Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/373)

a doer of good by performing the righteous deeds that have been commanded. These two fundamentals comprise the whole of the religion: that we worship none but Allah, and that we worship Him only by what He has legislated, not by innovations.

Allah the Exalted says:

“So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and never associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.” (al-Kahf 18:110)

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him—used to pray:

“O Allah, make all of my deeds righteous, make them purely for Your Face, and do not allow anyone else to have a share in them.”

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ, commenting on the verse,

“that He may test you to see which of you is best in deeds” (al-Mulk 67:2),

said, “the most sincere and the most correct.”

They asked him, “Abū ʿAlī, what is meant by ‘most sincere and most correct’?” He replied, “If a deed is sincere but not correct, it will not be accepted; and if it is correct but not sincere, it will not be accepted—until it is both sincere and correct. Sincerity means that it is for Allah alone, and correctness means that it conforms to the Sunnah.”

These two principles constitute the realization of the two testimonies that stand at the very head of Islam: the testimony

(1) The printed edition inserts: al‐mashruʿ (that which is legally prescribed). (2) In manuscript A the reading is: al-maʾmun bihi (that in which one is secure). (3) In manuscript B: an la yaʿbudu (that they not worship). (4) Qur’an, Surah al-Kahf, verse 110. (5) The phrase “in his supplication” is missing from manuscript A. (6) In manuscript B: fiha (therein). (7) I have not been able to find it. (8) Qur’an, Surah al-Mulk, from verse 2. (9) In manuscripts D and B: fa-l-khalis (the pure). (10) Reported by Abu Nuʿaym in Hilyat al-awliyaʾ, 8:95, with his isnad from Ibrahim ibn al-Ashʿath, who heard al-Fudayl say this.

محسن بالعمل الصالح (١) المأمور به (٢) وهذان الأصلان جماع الدين: أن لا نعبد (٣) إلا الله، وأن نعبده بما شرع، لا نعبده بالبدع. وقال تعالى: {فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوا لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا} [الكهف: ١١٠] (٤) . وكان عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه يقول في دعائه (٥) " اللهم اجعل عملي كله صالحا، واجعله لوجهك خالصا، ولا تجعل لأحد فيه (٦) شيئا " (٧) . وقال الفضيل بن عياض في قوله تعالى: {لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا} [الملك: ٢] (٨) . قال: " أخلصه وأصوبه " . قالوا: يا أبا علي، ما أخلصه وأصوبه؟ قال: " إن العمل إذا كان خالصا ولم يكن صوابا لم يقبل، وإذا كان صوابا ولم يكن خالصا لم يقبل، حتى يكون خالصا صوابا، والخالص (٩) أن يكون لله، والصواب: أن يكون على السنة " (١٠) . وهذان الأصلان هما تحقيق الشهادتين اللتين هما رأس الإسلام: شهادة

(١) في المطبوعة زاد: المشروع. (٢) في (أ) : المأمون به. (٣) في (ب) : أن لا يعبدوا. (٤) سورة الكهف: الآية ١١٠. (٥) في دعائه: ساقطة من (أ) . (٦) في (ب) : فيها. (٧) لم أجده. (٨) سورة الملك: من الآية ٢. (٩) في (د ب) : فالخالص. (١٠) ذكره أبو نعيم في الحلية بسنده عن إبراهيم بن الأشعث أنه سمع الفضيل يقول ذلك (٨ / ٩٥) .