[Unhappu]

It was Abu Bakr ad-Daqqaq (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"The shortcoming of everyone who tries to be sincere [mukhlis] in his sincere devotion,
is the tendency to admire his sincere devotion [ikhlas].
If Allah (Exalted is He) wishes to purify his sincere devotion [an yukhallisa ikhlasa-hu],
He will therefore rid his sincerity of that tendency to admire his sincere devotion,
so he will then be a mukhallas [one who has been made sincere through purification], rather than a mukhlis [one who tries to be sincere]."

words worthy of deep contemplation!

[anxpuna]

words worthy of deep contemplation!

Yes, most of us suffer from the problem of self admiration. The one who admires his own Ikhlas himself is in need of some ikhlas.

[lesso73]

How does one do da'wah without riya'? Since by doing da'wah one is showing that one has knowledge? Difficult this is.

[cialviagra]

How does one do da'wah without riya'? Since by doing da'wah one is showing that one has knowledge? Difficult this is.

One will have to have a strong intention that he is sharing knowledge only for the sake of Allah. Gaining and spreading knowledge for fame and glory is not right. Thats why we have to purify our 'intention' at all times. May Allah save us this minor Shirk of Riya. Ameen.

Dua against riya.


'AbAbu 'Ali, a man from Banu Kaalil, said, "Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari addressed us and said, "O people! Fear this shirk as it is more hidden than a crawling ant."
'Abdullah ibn Hazm and Qays bin al-Madaarib both stood and said, "By Allah! You should clarify what you have said, otherwise we shall bring 'Umar with authority on our behalf or without it".
He then said, "Rather I will explain to you what I said. Allaah's Messenger (saw) addressed us one day and said,[INDENT] "O People! Fear this shirk as it is more hidden than a crawling ant." Then someone whom Allaah had willed to speak said: "
And how shall we save ourselves from it when it is more hidden than a crawling ant, O Messenger of Allaah?".
He said, "Say "Allahumma inni a`udhu bika an ushrika bika wa ana a`lamu wa astaghfiruka lima la a`lamu"
[O Allah I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating partners with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for that which I do not know].

[desmond001]

It was Abu 'l-Husain al-Bushanji (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) who said:

"Sincere devotion [ikhlas] is so subtle that the two [recording] angels do not take note of it,
the shaitan cannot corrupt it, and
one's fellow human being is quite unaware of it."

[feannigvogten]

Dhu 'n-Nun al-Misri (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) once said:

"There are three reliable symptoms of sincere devotion [ikhlas], namely:
(1) equal indifference to praise and blame from the common folk,
(2) a lack of interest in the impression made by good deeds, and
(3) regarding the reward for religious practice as a matter to be decided in the hereafter, [not in this world]."

He also said (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him): "Sincere devotion [ikhlas] is that which is safe from being corrupted by the Enemy [Satan]."

[WordofViagra]

As-Salaamu ‘alaikum

An excellent book is “IKHLAAS” by Shaykh Yunus Patel Saheb (RA). You can download it from the Shaykh’s website : yunuspatel.co.za
May Allah Ta’ala grant us all 100% Ikhlaas and accept whatever deeds we undertake, despite our weaknesses and deficiencies.

The Shaykh’s one gem was:

"Ikhlaas (sincerity) generally starts off with a lot of difficulty. Just as there is a need for a utensil to receive water, so too is there a need for the structure of ‘Ibaadat’ (worship), be it Salaah, Fasting, Zakaat, Haj or any other Ibaadat, to receive the desired Ikhlaas.

If the utensil is discarded, then what would be used to receive the water ? In a similar vein, if the action is discarded then in what are you going to receive Ikhlaas ?

Therefore, even though a person lacks Ikhlaas in his Ibaadat, he must continue doing the ‘aml’ and continue with the effort to do so solely for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala, and at one and the same time, engage in plenty of Taubah and Istighfaar (repentance) for the deficiency in Ikhlaas."

[Appenianags]

As-Salaamu ‘alaikum

An excellent book is “IKHLAAS” by Shaykh Yunus Patel Saheb (RA). You can download it from the Shaykh’s website : yunuspatel.co.za
May Allah Ta’ala grant us all 100% Ikhlaas and accept whatever deeds we undertake, despite our weaknesses and deficiencies.

The Shaykh’s one gem was:

"Ikhlaas (sincerity) generally starts off with a lot of difficulty. Just as there is a need for a utensil to receive water, so too is there a need for the structure of ‘Ibaadat’ (worship), be it Salaah, Fasting, Zakaat, Haj or any other Ibaadat, to receive the desired Ikhlaas.

