بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم

This ayah specifically refers to the People of the Book as is understood from the context of the verse. But it can be used by us to derive some important points.

Points of Benefit:

1)We learn from this ayah that the first and foremost thing Allah سبحانه و تعالى commanded His slaves was sincerity in worshiping Him.

2)The first part of the ayah is similar to the third ayah in Surat ul-Baqarah,

In the first verse, Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that He did not command the people anything except to worship Him sincerely. And in the second one, Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes the people of Taqwa with the same characteristics in the very same order. Because having the correct belief in the Unseen is devoting worship to Allah alone. It is as if Allah سبحانه و تعالى commanded the people to become Muttaqin.

3) We also learn that sincerity is the first of the worship and it is a prerequisite for doing other acts of worship. This verse is also similar to the last verse in Surat ul-Kahf:

The ayah mentioned on the top contains the righteous acts and also contains the command to not commit shirk.

4)The root word of hunafaa’ is haa’-noon-faa’ which linguistically means an inclination towards right religion. A haneef is the one who is inclined towards God and inclined away from [false deities] so considered upright.[2] In tafsir, this word has been given six meanings:

a)Followers (of the true religion)

b)The steadfast people said Muhammad Ibnu Ka’b رحمه الله

c)Sincere people said Khusif رحمه الله

d)The Muslims said adh-Dhahhaak رحمه الله

e)The Hujjaaj (i.e. the ones who have performed al-Hajj) said Ibnu ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهم And al-‘Atiyah al-‘Awfi رحمه الله said, “If al-Hanif and al-Muslim are used together, then al-Hanif means the one who has performed al-Hajj. But if al-Hanif is singled out then its meaning is al-Muslim.” And Sa’id Ibnu Jubayr رحمه الله said, “The Arabs would not name al-Hanif to except the one who did al-Hajj and was circumcised.”

f)They are the believers in all the Messengers said Abu Qulaabah رحمه الله3]

5)In the end, we also understand that for a religion to be correct, it needs to have these characteristics: a) Commandment of abstinence from polytheism b) Commandment of establishment of as-Salaah c) Commandment of giving Zakaah or charity.

And indeed Allah سبحانه و تعالى knows best

[1] Surat ul-Bayyinah:5

[2] HdO Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage

[3] An-Nakat wal-‘Uyun by al-Imam al-Mawardi

BismiLlah arRahman ar-Rahim,

Makhul rahimahuLlah said, “A slave doesn’t become completely sincere for forty (days) except that springs of wisdom are apparent from his heart and tongue.” [Bustan al-'Arifin of al-Imam an-Nawawi rahimauLlah ]

BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim,

‘Ataa’ bin as-Saa’ib said, “It reached to me that’Ali bin Abi Taalib said, ‘A righteous is deed is that which you do not want praise by anyone except Allaah.” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/3 by al-Haafidh Ibn Abid-Dunya]

‘Ali bin Abi Taalib said, “Whoever’s outward (actions) outweigh the inward (actions), his balance will be light on Day of Standing. And whoever’s inward (actions) outweigh the outward (actions), his balance will be heavy on Day of Standing. [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/21]

On the authority of Al-Awzaa’i from Bilaal bin Sa’d who said, “Don’t be the wali of Allaah in public and His enemy in private.” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/24]

On the authority of Al-Awzaa’i , “I heard Bilaal bin Sa’d saying, ‘Don’t be the two-faced and two-tongued. Showing the people so that they may praise you and your heart is faajir (open sinner).’” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/26]

On the authority of ar-Rabi’ who said, “al-Hasan admonished us one day when a man will lament and al-Hasan said, ‘You will indeed be asked by Allaah on the Day of Standing, “what did you intend with this(action)?”’” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/27]

On the authority of Ibrahim bin al-Ash‘ath from Fudhayl bin ‘Iyaadh who said, “I heard, ‘Best of actions that are done in total concealment, most warded off from the shaytaan and farthest away from ar-Riyaa’.’” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/28]

On the authority of Rakb al-Masri who said, “The Messenger of Allaah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam said, ‘Tuba (tree in Jannah or glad tidings) for the one who purified his earnings, made sound his privacy, dignified his overtness, and isolated from the people his evil.’” [Al-Ikhlaas wan-Niyyah 1/29]