Ikhlas al-Niyyah fil-Kasb
Definition
Ikhlas al-niyyah fil-kasb is the teaching that even worldly work — earning a livelihood — can be an act of worship when performed with sincere intention. Al-Ghazali presents this as a crucial teaching for those who might misunderstand zuhd as requiring complete withdrawal from economic life. The person who earns in order to be independent of others (so as not to beg), to support their family, to give in charity, or to free their time for worship and knowledge — this person is earning with sincere intention, and their work is worship. The intention transforms the act. Zuhd is not about what one does in the world but why — and the why is visible only to God.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
Appears in
1 book in the library
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