Ikhlaas in HD

*HD = High Definition

Remember Surah Al-Ikhlas(The Sincerity)? Which, in case you did not know, and if I am not mistaken, is the sole surah that do not have the name of the surah mentioned in the verses. But perhaps you might want to know the reason behind such discrepancy? Before that, let's see what the surah talks about :

Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One, 

Allah , the Eternal Refuge.

He neither begets nor is born,

Nor is there to Him any equivalent."

(112:1-4)

So what does it have to do with this surah? Based on the tafseer fi zilal by Sayyid Qutb rahimahullah, he said that "the Arabic term, aĥad, used here to refer to God’s oneness is much more precise than the more frequently used term, wāĥid, which means ‘one’. Aĥad has the added connotations of absolute and continuous unity and an absence of equals." Click here for the rest of the tafseer.

If you understand the meaning of absolute and continuous unity and an absence of equals, then the rest of the surah is self-explanatory. 

This surah talks about the oneness of Allah, and when we talk about the oneness of Allah, it does not only mean that He, and only He alone is the Illah that you must submit to, but it also means that you cannot, I repeat, you CANNOT rely to other than Him. To be precise, this surah talks about ikhlas/sincerity.

Sincerity is equal to purified water, which means that if there is even the slightest thing gets mixed in it, you cannot call it sincerity. 

And what does it mean when we talk about sincerity, in the context of this surah?

To acknowledge that Allah is the only God we should submit to is perhaps easy enough, but to rely only on Him, and to do things only for His sake? Now, that's the tough part.

To rely only upon Him is to feel that you shouldn't think your effort will be the reason for your success, and it also means that, when you have to consume medications for any ailments, you rely on Him to cure you and not the efficacy/effectiveness of the meds, and when you work, you rely on Him for sustenance and not the amount of money that you get for your salary.   

To do things only for His sake means that, despite the long hours of work and the hellish amount of workload that you have to endure, especially when you are a healthcare practitioner, you must try to be as sincere as you can get even if it drives you up the wall just trying to. It also means that, in a recent world context, you must not be tormented by the small amount of 'like'/'share's of your preaching statuses than the gazillion amount of 'like's that a selfie/selca can attract. This is just a petty example but bear with me. 

And loads of other examples. 

So why am I babbling about ikhlas? 

For the past couple of weeks, I myself have been tormented by trying to understand the real meaning of practising ikhlas. It's not easy for me due to the known fact that whatever good deeds you do will not be accepted unless you're sincere lillahi taala, and how can you enter Jannah when your heart is in a impure state of insincerity, when one of the requirement to enter Jannah is to have a qalbun saleem(sound heart), and it also seems that Allah is not letting me forget about it. 

My recent moderating for a talk here in Kota Bharu, the speaker talks about ikhlas, and somehow, for the next few days, I keep on encountering the word 'ikhlas', like literally, be it, in a book, during my usrah session yesterday, and just today, as I recite surah As-Shu'ara'. Again, and again, I am bombarded with the topic of ikhlas, even when I am not even thinking about it. 

"And I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds." 

This sentence is said over and over again, Noah, Luth, and the rest of the previous prophets, said the same sentence as narrated in the surah Ash-Shu'ara' by Allah Himself, as they call to their people to bring them back to the path to Allah.

Alhamdulillah thummalhamdulillah.

I have been very upset, depressed even of this problem, and I am truly glad for the answer to the turmoil in my heart, and I guess it's true that when Allah says that He will not test us for more than we can bear, it also means that one of the ways to bear it, is to give you the same trial over and over again, to a point that you'll finally be able to overcome or at least be in peace with the said trial.

Even when it is hard to attain ikhlas, we must at least istikhlas, which means, try to be ikhlas.

I'm still trying, but I know as long as I keep on trying, there is still hope for Jannah.

Ameen ya Rabb.