Ikhlas, the secret of accepted deeds
Without ikhlas, the largest deed weighs nothing. With it, the smallest deed outweighs mountains. How to test your sincerity.
Outline
- 1
Allah accepts only what was for Him
Allah says in the hadith qudsi: I am the most free of need from association. Whoever does a deed associating someone else with Me, I leave him and his shirk (Muslim 2985). The deed done for the audience is given to the audience.
- 2
Three tests of ikhlas
Would you still do this deed if no one ever knew? Would you do it without complaint if no one ever thanked you? Would you do it the same way alone as you do it in public? Imam al-Ghazali named these as the diagnostic.
- 3
Salaf and the hidden deed
Many of the salaf would cry when their good deeds became known. They considered fame for a deed a sign that its reward had already been spent. The pious sought to hide their salah at night the way some today seek to broadcast it.
Closing line
Allahumma ij'al amalana khalisan li-wajhik, O Allah, make our deeds purely for Your Face.
Ammar ibn Yasir (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ called a man's long prayer and short khutbah a sign of his understanding (Sahih Muslim 869). Aim for fifteen to twenty minutes. Two sections separated by a brief sitting is the Sunnah pattern.