If the utensil is discarded, then what would be used to receive the water ? In a similar vein, if the action is discarded then in what are you going to receive Ikhlaas ?

Therefore, even though a person lacks Ikhlaas in his Ibaadat, he must continue doing the ‘aml’ and continue with the effort to do so solely for the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala, and at one and the same time, engage in plenty of Taubah and Istighfaar (repentance) for the deficiency in Ikhlaas."

The link for the book: http://yunuspatel.co.za/downloads/ikhlaas.pdf

Its a very good book. it will be of help.

[nerrttrw]

Imam Nawawi's (The wonderful Garden of Gnostics),

Imam Shafi'i Sultanul Arifeen said, may God have mercy on him:
"Only the sincere one (mukhlis) knows hypocrisy (riya')." And only the Sincere seekers Knows the Dangers of the Nafs, This means that it is impossible to know the reality of hypocrisy and see its hidden shades except for one who resolutely seeks (arada) sincerity. That one strives for a long time (yajtahidu azmanan) searching and meditating and examining at length within himself until he knows or knows something of what hypocrisy is. This does not happen for everyone. Indeed, this happens only with the special ones (al-khawass). But for a given individual to claim that he knows what hypocrisy is, this is real ignorance on his part.

As mentioned in many of the sessions before in which you will see a type of wonder that will cool your eyes. To illustrate the great extent of the concealment of hypocrisy we only need relate the following from the Teacher and Imam Sultanul Arifeen , may God have mercy on him, from his 'Risala' with our isnad previously mentioned.

He said: "I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn say: I heard Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Ja'far say: I heard al-Hasan ibn 'Alawiyya said:
I was for twelve years the blacksmith of my ego (haddadu nafsi), then for five years I became the mirror of my heart (mir'atu qalbi), then for a year I looked at what lay between the two of them and I saw around me a visible belt [i.e. of kufr ]. So I strove to cut it for twelve years and then looked again, and I saw around me a hidden belt. So I worked to cut it for five years, looking to see how to cut. Then it was unveiled for me (kushifa li) and I looked at creation and saw that they were all dead. So I recited the funeral prayer over them."

I say: That hypocrisy should be as inscrutable as this to the peerless master in this path is enough to show how greatly hidden it lies. His phrase: "I saw them dead" is the apex of worth and beauty, and seldom do other than the Prophet's words, Blessings and Peace be upon him, gather up such wealth of meanings. I shall touch upon its meaning briefly. It means that after he had struggled long and hard (lamma jahada hadhihi al-mujahada) and his ego had been disciplined (tahadhdhabat) and his heart illumined (istanara qalbuhu), and when he had conquered (istawla) his ego and subdued it (qaharaha) and achieved complete mastery over it (malakaha mulkan tamman), and it had subjected himself to him totally, at that time he looked at all created beings and found that they were dead and completely powerless:
they cannot harm nor can they benefit;
they cannot give nor can they keep back;
they cannot give life nor can they give death;
they cannot convey nor can they cut off;
they cannot bring near nor can they take away;
they cannot make happy nor can they make sad;
they cannot bestow nor can they deprive;
they possess for themselves neither benefit nor harm,
nor death, nor life, nor resurrection.

This, then, characterizes human beings as dead: they are considered dead in all of the above respects, they are neither feared nor entreated, what they have is not coveted, they are not shown off to nor fawned upon, one does not concern oneself with them, they are not envied nor disparaged, their defects are not mentioned nor their faults pursued and exposed, one is not jealous of them nor thinks much of whatever God-given favors they have received, and they are forgiven and excused for their shortcomings, although the legal punishments (al-hudud) are applied to them according to the Law. But the application of such punishment does not preclude what we have mentioned before, nor does it preclude our endeavoring to cover up their faults without disparaging them in the least.

This then is how the dead are viewed. And if someone mentions human beings in a dishonorable manner we forbid him from entering into that subject in the same way that we would if he were going to examine a person who died.We do not do anything for their sake nor do we leave Him for them. And we no more stop ourselves from fulfilling an act of obedience to God on their account than we do on account of a dead person, and we do not over-praise them. And we neither love their own praise for us nor hate their insults, and we do not reciprocate them.

