MAJALAH AL-HIKMAH EDISI 04 | 2016

15 IKHLAS (SINCERITY): A Necessary Condition of Ibadah ABU 'IYAAD AS-SALAFI As for ikhlas , then that is one of the meanings of the testimo- ny "there is nothing which has the right to ibadah except Al- lah" in that your ibadah should be exclusively and sincerely for Allah. Iman by itself is not sufficient for our ibadah to be accepted by Allah. Rather it is necessary that your action is out of iman in Allah and complete ikhlas to Him so that you do not make anyone a part- ner with Him. The Exalted said: "Those who have iman and confuse not their iman with injustice. For them there will be security and they are the rightly guided." [Al-Qur'an 6:82] Injustice here means shirk as was explained by the Messenger ( sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam ) to the companions ( radiallahu anhum ) and as has been recorded by Imam al-Bukhari in the Kitab at-Tafsir of his Sahih . Allah has laid down a condition for the perfection of iman , which gives its possessor security, guidance and freedom from shirk and that is ikhlas ; the abundance of which is necessary for ibadah to be accepted. The Exalted has said: "And they were not command- ed except with this: that they should worship Allah, being completely sincere in the Din." [Al-Qur'an98:5] And the Exalted also said: "Say: Indeed I have been commanded to worship Allah making the Din sincerely for Him alone." [Al-Qur'an 39:11] And there is also the Qudsi Hadith reported by Muslim: "I am so self- sufficient that I am in no need of having partners. Thus, who- ever does an action for some- one else's sake as well as Mine, will have that action rejected by Me to him whom he associ- ated with Me." [Reported by Muslim] Ikhlas is the sanctifica- tion of your speech and action from every blemish of the soul's desire. For example, de- siring your beautification in the hearts of people, desiring their praise so that they say 'a scholar', 'what a brave man' or 'a doer of good'. Also included in this is running away from the criticism of the people (i.e. abandoning certain actions because people may criticise or become angry), seeking people's magnification of your- self, their aid and assistance, the fulfilment of your needs or desiring other peoples wealth and possessions - while being contented with all of that because your soul is deceived and your amazement with your- self. Know also - brother and sister Muslim - that ikhlas is not correct until you are truthful in your speech, action, striving and while you desire nothing but the Face of Allah and the Home of the Hereafter. The Exalted said: "And whoever desires the Here- after and strives for it as it should be strived for while be- ing a believer then his striving will be acknowledged (rewarded)." [Al-Qur'an 17:19] There are some other useful definitions of ikhlas :