IKHLAS (SINCERITY)

Imam al-Ghazzali in the Ihya `Ulum al-Din[1] mentions a hadith from Hasan al-Basri that Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman (ra) said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: I asked Jibril regarding sincerity (ikhlas) and Jibril replied: I asked our Mighty Lord about this and He replied: Sincerity is one of my secrets that I place in the hearts of my beloved servants[2] In another version it has the addition: No angel can record it nor can Shaytan corrupt it[

Allah states in the Quran: {O believers! Fasting has been mad obligatory for you just as it was made obligatory for those before you so that you may attain taqwa [Q. 2:183-187]}

The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. Islaam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, establishing the Salaah (prayer), paying the Zakat(obligatory charity), making the Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadaan.
[Narrated by al-Bukhaari ( )and Muslim (

"Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, When is the help of Allah? Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 214

Imam al-Ghazali in his book On the Etiquettes of Quran Recitation lists 10 mental actions (a`mal al-batin) regarding the one who approaches the Quran. What is of relevance immediately here is the sixth action he mentions which is eliminating obstacles to understanding the Quran (altakhalli `an mawani` al-fahm) and refers to them as veils of the mind. He says: . [the second veil] is that he is a muqallid of his madhhab based on taqlid and on which he has remained unshakable and has established a strong zeal in himself for it by merely following what he has heard without actually arriving at it through deep insight or some mode of direct witnessing. This kind of person has been shackled by his beliefs unable to go beyond it and is unable to even conceive of another belief other than his own. His consideration and view thus becomes limited to what he has heard.[8] Further concluded This type of taqlid can be false and become an obstacle to the understanding of the meaning of the Quran as in for example a person who believes Allahs istiwa[9] on the `arsh means His being settled on it physically[10] Notes:

The scholars of Islam are the inheritors of the Prophets (as).