Meaning and Scope of Ikhlās in the Qur an

Monotheism and ikhlās (literally sincerity) have always topped the divine agenda followed by the holy prophets. According to the Holy Qur’an, humans and genies were solely created to worship God sincerely. Not only “sincerity”, but also words and phrases such as “desiring His goodwill”, “who submits himself entirely to Allah”, “if they were sincere to Allah”, “who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah”, “only seeking the countenance of Allah”, “pure”, “devote yourself to Him” all prove this claim. While some scholars denounce worship for the sake of entering paradise or avoiding hell against sincerity, it is hypocrisy and worship for the sake of winning worldly gains which is against sincerity. Therefore, sincerity varies according to the knowledge of the worshipper and has, thus, different stages. This article addresses sincerity in belief, worship, zakāt, khoms, hajj, umrah, jihād, infāq, it’ām, bai’at, hijrat, witnessing, alms-giving, and so on. Allah the Almighty refers to prophets as mukhlīs (literally sincere) servants who asked nothing for their mission.