Religion and Life
Despite all the negativities of our age, a believer is on the verge of ikhlas in all their day-to-day affairs, and their success depends on the believer and their heart.
All the zahir (external) and batin (internal) provisions of our religion promise a reformation and a purification that begins in our hearts, continues with our actions, and takes place in the whole of society through human relations. For this reason, it is crucial to understand all the zahir and batin provisions of religion holistically, both individually and socially, and to act with this consciousness. It is impossible for those who favor only one aspect of religion and neglect the other to perfect their religious life and provide a comprehensive benefit in an individual or social sense.
The subject of ikhlas has a privileged place among the zahir provisions of Islam. It is stated in the Qur'an and Sunnah that ikhlas is a requirement of iman rather than a virtue. The friends of Allah have noted that the essence of the way of tasawwuf, the basic manner of sayr wa suluk, is ikhlas and that only those who have ikhlas can walk the path of tasawwuf.
So, what is the ikhlas needed for living the religion properly and making progress on the path of tasawwuf, and who is the mukhlis (a sincere servant of Allah) in this sense? How did those who attained ikhlas describe ikhlas?
Ikhlas and mukhlis
Ikhlas literally means to be purified, to become clean. As a religious term, it bears the definitions "sincerity in servitude, doing all actions and deeds only for Allah, honesty in word, deed, and behavior.” Mukhlis, on the other hand, is a person who is far from hypocrisy and showing off, who only worships and acts for their Rabb, and does not have any worries in their heart other than the rida of Allah.
The subject of ikhlas has been deemed one of the basic issues of the wisdom of the heart and the mark of tasawwuf. For this reason, special attention was given to this subject in the first works of tasawwuf. In the century when Kutub al-Sittah was written, which is the collection of the main sources of hadith sciences, Imam Muhasibi (d. 245 AH) compiled ar-Riayah, known as the first tasawwuf classic, and wrote the subject of ikhlas in the first part of the work.
In al-Ibanah, the first independent work of tasawwuf-related terminology, Ibn Furak (quddisa sirruhu) included the views of Imam Muhasibi throughout almost the entire ikhlas section and asked Imam Muhasibi (rahmatullahi alayh): "Is ikhlas fard (obligatory) or nafilah (supererogatory)" He replied with the following:
“Ikhlas is a fard of Allah the Exalted. It is also an obligation in all other deeds. Because the Rabb of all the Worlds says: ‘While they were not ordered but to worship Allah, making their submission exclusive for him with no deviation, and to establish Salah and pay Zakat. That is the way of the straight religion.’ (Al-Bayyinah, 5)”
Imam Qushayri (quddisa sirruhu) handles ikhlas in the chapters of maqam, spiritual states, and morals in his famous ar-Risala, a reference book of the people of tasawwuf. First, he gives the holy verses and the noble hadiths related to the subject. Then, he lists the views of the great Sufis about ikhlas. Imam Qushayri (rahmatullahi alayh) said that he asked his master Abu Abdurrahman as-Sulami what ikhlas was and received the following answer:
“My shaykh asked his master about ikhlas, too. He asked his shaykh, and Tabi’un (Followers) to the Companions, and the Companions to The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibril. Jibril (alayhissalam) asked Allah the Exalted and Allah the Almighty said: ‘Ikhlas is one of my secrets. I entrust it to the hearts of my loved ones among my servants.”
Imam Qushayri (quddisa sirruhu) reports that he heard the following words from his shaykh Abu Ali al-Daqqaq about ikhlas: “Ikhlas means to avoid taking people into account while doing a deed. A mukhlis servant does not show off."
Three levels of ikhlas
Hodja Abdullah Harawi (quddisa sirruhu) (d. 481 AH) begins the subject of ikhlas in his work named Manazilu's-Sairin with the verse "Remember, Allah alone deserves the exclusive submission" (Az-Zumar, 3). He divides the maqam of ikhlas into three degrees, as he does in other areas, and says:
“The first degree of ikhlas is that a person does not consider their deed to be important, does not expect a reward for their deed, and is not satisfied with their deed.