In sum, they are as it were non-existent in all the respects we have mentioned. They are under God's complete care and jurisdiction. Whoever deals with them in such a way, he has combined the good of the next world with that of the lower world. May God the Generous grant us success towards achieving this. These few words are enough to touch upon an explanation for his saying -- May God be well pleased with him.

Blessings and Peace upon the Purified Prophet, his Family, and his Companions

[blackjackiisre]

When someone asked [Sahl] ibn 'Abdi'llah [at-Tustari] (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him):
"What is the hardest thing for the lower self [nafs] to bear?"

he replied: "Sincere devotion [ikhlas], because it has no share therein."

[hoconnor6605]

Imam Nawawi:

Imam Shafi'i said: "I heard Muhammad ibn al-Husayn say: I heard Ahmad ibn 'Ali ibn Ja'far say: I heard al-Hasan ibn 'Alawiyya said:

"I was for twelve years the blacksmith of my ego (haddadu nafsi),
then for five years I became the mirror of my heart (mir'atu qalbi),
then for a year I looked at what lay between the two of them and I saw around me a visible belt [i.e. of kufr ].
So I strove to cut it for twelve years and then looked again, and I saw around me a hidden belt.
So I worked to cut it for five years, looking to see how to cut.
Then it was unveiled for me (kushifa li) and I looked at creation and saw that they were all dead.
So I recited the funeral prayer over them."


Explaination: http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...l=1#post643670

[ROYMANgo]

Allah says, "Their flesh and blood dies not reach Allah but your fear of Him (tawqa) does reach Him." (22:37)

Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "It means that your intentions reach Him."

Ibrahim said, "Taqwa is the means by which you desire His Face."

Imam Abu'l-Hasan al-Wahidi reported that az-Zajjaj said,
"The meaning of this is that Allah will not accept an offering of flesh and blood when it is offered without fearful awareness of Allah. He accepts that through which you show Him your fearful awareness of Him."

This indicates that no act of worship is without intention. The intention is that you want to draw near to Allah and carry out His command.

[Karlmarks]

Ruwaim (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) once said:

"Sincere devotion [ikhlas] means removing one's admiring gaze from the action performed."

[vTLWqa1l]

The following incidents were reported by one of the righteous, who said:

"I paid a visit to Sahl ibn 'Abdi'llah [at-Tustari] (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him), one Friday before the congregational prayer [salat]. I spotted a snake in the house, so I started taking one step forward and another step back, but he said: 'Come on in! No one attains to the reality of faith [haqiqat al-iman], as long as there is anything, on the face of the earth, of which he is still afraid.' Then he went on to say: 'Are you thinking of attending the congregational prayer [salat al-jum'a]?'
'Hardly,' said I, 'since it would take a day and a night to travel the distance between here and the mosque [masjid].'
So he took me by the hand, and it seemed like no time at all before I could see the mosque. We went inside and performed the congregational prayer [sallaina 'l-jum'a], then we came outside again. Sahl stood and watched the people as they emerged, then he said: 'Many are those who repeat the words: "There is no god but Allah [la ilaha illa 'llah]," but few of them are sincere [mukhlisin].'

[Ibrattnofich]

It was Abu Ya'qub al-Makfuf who said:
"Sincere devotion [ikhlas] means that a person keeps his good deeds hidden, just as he conceals his bad deeds."

[rvadipoldkov]

It was Sari as-Saqati (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) who said:

"If someone tries to impress other people, by flaunting something he does not have within him,
he will fall from grace in the sight of Allah (Exalted is He)."

[Tamawaipsemek]

Abu Ya'qub as-Susi had this to say on the subject:
"Whenever people are sure that they can see a sincere devotion in their sincere devotion [fi ikhlasi-him ikhlasan],
their 'sincere devotion' is badly in need of a dose of sincere devotion!"

[JessePex]

Abu Ya'qub as-Susi had this to say on the subject:
"Whenever people are sure that they can see a sincere devotion in their sincere devotion [fi ikhlasi-him ikhlasan],
their 'sincere devotion' is badly in need of a dose of sincere devotion!"

yes brother we should do everything in the way of ALLAH SWT , to please ALLAH SWT , no show off ,

[CenICrerflind]

It was al-Junaid (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) who said:
"Sincere devotion [ikhlas] is a secret between Allah (Exalted is He) and the servant [of the Lord].
No angel is privy to it, to be able to record it,
nor any devil [shaitan], to be able to corrupt it, and
no passionate desire, to be able to distort it. "

[adsexpist]

Shayk Hamza Yusuf about Ikhlas and Riya: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuPSnJuS0ao