إخلاص
Ikhlāṣ
Sincerity: pure devotion to God, with firm conviction and loyalty to Him and commitment to His will.
What it means
Ikhlāṣ means purifying one’s religion and one’s deeds for God alone. The Quran commands: “They were commanded only to worship God, being sincere to Him in religion” (98:5; also 39:2). It is the inner side of worship, joined to firm belief, faithfulness to God and the resolve to do what He wills. A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim says that deeds are judged by their intentions, and scholars cite it on the place of sincerity in every act. Surah 112, which declares God’s oneness, is called Surat al-Ikhlāṣ, and the sincerity of faith is understood as the opposite of showing off (riyāʾ) and of associating partners with God.
Often misunderstood as
It is rendered “sincerity” only, though in Islam it means directing the whole intention to God, not simply being honest about one’s feelings.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 31, listed as IKHLĀṢ. The definition is restated here.