Explaining the Philosophical Components of Ikhlāṣ with Emphasis on the Views of Allameh Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi

Abstract

This study was conducted with the aim of extracting, analyzing, and systematizing the philosophical components of ikhlāṣ (sincerity and purity of intention for God) from the perspective of Allameh Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi through the use of qualitative content analysis and an inductive categorization system. The findings indicate that, within his intellectual framework, ikhlāṣ is grounded in ethical realism and can be explained across four philosophical domains. In the ontological domain, the components of “God-centeredness and the negation of polytheism,” “the existential poverty of human beings and the intrinsic ownership of the Necessary Being,” and “the annihilation of contingent will within the Divine Will” introduce ikhlāṣ as the only rational path for harmonization with the order of creation. In the epistemological domain, the components of “the inseparability of knowledge and inner purification,” “the presential unveiling of Truth,” and “ikhlāṣ as the criterion of epistemic truthfulness” reveal the dialectical relationship between cognition and sincerity. In the anthropological domain, the components of “the greater struggle against the self,” “human free will and responsibility,” and “spiritual freedom” portray ikhlāṣ as the highest manifestation of free will and the path toward liberation from servitude to anything other than God. In the domain of axiology and teleology, the components of “proximity to God as the ultimate end,” “the beatific vision of God and pure life,” and “ikhlāṣ as the condition for the acceptance of deeds” determine the ultimate purpose and absolute value of sincere action. The analysis of these components demonstrates that they constitute a coherent and hierarchical network: ontological foundations function as the groundwork, epistemological foundations as the instrument, anthropological foundations as the context of realization, and axiological foundations as the ultimate direction and end. This conceptual system relocates ikhlāṣ from the margins to the center of theorization within the philosophy of Islamic education and redefines “education” as a process of “existential becoming toward proximity to God through the cultivation of pure intention.” The educational implications of this framework may be delineated at three levels: at the foundational level, a transition toward an existential and ikhlāṣ-centered approach; at the level of objectives and principles, the designation of “the vision of God” as the supreme goal alongside principles such as the primacy of self-purification and the monotheistic orientation of motivations; and at the level of methods and evaluation, the design of practices such as intention monitoring and process-oriented assessment of sincerity. This study paves the way for the development of novel educational models whose principal aim is the cultivation of sincere and spiritually free human beings.