Mukhlisin = those who observe Ikhlas.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
 السلام عليكم

Mukhlisin = those who observe Ikhlas.

Ikhlas means to purify the heart from any action not done for the sake of Allah. It also means the removal of impurity, like the action of sieving flour when you want to bake a cake. In arabic, that sieving action is called ‘takhlis’ and the product will be flour purified from any dirt or stuffs that will spoil the cake.

There are 3 types of impurity that we must avoid to become a mukhlisin:

1. To observe/be aware of our own work.

For example, when we excel in our exams, we feel like we made it through because we are the ones with the clever brain, without attributing the success to Allah. And they will say, “Praise to Allah , who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us”

(Al-A’raf: 43)

2. To feel that you are worthy of your work. You expect praises and rewards for your action

“Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments – We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived.vThose are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do.”

(Hud: 15-16)

3. To be pleased with your work and your own nafs.

 A mukhlisin will always be conscious of his action and will always have fear that Allah will not accept their deeds. This is stated in the Quran, surah al-Mukminun: 60 - “And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord “

There are 11 fruits from observing ikhlas:

1. We will get the pleasure of Allah and our actions will be accepted

2. Allah will put the love of people towards you

3. Allah saves us from the hardship in this world. For example, the story of 3 people who were stuck in a cave. (This story can be read here)

4. We will get the reward even if we did a mistake unintentionally in the action.

5. We will still get the reward even if someone/something stops you from an action that you regularly do. For example, you fell ill and cannot perform the dhuha prayers that you would sincerely do everyday, but Allah the Most Gracious will still reward you, subhanAllah!

6. If you are sincere, you will be very strong

7. We will be rewarded for a habitual action, e.g. eating, having a shower, sleeping; all of this will be rewarded if it is done sincerely for Allah!

8. We will be rewarded even if you only intended to do an action, without even doing the action

9. You will get endless rewards

10. Ikhlas is the scale of the work. You may do a small work, but because you are sincere, Allah will give you a big reward. Similarly, if you do a big work but you are not sincere, then Allah will give you a small reward (or,nauzubillah, no reward at all!!)

11. We will get barakah in everything that we do.

That is all that I managed to jot down. I know it’s not easy for all of us to observe ikhlas, but let’s strive for the best! And always remind ourselves to always have good intentions in everything that we do! May Allah reward us in everything that we do, even the most teeny tiny actions that we do, insyaAllah!

On the authority of Omar bin Al-Khattab, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah salla Allah u alihi wa sallam say :

“Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated.”

related by Bukhari and Muslim