The second degree is to feel shame for attributing these deeds to oneself, even though the devotee does their best with ikhlas. Continuing to strive and seeing that they can only do their deeds with the light of Allah's tawfiq (the success given by Allah), and the light of tawfiq comes from the generosity of Allah.
The third degree is to get rid of the shackles of formalism, abide by the decrees and adapt one’s deeds to the subtleties of the wisdom of the heart.”
One of the great Sufis, Imam Suhrawardi (quddisa sirruhu) (d. 632 AH) described ikhlas as “making obedience unique to Allah by persevering.” According to him, the Malamatis are people who have a special and distinct characteristic in adhering to ikhlas. This is because they are a society that hides its goodness and reveals its evil. Thus, they have removed the condemnation of the people from their hearts. Despite this, Imam Suhrawardi (quddisa sirruhu) says that, although the Malamati belief seems closer to ikhlas at first glance, essentially Sufism is more eligible for ikhlas among Sufis and Malamatis. The reason for this is the fact that the Malamatis try to hide their ikhlas by trying to make themselves look bad. However, Sufis do not deal with the people or the waswasa of the nafs (self). Nor do they see a work of ikhlas in themselves.
When we look at the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the words and ways of the awliya, it is understood that there are different levels of ikhlas.
Friends of Allah and ikhlas
The emphasis on ikhlas draws attention in the conversations of the friends of Allah. Imam Rabbani (quddisa sirruhu) described the state of ikhlas and its benefits as follows:
“The great awliya see everything that Allah the Exalted does as good. They embrace what He does as their own will and purpose. Every work of Allah seems pleasant to them. This is exactly what ikhlas stands for. The maqam of salvation from false gods is right here. The meaning of kalima-i tawhid originates here. Only with such love will hopes come true.”
Imam Rabbani (quddisa sirruhu) explains the issue with an analogy:
“Even if a mother is very angry with her child, even if she beats him, the child still returns and hugs his mother. This is how a person should be towards their Rabb.”
That is to say, no matter what happens to a person, they should always turn their direction to Allah. When a person sees a good deed, they should know that it is coming from their Rabb and be grateful. When faced with evil and severe tests, they should turn to their Rabb and ask for a path to salvation from Him. If a person has sinned and wronged, they should ask for forgiveness from Him. For a believer, all roads must lead to Al-Haqq (Allah), and the solution to all predicaments must lie only with the Rabb of all the Worlds. This is the state of ikhlas.
A great wali and sufi scholar, Abdurrahman-i Takhi (quddisa sirruhu) says in one of his letters that the lowest level of ikhlas is for a sufi to get their nafs to accept that their murshid is capable of bringing them to Allah (jalla jalaluhu). The sufi who instills this acceptance within their nafs leaves themselves in the hands of their murshid and continues to do the righteous deeds and dhikrs that their murshid wants from them. As a result of this, the sufi is included in the group of the righteous people who have achieved perfection and who live with ikhlas and ihsan.
On the other hand, someone who cannot make their nafs accept their murshid’s worthiness is like a patient who goes to a doctor whom they believe to be unqualified. Although the doctor prescribes medicine and offers various treatments, this person does not take the medicine or apply the treatments.
The great awliya have always said that the cornerstone of the deeds is the shariah, and the basis of the disciple is love and ikhlas. They have stated that the greatest harm that a disciple can suffer is related to losing ikhlas.
Gaining ikhlas
Considering the definitions and descriptions of ikhlas, it can be thought that it is something that is not easily gained and a difficult task to accomplish. It is especially emphasized in the descriptions of ikhlas by the first period Sufi elders that showing off with worship, making others see and admire one’s deeds are regarded as types of behaviors that have disastrous outcomes. This is because those were the ages when worshipper and worshipping were both valuable, and people valued righteous deeds.
