IHSAN : The meaning

 

"It is to worship God as though you see Him, and while you see Him not truly He sees you"

(Saying of the Prophet, pbuh)

 

The meaning of Ihsan is to do things in the best of ways, to perfect all acts of worship and to perform them as we were commanded to do so, whilst observing the rights of God within them. It is to be vigilant with an awareness that God is watching you. It is to have the presence of His greatness and Majesty in your heart, and in doing so to have a present heart.

 

Ihsan is thus a means through which, in worshipping your Lord as if you see Him, the servant is able to perfect his worship. For if you were to see you Lord before you, your performance would be to the best of your ability, with much greater care and attention being given to both your inward and your outward actions, attempting to perform them in the best of ways. As for the statement, 'if you can't see Him, then know that He sees you'. What is indicated here is that although a servant cannot see his Lord either way God, Most High, can see Him and "He is," as the Prophet (pbuh) has said, "in truth present in the qiblah of everyone of you."

 

The state of separation in which we live is due to the veils which hide Him from our sight; but even in apparent separation we are never alone or unobserved; He sees not only our every action but our every thought; He is al-Khabir, the Totally Aware, from whose all-embracing consciousness nothing is hidden.

 

Thus ihsan should not stop at Prayer or other ritual acts or of worship, it implies seeking perfection and striving for excellence in everything you do, allowing it to permeate your every action. It implies therefore, being always conscious of your responsibilities before God and striving hard with all resources to fulfil these obligations. It is the epitome of sincerity. For to worship God as if you saw Him is to worship Him sincerely. Thus if ihsan, 'perfection', which can also mean beauty of the soul or heart, permeates the inward, it will necessarily emanate outwards, transforming every human activity into the remembrance of God. One who acts in this fashion is described as a muhsin.

 

Allah has required ihsan from all his servants and in everything they do, as has been related by the Prophet (pbuh) "Allah has written ihsan in everything..." So in this hadith there is an indication as to what purifies the acts of worship and draws you closer to Allah:

 

"Verily Allah loves the Muhsineen" <Quran >

 

"Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him, and those who are Muhsinun (those who have ihsan)"  <Quran An-Nahl 16:128>

 

So if the believer does not fall short in the first, to worship your Lord as if you see Him, he should not fall short in the second as in reality both are the same.

 

"In whatever activity you may be, and whichever part of Quran you recite, and whatever deed you do [O Mankind], We are witness over you when you are deeply engrossed therein. Not an atom's weight in the earth or in the heaven escapes your Lord, nor is there anything smaller or greater, but that it is [written] in a clear Book.  <Quran Yunus 10:61>

 

 

THE HADITH OF GABRIEL

 

The hadith of the archangel Gabriel is of great importance because it encompasses the foundations of Islam, Iman and Ihsan. Its status in Prophetic tradition (sunnah) is the status of al-Fatiha (the chapter called 'The Opener') from the remaining of the Quran. This is why it is called the mother of all sunnah just as the Fatiha is called the mother of all Quran. [To learn more about the significance of the Fatiha in Prayer click here.]

 

In the hadith of the Gabriel (Gibreel), related by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, a companion of the Prophet (pbuh) and the second Caliph in Islam, the basic aspects of the way of Muhammad (pbuh) are laid out.

 

One day while we were sitting with the messenger of Allah there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down by the prophet. Resting his knees against his and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said:"O Muhammad, tell me about Islam". The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said: "You have spoken rightly", and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly. He said: "Then tell me about Iman."He said:"It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof." He said: "You have spoken rightly". He said: " Then tell me about Ihsan." He said: "It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you". He said: "Then tell me about the Hour". He said: "The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner." He said: "Then tell me about its signs." He said: "That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted, naked, destitute herdsman competing in constructing lofty buildings." Then he took himself off and I stayed for a time. Then he said: "O Umar, do you know who the questioner was?" I said: "Allah and His messenger know best". He said: "He was Gibreel (Gabriel), who came to you to teach you your religion." (Narrated by Muslim)

 

In this hadith, the basic foundations have been laid out. Islam is to observe the five pillars of Islam, which are the affirmation of the Oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad, as well as the institutions of prayer, zakat, fasting and pilgrimage. Iman, or faith, requires belief in God, His angels, books, messengers, the divine destiny of good and evil, and the Day of Judgement. And Ihsan, or spiritual excellence, is to worship God as though you see Him, knowing that He sees you.

 

THE INWARD STRUGGLE

 

"We shall surely test you with fear and hunger, and loss of property and lives and crops, but give glad tidings to those who have fortitude" <Quran, The Cow 2:155>

 

When striving in the way of God a believer will encounter many obstacles that seek to dissuade him from his chosen path. There shall be elements in his faith which are in complete harmony with his understanding of the world, and others, which are not. These more disagreeable elements can be a source of perplexion and leave him frustrated at his inability to solve them. It is in times like these when a person's Iman (faith) is tried, and he should seek solace in God with the comfort that He alone is the All-Knowing, the All-Aware.

 

Similarly, a believer's reflections may lead him into some of the deep mysteries of tawhid, its unseen secrets, and its hidden realities. He may observe how the scholars differ in the interpretation of the verses and Hadiths relating to the Attributes of God, and he may then halt before them baffled and bewildered, unable to remove the veils and solve these enigmas. At this point, as a number of gnostics have said, he should retreat, and seek refuge in his Lord, and consider Him alone to be possessed of knowledge of these things, as was the way of our righteous predecessors. He must reflect on on how he had needed his Lord's creative ability to make and fashion his human form, and that he must therefore need His grace and illumination to guide his essential nature. He must not ground his faith in the conclusions of human thinking, but must rather flee from his confusion to God and His Messenger, and entreat his Lord to bestow His assistance (madad) upon him, which will do away with his need for any other. He must say, "O Lord, I seek refuge in You, lest my faith in You and what You have revealed be the product of thinking that is tarnished by the attributes of the ego, or a mind that is mixed with the muddiness of human fallibility. Let it rather be from Your Manifest Light, Your most exalted assistance, the Light of Your Prophet, the Chosen One, and his blessings (barakat)" Thus will you find peace and cool tranquillity. This is the way which the rightly-guided man will follow in his time of need, whenever his thoughts are in turmoil and conflict.

 

And just as in time meanings are unveiled, so it is that as your spiritual state progresses similarly your surroundings are understood in a new light. It has been said, that as the human is made up of both the spirit and the body. The spirit being of the angelic realm and the body being made from clay, earth (dunya), so it is that as ones obedience to his Lord increases, his actions are more like those of the angels, his yearning for the afterlife increases and similarly his perception and understanding of aspects pertaining to the angelic realm increase. And just as one indulges more in acquiring this world such that all his actions and energies are performed accordingly he will be veiled from aspects of the spiritual world and will be far less adept to it. When his obedience to his Lord increases and thus his efforts and, in a sense, his training, are all focused on the afterlife and the pleasure of his Lord, then similarly his understanding will increase. For just as the master musician attains his mastery through years of practice and dedication with the tools he has been given, his perception of music will be quite different from one who has only just taken up the instrument or likewise one who prefers to only listen to the performance but not partake in it.

Allah has said in a Hadith Qudsi (Divinely inspired saying of the Prophet, pbuh): "..And the most beloved thing with which My slave draws nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (voluntary prayers or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, (so much so that) I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me something I will surely give him, and if he seeks My protection, I will surely protect him." [Al-Bukhari]