IMPORTANCE OF IKHLÂS

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says in the 40th letter of the first volume of his Maktûbât:

This letter, written to Muhammad Chetrî again, states the importance of ikhlâs:

Praise and gratitude be to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Invocations and salâm be on His Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’. My son! After passing beyond the grades of jadhba and sulûk, it has become clear that the purpose in jadhba and sulûk, that is, the purpose of progress along a path of Tasawwuf is to attain the grade of ikhlâs. To reach the grade of ikhlâs, it is necessary to free oneself from worshipping the idols inside and outside of man. Ikhlâs is one of the three parts of Islam. Islam has three parts: ’Ilm (knowledge), ’amal (worship) and ikhlâs (doing everything for Allah’s sake). As is seen, tarîqat and haqîqat are useful in obtaining ikhlâs, the third part of Islam, that is, they are Islam’s assistants. This is the truth. Unfortunately, not everybody can understand this. Others deceive themselves by being content with dreams and fancies. Like children, they waste their time with walnuts. What could such people ever know of the superiority and subtlety of Islam? How could they ever know what tarîqat and haqîqat are? Thinking of Islam as a mere cover, like the shell of a walnut, they say that the walnut’s kernel is the tarîqat and haqîqat. Being unable to see the essence of the matter, they treat themselves with what they have learned and memorized in the name of love and dhawq. They ardently desire to attain hâls and grades. They think of these things as something. May Allâhu ta’âlâ bless them with seeing the right way. May He give safety to us, to you and to all His devoted slaves! Âmîn.