Amal lahiriyah adalah seperti kerangka

Amal lahiriyah adalah seperti kerangka, sedangkan ruuhnya adalah adanya ikhlas di dalamnya.

Amal lahiriah diumpamakan seperti kerangka yang tidak memiliki ruh, maka tidaklah ada manfaatnya. Adapun ruh dari amal sehingga amal tersebut menjadi hidup adalah adanya sirri /tersembunyinya ikhlas di dalam amal.
Maka ikhlas itu berbeda-beda menurut berbeda-bedanya maqam dan tingkatan yang dimiliki seseorang. Apabila termasuk golongan abrar, maka keikhlasannya adalah selamatnya amal mereka dari riya’ yang tersembunyi maupun yang terang-terangan dimana semua itu adalah bagian dari tuntutan hawa nafsu. Maka hamba yang ikhlas adalah tidak beramal melainkan hanya karena Allah Ta’ala, mencari apa yang dijanjikan oleh Allah Ta’ala bagi orang – orang yang ikhlas yaitu pahala yang baik dan tempat yang baik di akhirat nanti, dan lari dari apa yang diancamkan oleh Allah Ta’ala bagi orang-orang yang tidak ikhlas dalam beramal yaitu azab yang pedih dan buruknya perhitungan/hisab. Yang demikian ini sesuai dengan firman Allah Ta’ala “Iyya-Ka na’budu” -“Kepada-Mu lah kami menyembah”. Maksudnya tidaklah sekali-kali kami menyembah selain hanya kepada-Mu, dan sekali-kali tidaklah kami menyekutukan-Mu dengan selain-Mu dalam ibadah kami. Kemudian ikhlasnya muhibbiin, muqarrabiin dan ‘arifiin, yaitu beramal karena Allah Ta’ala, karena mengagungkan dan memuliakan-Nya karena sesungguhnya Allah Ta’ala yang berhak dari yang demikian ini. Bukan karena mengharapkan pahala ataupun karena takut siksa-Nya. Oleh karena itu telah berkata Rabi’ah al’Adawiyah, “Tidaklah aku menyembah-Mu karena takut kepada neraka-Mu dan tidak pula karena menginginkan surga-Mu.”
Ikhlas yang demikian ini telah melampaui daripada memandang kepada diri sendiri dalam hal kekuatan dan kemampuan beramal. Pandangannya hanya tertuju pada Al-Haq baik dalam gerak maupun diam mereka tanpa melihat pada adanya kemampuan dan kekuatan dari diri mereka sendiri. Maka tidaklah mereka beramal melainkan biLlah (dengan pertolongan Allah Ta’ala) tidak dengan kemampuan dan kekuatan mereka. Dan yang ini lebih tinggi tingkatannya dari yang sebelumnya.
Orang yang memiliki jalan ini sesungguhnya telah berjalan pada jalan tauhid dan yakin, dan selaras dengan firman Allah Ta’ala, “Iyya-Ka nasta’iin”. “Hanya kepada-Mu lah kami meminta pertolongan”. Artinya tiada pertolongan kepada amal melainkan hanya dengan pertolongan Allah Ta’ala, tidakdengan kekuatan dan kemampuan diri sendiri.
Oleh karena itu amal yang pertama disebut dengan amal liLlah dan yang kedua amal biLlah. Amal liLlah menyebabkan pahala, sedangkan amal biLlah menyebabkan kedekatan dengan Allah Ta’ala. Amal liLlah menyebabkan benarnya ibadah, sedang amal biLlah menyebabkan bersihnya iradah . Amal liLlah merupakan sikap ahli ibadah, sedang amal biLlah adalah sikap para pendamba. Amal liLlah menegakkan dzahiriyah sedangkan amal biLlah menegakkan bathin. Inilah ibarat yang disampaikan imam Abil Qasim Al-Qusyairi RA.
Maka keikhlasan seorang hamba adalah ruh dari amalnya. Dengan adanya ruuh itu akan menjadi hiduplah amal. Dan dengan ikhlas menjadi tanda diterimanya amal serta sebaliknya dengan hilangnya ikhlas maka itu tanda kematian dan gugurnya amal sehingga jadilah amal itu seperti bangkai tak bernyawa. Telah berkata sebagian ulama, “Betulkan amalmu dengan ikhlas, dan berulkan ikhlasmu dengan melepaskan diri dari perasaan mampu dan kuat dalam beramal.
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The First ‘Aqabah Pledge

We have already spoken about six Madinese who embraced Islam in the pilgrimage season in the eleventh year of Prophethood. They promised to communicate the Message of Islam to their townsfolk.

