Discover the meaning of the term Al-ikhlas (إخلاص) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 5 min readIn language: abandoning ostentation in acts of worship. In usage: purifying the heart of any blemish that tarnishes its qualities; its realization is that whatever may be conceived as capable of being tainted by other than Him, when it is purified of its taint and freed from it, is called "pure" (khalis), and the act thus purified is called ikhlas; Allah, the Most High, said: "as pure milk, out of excretions and blood". The purity of milk lies in its containing no admixture of excretion or blood. And al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad said: leaving the deed for the sake of people is ostentation, doing the deed for their sake is polytheism, and ikhlas is deliverance from these two.
It is to seek for your deed no witness besides Allah. It has been said: ikhlas is the sifting of deeds from impurities. It has been said: ikhlas is a veil between the servant and Allah, the Most High, which no angel knows to write down, no devil to corrupt, nor any desire to incline. The difference between ikhlas and truthfulness (sidq): truthfulness is the root and comes first, while ikhlas is its branch and follows it. Another difference: ikhlas occurs only after entering into the deed.
In language: abandoning ostentation in acts of worship. In usage: purifying the heart of any taint of associating partners that tarnishes its qualities; its realization is that whatever may be conceived as capable of being tainted by other than Him, when purified of its taint and freed from it, is called "pure" (khalis), and the act thus purified is called ikhlas; Allah, the Most High, said: "as pure milk, out of excretions and blood". The purity of milk lies in its containing no admixture of excretion or blood. Al-Fudayl, may Allah have mercy on him, said: leaving the deed for the sake of people is ostentation, doing the deed for their sake is polytheism, and ikhlas is deliverance from these two. And if you wish to know the ikhlas or its absence between a husband and a wife, add up the numbers of the abjad value of each of their names separately, cast out nines, and keep the remainder of each side apart; if one remains for both sides, there is ikhlas and union between them; otherwise: one with two is ikhlas; with three, enmity; with four, hostility; with five, ikhlas; with six, ikhlas of the two souls; with seven, harmony; with eight, love without joy; with nine, ikhlas.
In language: abandoning ostentation in worship. It comes from khulusa khalusan and khilasan: that is, he became pure and its impurity departed. One says: khulusa from his predicament: that is, he was saved and delivered from it; and khulusa from a people: he withdrew and separated from them. In the Revelation: "Then, when they despaired of him, they conferred together privately".
Intending by what one does the Face of Allah, keeping away from any regard for other than Him; reserving the Truth in worship by intention.
In language: abandoning ostentation in worship. By definition: purifying the heart of every taint that dulls its purity and of all that may be conceived as tainting it by other than Him; when purified of its taint and freed from it, it is called "pure" (khalis), and the purified act is called ikhlas. It has been said: ikhlas is a deed that aids deliverance. It has been said: deliverance from the sight of persons. It has been said: the sifting of the deed from blame and defect. It has been said: the guarding of deeds from the witnessing of forms.
In language: abandoning ostentation.