Today, even one of the most basic principles of religion such as salah is neglected. Our relationship with our Rabb is often ignored in the arrangements we make in areas such as business, social life, transportation, and education among many others. Therefore, in today's lifestyle, our ibadahs such as salah and fasting are not seen as a means of receiving praise and appreciation.
Ikhlas is not hidden in secret, hard-to-reach depths. Every believer is on the verge of ikhlas in their daily life. Taking a step in the right direction from within the heart and correcting their intentions may lead them to do their work with ikhlas. For example, it is ikhlas for the lady of the house to say, "I would not send my husband without breakfast, it is a service" and prepare breakfast for the sake of Allah. It is ikhlas for a person who turns to their vehicle to go to work in the morning to smile at those they encounter for the sake of Allah by saying "they are my neighbor, my brother/sister in religion." It is ikhlas for someone to call their walking neighbor to their car and give them a lift to where they need to go for the sake of Allah.
Similarly, it is ikhlas to perform wudu carefully as a preparation for standing in the presence of your Rabb, try to perform salah in khushu (serenity), recite tasbih afterwards in detail while being aware of what you are saying, and to make dua with the belief that it will be accepted. It is ikhlas to calculate zakat and set it aside from one's wealth, saying “it is the command of my Rabb,” and to deliver it to the poor with humility. In other words, ikhlas is not far away, it is in our daily lives, in the prayers we perform five times a day, and in the zakat we give for Allah.
Moreover, ikhlas is not only inherently present in fards; it can be in every moment of our lives with nafilahs. For example, although it is not fard, it is ikhlas to be busy with good deeds and nafilah acts of worship thinking, "I wish for Allah to be pleased with me; I do these good deeds so that I may be a worthy servant of Him and an ummah worthy of my Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)." It is ikhlas to support all charitable actions being conducted for the benefit of people to help them learn and live Islam, whether our support is in the form of material backing or wholehearted prayers and wishes for their success.
Those who set pleasing Allah as their goal, follow in the blessed footsteps of our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) in their lives, and take mukhlis awliya as examples will be successful in performing deeds with ikhlas. Those who put their worldly preoccupations in a higher priority than Allah's pleasure, those who live away from the pure and sublime sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and the safe path shown by mukhlis people, and those who adopt adulation, flattery and showing off for prestige, recognition and validation cannot begin to partake in ikhlas.
Our state today
When we look at the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the lives and words of the awliya, it is understood that a Muslim’s life requires ikhlas. On the other hand, the present age is surrounded by disasters and deceptions that are fiercely detrimental to a person's ikhlas. Showing off, wanting to be admired, pretending to have qualities that one does not have, chasing after images, flattery, and acting according to self-interest and whims are prime diseases that have become widespread.
Although the effects of disarray brought by the current age have desensitized society to many situations that can prevent us from achieving ikhlas, there is no doubt that Allah’s pleasure is in ikhlas, and salvation in being mukhlis. Those who cannot achieve ikhlas cannot reach their expectations or goals. Acceptance of salah, fasting, zakat, and even pilgrimage requires ikhlas; for nafilahs, in order for acts of service and charity to be acceptable and for knowledge and words of advice to yield result, ikhlas is a must.
On the other hand, the inability to attain ikhlas is not an excuse to abandon fard or wajib acts of worship. A believer cannot abandon any fard or wajib worship out of fear of hypocrisy. In such cases, one should be repentant because of the lack of composure in the heart, its deficiencies, and faults. Ikhlas should be requested from Allah, who ever-so-benevolently grants ikhlas to the mukhlis servants.
Despite all the negativities of the times we find ourselves in, a believer is on the verge of sincerity in all his day-to-day affairs, and their success depends on themselves and their heart. May we all be blessed to live for Allah, the Rabb of all the Worlds. Amin.
Selim Uğur