The following year, on the occasion of the pilgrimage, there came a group of twelve disciples ready to acknowledge Muhammad as their Prophet. The group of men comprised five of the six who had met the Prophet [pbuh] the year before, the sixth who stayed away was Jabir bin ‘Abdullah bin Reyab, the other seven were:

1. Mu‘adh bin Al-Harith, Ibn ‘Afra, from Khazraj.
2. Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Al-Qais, from Khazraj.
3. ‘Ubadah bin As-Samit, from Khazraj.
4. Yazeed bin Tha‘labah, from Khazraj.
5. ‘Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Ubadah bin Nadalah, from Khazraj.
6. Abul Haitham bin At-Taihan, from Aws.
7. ‘Uwaim bin Sa‘idah, from Aws.

They avowed their faith in Muhammad [pbuh] as a Prophet and swore: "We will not worship any one but one Allah; we will not steal; neither will we commit adultery, nor kill our children; we will not utter slander, intentionally forging falsehood and we will not disobey you in any just matter." When they had taken the pledge, Muhammad [pbuh] said: "He who carries it out, Allâh will reward him; and who neglects anything and is afflicted in this world, it may prove redemption for him in the Hereafter; and if the sin remains hidden from the eyes of the men and no grief comes to him, then his affair is with Allâh. He may forgive him or He may not." [Bukhari 1/550; 2/727; 2/1003]

The Muslim Envoy in Madinah After the Pledge (in the form of an oath had been taken) the Prophet [pbuh] sent to Yathrib (Madinah) Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari [R], the first Muslim ‘ambassador’ to teach the people there the doctrines of Islam, give them practical guidance and make attempts at propagating the Islam among those who still professed polytheism. As‘ad bin Zurarah hosted him in Madinah. So prepared was the ground, and so zealous the propagation that the Islam spread rapidly from house to house and from tribe to tribe. There were various cheerful and promising aspects of success that characterized Mus‘ab’s task. One day Mus‘ab and As‘ad were on their way to the habitations of Bani ‘Abd Al-Ashhal and Bani Zafar, when they went into the premises of the latter clan. There they sat near a well conversing with some new converts. Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh and Usaid bin Hudair, chiefs of the two clans heard of this meeting, so Usaid approached the Muslims armed with his lance while the other Sa‘d excused himself on grounds that As‘ad was his maternal cousin. Usaid came closer cursing and swearing and accused the two men of befooling people weak of heart, and ordered that they stop it altogether. Mus‘ab calmly invited him to sit saying, "If you are pleased with our talk, you can accept it; should you hold it in abhorrence, you could freely immunize yourself against what you hate." "That’s fair," said Usaid, pierced his lance in the sand, listened to Mus‘ab and then heard some verses of the Noble Qur’ân. His face bespoke satisfaction and pleasure before uttering any words of approval. He asked the two men about the procedures pertinent to embracing Islam. They asked him to observe washing, purge his garment, bear witness to the Truth and then perform two Rak‘a. He responded and did exactly what he was asked to do, and then said there was a man (Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh) whose people would never hang back if he followed the Islam. He then left to see Sa‘d and his people. Sa‘d could immediately understand that Usaid had changed. To a question posed by Sa‘d, Usaid said that two men were ready to comply with whatever orders they received. He then managed a certain situation that provided the two men with a chance to talk with Sa‘d privately. The previous scene with Usaid recurred and Sa‘d embraced Islam, and directly turned to his people swearing that he would never talk with them until they had believed in Allâh, and in His Messenger. Hardly did the evening of that day arrive when all the men and women of that sept of Arabians embraced Islam with the exception of one, Al-Usairim, who hung back until the Day of Uhud. On that day he embraced Islam and fought the polytheists but was eventually killed before observing any prostration in the way of prayer. The Prophet [pbuh] commented saying: "He has done a little but his reward is great." Mus‘ab stayed in Madinah carrying out his mission diligently and successfully until all the houses of Al-Ansar (the future Helpers) had Muslims elements, men and women. One family only stood obdurate to the Islamic Da‘wah (Call). They were under the influence of the poet Qais bin Al-Aslat, who managed to hold them at bay and screen off the Call of Islam from their ears until the year 5 A.H. Shortly before the approach of the following pilgrimage season, i.e. the thirteenth year of Prophethood, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair returned to Makkah carrying to the Prophet [pbuh] glad tidings about the new fertile soil of Islam in Madinah, and its environment rich in the prospects of good, and the power and immunity that that city was bound to provide to the cause of Islam. [Ibn Hisham 1/435; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/51]