Inner Voice

Purity of Intentions

“Thee alone we worship and of Thee only we seek help”. (Qur’an, 1:5)

All creatures, from the highest order to the lowest one, are alike in their subservience to Allah’s will, and in their dependence upon His Help. When a Muslim declares that he will worship his Creator only, he makes the great commitment to remain faithful to him not only in words and deeds but in thoughts also.

There is no danger of any Muslim falling into the pitfall of polytheism. But there are some impurities of thoughts which are called ‘hidden polytheism’ against which he must vigilantly guard himself. When a man worships the only God, but at the same time likes the people to know that he is worshipping God; when he wishes his fellows to appreciate how pious he is, then he is committing the sin of hidden polytheism. Such a worship, such a pretty, such a generosity is called polytheism, because the worshipper’s intention is not pure, he wants to please two masters with one act of worship; God and ‘the people’.

In Islam, purity of intention (Ikhlas) is the first and basic requirement of every act of worship and every good deed.

The Holy Prophet of Islam said: “Verily, the deeds are by intentions” It means that the value of good deed depends upon the intention with which it was done. If it is purely for God, it is priceless; if it is to show the world, it is worthless.

Not only the prayers, but the social service also should be based upon the love of God. While helping our less fortunate brethren, we must remember that we are passing on the property of God to the dependents of God. It should be done without any shade of worldly motivate. A help given with a motive of gaining worldly advantage is a body without soul. A charity done with a secret desire to enhance one’s social standing destroys the fiber of that charity.

Have faith in Allah; and do every good work for love of Allah’. That is the basic reaching of Islam.