Kalimat al-Ikhlas wa

Kalimat al-Ikhlas wa-Tahqiq Ma'naha (The Word of Sincerity and the Verification of Its Meaning) is a theological epistle by the Hanbali scholar Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH / 1335–1393 CE) expounding the Islamic testimony of faith and the theological prerequisites for salvation Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…+1.

Title and Composition

The treatise appears in manuscripts and editions under multiple titles, including Tahqiq Kalimat al-Ikhlas, al-Tawhid, al-Tawhid aw Tahqiq Kalimat al-Ikhlas, and occasionally Sharh Hadith Mu'adh due to its opening narration Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+1. Some biographers mistakenly listed al-Tawhid and Kalimat al-Ikhlas as two separate works, though they represent the same text Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali wa A….

Unlike most formal treatises, the work begins immediately with hadith citations without an introductory authorial preface setting forth its outline Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…+1. Consequently, commentators have suggested that the text originated as a dictated educational lecture or an admonitory assembly transcribed by students, from which later copyists derived its descriptive titles Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l….

Contents and Themes

The epistle takes as its starting point the narration of Mu'adh ibn Jabal found in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, in which the Prophet states: ما من عبد يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا عبده ورسوله إلا حرمه الله على النار ("No servant testifies that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger except that Allah forbids the Fire from him") Kalimat al-Ikhlas wa Tahq…+1. Ibn Rajab seeks to clarify the meaning of this testimony (la ilaha illa Allah) because its significance was misunderstood by individuals who assumed that verbal proclamation alone guarantees Paradise without fulfilling its required duties Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…+1.

The treatise engages several primary themes:

• Linguistic and Theological Meaning of the Deity: Ibn Rajab defines an ilah as the being who is obeyed and not disobeyed out of veneration, awe, love, fear, hope, and reliance, all of which belong exclusively to Allah Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…. Associating created beings with any of these divine prerogatives constitutes a branch of polytheism (shirk) and compromises the sincerity of the monotheistic proclamation Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+1.
• Reconciliation of Texts and Critique of Irja': The work challenges the doctrines of the Murji'ah, who reduced faith to inward belief or verbal utterance alone Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…. Ibn Rajab demonstrates that unconditional promises of entering Paradise or safety from the Fire in certain hadiths are qualified by other texts that stipulate sincerity (ikhlas), conviction (yaqin), and adherence Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab.
• Sins and Inward Deficiencies: The author details how sins stem from obeying desires, following Satan, or fearing and relying on created beings Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+1. Citing verses such as أفرأيت من اتخذ إلهه هواه ("Have you seen him who takes his own desire as his god?") Sabil al-Muhtadin ila Sha…, he argues that true monotheism purges the heart of obedience to personal passions and hypocritical ostentation (riya'), establishing that outward actions and inward states are inextricably linked Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+1.
• Virtues and Intercession: The work concludes by presenting the virtues of the formula of monotheism and emphasizing that genuine monotheists will not remain eternally in Hellfire even if punished for their sins Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab.

Manuscripts, Editions, and Commentaries

The treatise survives in multiple manuscript libraries, including the Fatih collection in Istanbul (MS 5318), the Gotha collection in Germany (MS 702), the Public Awqaf Library in Baghdad, and collections at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University and King Saud University in Riyadh Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+1.

The work was first published in Cairo in 1950 CE under the title Tahqiq Kalimat al-Ikhlas, edited and annotated by Mahmud Khalifa and Ahmad al-Sharabasi Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l…. It was subsequently printed by al-Maktab al-Islami under the editorship of Zuhayr al-Shawish, and later saw editions prepared by Imad Taha Furra, Abu Ishaq al-Samannudi, and Sabri Salama Shahin, as well as inclusion in the compiled collection Majmu' Rasa'il Ibn Rajab Majmu Rasail Ibn Rajab+3.

The epistle has also been the subject of modern academic and educational commentaries, such as that by Abd al-Rahman ibn Nasir al-Barrak, delivered as a lecture series in Riyadh in 1422 AH and published with explanatory notes on its creedal and spiritual themes Sharh Kalimat al-Ikhlas l….