avoided them.” Ibn ʿAṭāʾullāh (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “If the sālik’s himma (spiritual aspiration) is preoccupied with unveiled things, the hidden voices of reality (ḥaqīqa) call out: ‘What you seek is before you.’”[22]
The servant’s seeking of these stations and other than Allah is a hidden desire. In this case, either he attains them, becomes content with them, and is veiled from the goal, or he does not attain what he seeks. However, if he uses these stations as a means to reach Allah, that is an exception. If he seeks them for their own sake, he will not reach his goal. His resolve weakens, he falls into despair, and at that moment, he begins to regress. If the murshid (spiritual guide) watches over his disciple with guidance, it is possible for him to be saved from this calamity. Otherwise, the severance continues, and he turns back in loss and harm.
As for seeking recompense in the Hereafter, it is to desire to enter Paradise and be saved from the Fire.
One should correct his journey by believing that entry into Paradise is only by the mercy of Allah the Exalted, and not by deeds. It is authentically narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “None of you will enter Paradise by his deeds.” They asked: “Not even you, O Messenger of God?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy and grace.”[23]
What saves the servant from seeking recompense for his deeds is knowing that he is a weak servant. For his entry into Paradise and salvation from the Fire is only by the grace and generosity of Allah the Exalted. The servant cannot possess anything with an attitude of lordship (arrogance). Therefore, worship of Allah should be solely for servitude. Attaining reward and recompense is, like being granted success (tawfīq), among Allah’s favors to him in this world and the Hereafter. If he sees this tawfīq as one of Allah’s blessings, he will hasten to show gratitude (shukr) for these blessings. At that point, he is saved from seeking recompense for his deeds.
The third veil: To be pleased with one’s deeds and to be proud of them.
Being saved from being pleased with and admiring one’s deeds is achieved in two ways: 1. Seeing the defects in one’s deeds. No matter how small a deed is, there is always a share for Satan and the nafs in it.
The share of Satan: When the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about a person’s turning his attention in prayer, he guided us by saying: “That is theft. Satan steals from the servant’s prayer.”[24]
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “If this turning of attention lasts for even the blink of an eye or a moment, then how is it when the heart turns to other than Allah? This is the greatest share Satan takes from servitude.”[25]
The share of the nafs in deeds is only understood by those among the gnostics who possess basīra (spiritual insight).
2. The servant’s knowledge of the rights of servitude owed to his Lord, both outward and inward, and their conditions. Even if the servant were to strive night and day, he should still see himself as deficient before Allah and say: “Where is the weak and incapable servant, and where is the Creator of the universe?” Thus, Allah the Exalted explained to us in Sūrat al-Zumar, verse 67, that His creation is deficient before His greatness:
“They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal.”
Summary
Indeed, ikhlāṣ is to purify the deed from defects and impurities. The source of these defects sometimes relates to the doer, such as seeking praise, honor, or avoiding blame. Sometimes the source relates to the deed itself, such as being deceived by it or seeking recompense for it. All of these are the same…
For this reason, those with lofty determination were sincere in their religion for Allah. In their hearts, they heard the call of Allah in Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt, verse 50:
“So flee to Allah!” They responded to the call of the Truth. Some of them, submitting to it, said: “I left all people behind and came to You.”
Notes
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī said its chain is good.
- Muslim, Kitāb al-Birr wa’l-Ṣila.
- Al-Bayhaqī narrated it. As in al-Targhīb wa’l-Tarhīb, vol. 2, p. 31.
- Ibn Khuzayma narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ.
- Imām Aḥmad narrated it with a good chain.
- Al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb al-Tafsīr, in the tafsīr of Sūrat al-Kahf.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Risāla al-Qushayriyya, pp. 95–96.
- Ibn ʿAjība, Īqāẓ al-Himam fī Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, vol. 1, p. 25.
- Īqāẓ al-Himam fī Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, vol. 1, pp. 25–26.
- For some criticize the words of Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya (may Allah have mercy on her), accusing her of abolishing hope and fear. This is ignorance and deception, for she did not go beyond the bounds of hope and fear. Rather, she was elevated by hope and fear. Her hope was for Allah’s pleasure, nearness, and love. Her fear was from His wrath and being distant from Him. The stronger a person’s faith, the greater his fear and the higher his hope. Rābiʿa always wept much, feared Allah the Exalted, and cried out to Him!
- Imām al-Suyūṭī, Taʾyīd al-Ḥaqīqa al-ʿAliyya, p. 61.
- Aḥmad Zarrūq, Qawāʿid al-Taṣawwuf, p. 76.
- Ḥamrat al-Ḥān wa Rannat al-Alḥān, p. 177.
- Ḥamrat al-Ḥān wa Rannat al-Alḥān, Sharḥ Risālat Shaykh Arslān Dimashqī, by ʿAbd al-Ghanī al-Nābulusī, p. 29.
- Īqāẓ al-Himam fī Sharḥ al-Ḥikam, vol. 1, p. 51.
- Al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Marḍā; Muslim, Kitāb Ṣifāt al-Munāfiqīn.
- Al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Abwāb Ṣifat al-Ṣalāt, from ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with them both); al-Tirmidhī, Kitāb Abwāb al-Ṣalāt, who said it is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
- Madārij al-Sālikīn, vol. 2, p. 5.
- Ibn ʿAllān, Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, vol. 1, p. 194.
- Ibn ʿAllān, Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, vol. 1, p. 194.
- Ibn ʿAllān, Sharḥ Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, vol. 1, p. 194.
- For this, see al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ, Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī’s Qūt al-Qulūb, Ibn al-Qayyim’s Madārij al-Sālikīn, and other extensive works!