Draft:Verse of Ikhlas
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of Ikhlas |
| Sura | Sura al-Bayyina |
| Verse | 5 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Topic | Theological • Ethical • Jurisprudential |
| About | Tawhid • Ikhlas • Worship |
The Verse of Ikhlāṣ (Arabic: آيَة الْإِخْلَاص) is the fifth verse of Sura al-Bayyina, which considers Ikhlas (sincerity) in prayer, Zakat, and other acts of worship as divine commands. According to Nasir Makarim Shirazi, the Verse of Ikhlas shows that all divine commands originate from the truth of Tawhid and sincerity. Based on a narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), "sincerity" in this verse refers to faith in God, the Prophet (s), and the Imams (a); "prayer" and "zakat" refer to Imam Ali (a), and "the upright religion" (dīn al-qayyima) refers to Lady Fatima (a).
This verse is counted among the Ayat al-Ahkam and indicates the obligation of sincerity in obeying worship commands. Also, if a person's intention is not pure and solely for God, but mixed with something else like Riya, their worship will be void.
Introduction, Text, and Translation
Translation: Yet they were not commanded except to worship Allah, dedicating their faith to Him as men of pure faith, and to maintain the prayer and pay the zakat. That is the upright religion. (Sura al-Bayyina, Verse 5)
Content
Based on the Verse of Ikhlas, sincerity in prayer, Zakat, and other acts of worship is considered necessary. According to Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a Quranic commentator, there are two possibilities regarding the meaning of the phrase "wa mā umirū..." (Yet they were not commanded...):
- It refers to the stability and certainty of the issue of Tawhid, prayer, and zakat in the religion of the People of the Book, and that they did not remain faithful even to these commands.
- Considering the well-known nature of pure Tawhid, prayer, zakat, and the like in Islam, why do you not accept it?!
In Makarim Shirazi's view, the second meaning is preferable; because this meaning is more appropriate with the previous verse which spoke of their difference in accepting the new religion. Furthermore, the second meaning is more general and includes everyone, whereas the first meaning is only true about the People of the Book and does not include the polytheists.[1]
It is said that the Verse of Ikhlas shows that all divine commands originate from the truth of Tawhid and sincerity; because religion has a broad concept that covers beliefs and actions, inward and outward, and the pronoun in "mā umirū" (they were not commanded) refers back to all followers of divine religions.[2]
Imam al-Baqir's Interpretation
Based on a narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), "sincerity" in verse 5 of Sura al-Bayyina refers to faith in God, the Prophet (s), and the Imams (a). Prayer and Zakat refer to Imam Ali (a), and "That is the upright religion" refers to Lady Fatima (a).[3]
Jurisprudential Application
The Verse of Ikhlas has been counted among the Ayat al-Ahkam.[4] From this verse, the condition of sincerity in prayer and every other act of worship has been inferred.[5] According to Shaykh al-Anṣārī and the author of Jawāhir, this verse indicates the obligation of sincerity in acts of worship.[6]
Muhammad Yazdi in the book Fiqh al-Qurʾān believes that this verse clearly indicates the obligation of sincerity in obeying worship commands. It also shows that a person's motivation must be obedience to God, and if their intention is not pure and is mixed with something else like Riya, their worship will be void and the obligation will not be discharged; because they have not performed their duty.[7]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 27, pp. 203-204.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Akhlāq dar Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 270.
- ↑ Astarābādī, Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira, p. 800.
- ↑ Fāḍil al-Miqdād, Kanz al-ʿirfān, vol. 1, p. 32; Muqaddas Ardabilī, Zubdat al-bayān, p. 28; Astarābādī, Āyāt al-aḥkām, vol. 1, p. 54.
- ↑ Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, pp. 100-101.
- ↑ Anṣārī, Kitāb al-ṭahāra, vol. 2, p. 9; Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, vol. 2, p. 88.
- ↑ Yazdī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, vol. 1, p. 67.
References
- Anṣārī, Murtaḍā al-. Kitāb al-ṭahāra. Qom, Majmaʿ al-Fikr al-Islāmī, 1385 Sh.
- Astarābādī, ʿAlī. Taʾwīl al-āyāt al-ẓāhira. Edited by Ḥusayn Ustādwalī. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1409 AH.
- Astarābādī, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Āyāt al-aḥkām. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Sharīfzāda. Tehran, Nashr-i Miʿrājī, n.d.
- Fāḍil al-Miqdād, Miqdād b. ʿAbd Allāh al-. Kanz al-ʿirfān fī fiqh al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Sharīfzāda and Muḥammad Bāqir Bihbūdī. Tehran, Nashr-i Murtaḍawī, n.d.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Akhlāq dar Qurʾān. Qom, Madrasa-yi Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), 1377 Sh.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Muʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī. Farhang-i fiqh-i Fārsī. Supervised by Sayyid Maḥmūd Hāshimī Shāhrūdī. Tehran, Muʾassisa-yi Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Fiqh-i Islāmī, 1385 Sh.
- Muqaddas Ardabilī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-. Zubdat al-bayān fī aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Bihbūdī. Tehran, Maktabat al-Murtaḍawiyya, n.d.
- Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1981.
- Rāwandī, Quṭb al-Dīn Saʿīd b. Hibat Allāh al-. Fiqh al-Qurʾān. Qom, Intishārāt-i Kitābkhāna-yi Āyatullāh Marʿashī Najafī, 1405 AH.
- Yazdī, Muḥammad. Fiqh al-Qurʾān. Qom, Intishārāt-i Ismāʿīlīyān, 1415 AH.