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Ihsaan

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said:

Translation: Indeed, Allah prescribed ihsaan in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters. [Saheeh Muslim]

In this crucial hadith, the Messenger of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) explained to us this concept of ihsaan. What is ihsaan?

Ihsaan is often translated as "excellence." Ihsaan means to do things with excellence--properly, at the highest level. And we can see this in the example the Prophet (سبحانه وتعالى) gave us--if you're performing zahiba, slaughtering a sheep for food, then sharpen the knife! Scholars mention that doing so will make the cut cleaner and less painful for the animal.

And that's the crux of Ihsaan--that you do things properly, and at the highest level of excellence.

And ihsaan is really a way of thinking, a state of being--not something you do now and then; you should strive to do ihsaan in everything you do, thus becoming one of the Muhsineen.

One striking contemporary example of ihsaan that comes to mind is job interviews--if you've ever seen someone who was serious about a job prepare for the interview, you'll know ihsaan--a man migt take an hour to prepare--dress properly, iron his shirt and suit, tie his tie properly, straighten it, even apply polish to his shoes! He'll set his alarm early--even though he doesn't wake up early for Fajr--wake up, eat properly; he might spend hours researching mock interview questions and preparing, making sure he's ready for anything.

And that's ihsaan. When the interview comes, he sails through, smooth and smiling and confident.
And if Allah has willed it, he gets the job.

That's ihsaan.

And Allah says:

Translation: Is there any reward for ihsaan other than ihsaan? [Surah Ar-Rahmaan, verse 60]

With that in mind, what are some examples of ihsaan that we can apply on a daily basis in our lives?

And remember--intentions! If you're doing ihsaan to show off, or for some haraam dunya purpose--like to net a girlfriend--you're wasting your time. The reward with Allah is better and longer-lasting then any fleeting desire you might have right now.

• Cleaning Your Room: don't just clean half of it, or hide everything under the bed and cram it into yours shelves--take the time to put everything into the proper place. Fold your clothes properly and stack them up neatly. Arrange papers into folders. Throw out anything you don't need.
• Be an A+ Student: Study hard, make good notes, and aim to get 110% on the exams. Help out those who need some extra help. Don't bum around, skip class, and aim to just pass your tests and exams. (One side note--you'll find your teachers will like you more--because good teachers need good students.)
• Ihsaanified Blogging: think through your blog. What are you hoping to accomplish through it? Have a strong purpose and vision in mind, a need to fill--yours or others. Pick a pleasing design, and tweak it to your writing. Write regularly--whether daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever your schedule. Review and edit posts for spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistencies, etc.
• Become an Exemplary Employee: When you get assigned work, don't waste time--jump into it, and get it done. Make sure you do whatever you have to do well. Double check it--if you wrote code, test it. If you tabulated numbers, verify them. If it's a contract you've written, re-read it. If you designed something, re-evaluate it. Then submit it.

Insha'Allah if you have any great examples of ihsaan specific to some task or person, post it in the comments insha'Allah.

May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to understand and implement this amazing virtue of ihsaan into all aspects of our lives, and allow us to reap the rewards of it in the Akhira, ameen!

• Execute Ideas Without Perfection
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4 Comments »

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1. Jazakallahu Khair bro… perfect timing ;)

   Comment by True Virtues — May 17, 2008 #

2. […] READ MORE […]

   Pingback by THEME No. 2: Ihsan [May 17th] « Tarbiyah Youth Center — May 18, 2008 #

3. Assalamu Alaikum,
   Nice article, its true, whatever we do, we have to do it well, otherwise the task becomes meaningless.
   *Strive for excellence*

   Comment by Simply Muslim — May 19, 2008 #

4. wow mashaAllah barak Allahu feekum. I myself need constant reminders that Ihsaan is not a one time thing, or just for islamic activities but it’s for ALL aspects of life.

   Just from an Arabic perspective, the word Ihsaan is so comprehensive. Ihsaan is from ha seen noon or husn and literally means beauty or to make beautiful. So when one does ihsaan, they beautify their deeds–like the job interview example. They go “all out” and make sure every little detail is done properly. They do not do the least amount of good to get the job done, rather do *utmost* good–the greatest possible good they are capable of doing. They do NOT fall short in this. (subhanAllah, imagine our Ummah if we properly embodied the concept of Ihsaan! may Allah ta’ala make us among al-Muhsinoon, Ameen)

   Ihsaan with people (like parents!) has three basic components: 1) to do utmost good in general 2) if someone you returns evil/anger to you, still do good to them showing no signs of irritation 3) to do more than just good, to strive to do the most good you are able of.

   Jazakum Allahu khayran for the awesome post.

   Comment by AmatulWadood — May 24, 2008 #

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