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Ihsan
is one of those words that can’t be translated into just one English
word, but has a rather broad and deep meaning. We read in the Qur’an
that [Allah loves al-muhsinin (those who do
good)] (Aal
`Imran 3:148). A muhsin is one who is generous, one who does good
actions, and ihsan is goodness itself. Ihsan also means to
perfect, to excel, or to show proficiency and excellence. Therefore it
could be considered that the Arabic word ihsan has a dual
meaning, goodness and excellence. We Muslims need to strive to achieve
excellence, proficiency, and perfection in all good actions we make.
A
civilization can’t rise if people don’t try their best to achieve
the best results in whatever they are doing. If you are a student you
should not focus your efforts on barely passing your exams. No. You
should be aspiring to actually increase your knowledge throughout the
academic year and at the end prove that you have learned by achieving
the best results you can. If you are a teacher, you shouldn’t just
stand in front of the class and deliver a lesson. No. You should try
your very best to have a positive impact on your students, to add
something to their knowledge. The same thing applies if you work in a
factory or produce any type of product. Don’t just make something that
looks good on the outside but will function for only half of its
intended life.
This
may seem like general behavior that everyone should apply regardless of
his or her belief; but aside from that, it’s a fundamental Islamic
behavior. It is reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings
be upon him) said, “Verily, Allah loves that when anyone of you
does a job he should perfect it.” Unfortunately, some Muslims have
forgotten this concept and abandoned it. On the other hand, the West
realized the importance of quality and perfection, and by applying them,
its civilization grew and became more powerful. This is a divine law and
applies to Muslims and non-Muslims alike: If you perfect what you do,
you improve your condition and the condition of your surroundings. It
applies to all people regardless of their belief, the same way the law
of gravity applies to us all.
A
study was made to estimate the number of hours worked by employees each
day in different countries all over the world; not the number of hours
they spend in their workplace, but the net hours spent actually working
(i.e., after subtracting lunch breaks, going to the bathroom, chatting,
etc.). While some Western countries and Japan reached high numbers like
8 hours, some Muslim countries reached as low as 12 or 5 minutes! Five
minutes of pure work! Can you believe that? And we want Allah to give us
victory! How can you expect Allah to give the Muslims victory and let
them lead the world if some Muslim countries work for less than an hour
a day? We are not applying the divine rule and therefore our situation
will stay as it is. We need more ihsan in our lives, with both of
its meanings: goodness and perfection. [Allah commands
justice, ihsan, and liberality to kith and kin] (An-Nahl
16:90).
Maintaining
ihsan is something Allah Almighty commands us to do; why is it,
then, that sometimes we Muslims are the laziest or the sloppiest? Of
course not all Muslims are like that, but it seems to be the current
theme in our Ummah. Some countries are famous for certain products
because they perfect them and have the highest quality. For example you
have Japanese electronics, Italian shoes, and Swiss watches, army
knives, and cheese. What about Muslim countries; how many products have
we perfected to the extent that a customer buys them while confident
that they’re the best in the market? Advancing and achieving such a
reputation isn’t a “modern world” concept: It is Islamic, it is in
our religion.
Someone
once told me, “Thank God the non-Muslims in the West are so advanced
and are discovering all these new things every day so we can benefit
from them directly without effort, and thus we have more time to worship
Allah!” At first I thought he was joking but unfortunately he
wasn’t. He forgot that working is a form of worshiping Allah if the
intentions are correct. Didn’t Allah instruct his Prophet in the
Qur’an:
[And
say: “Work! For Allah will observe your work, and His Messenger,
and the Believers. Soon will you be brought back to the Knower of
what is hidden and what is open, then will He show you the truth of
all that ye did.”] (At-Tawbah 9:105)
Muslims
should participate in making this world a better place and we must have
our contribution. Worshiping Allah isn’t only by performing rituals.
For example, going to school or work every day could be a form of
worship if your intentions are to obey Allah, acquire knowledge for the
betterment of the Muslims and humanity, and be a good example of a
Muslim. If we are not successful and at the forefront, how will we
attract non-Muslims to Islam?
One
meaning of ihsan is to do good actions, but when doing good we
should also try to perfect it. For example, greeting another Muslim by
saying “as-salamu `alaykum” (peace be upon you) is a good
act, but giving the complete form of the greeting “as-salamu
`alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh” (peace, mercy of Allah, and
His blessings be upon you) is far better. There’s even another step
higher, which is saying the greeting and shaking hands, and you could
approach perfection even more by also smiling. See how we should try to
achieve perfection and excellence in all of our acts. It should be a
constant attempt in all aspects of life, be they rituals, working,
relationships, etc. We need to try to implement ihsan in
everything we do.
Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) instructed us in several ways
and situations to seek perfection. One of the Prophetic sayings dealing
with ihsan is particularly interesting. Please read the
explanation after it to understand what the Prophet (peace and blessings
be upon him) meant:
Verily
Allah has prescribed ihsan in all things. Thus, if you kill,
kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you
sharpen his knife and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.þ
(Muslim)
One
might wonder why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) didn’t
say, “If you pray, pray well, and if you fast, fast well.” Why kill
and slaughter? Do you know why Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be
upon him) referred to slaughter in this hadith? Not because Muslims are
bloodthirsty, absolutely not, but because slaughtering an animal means
that you are ending its life. So? What difference does it make if I kill
it well or not, it’s going to die anyway, it won’t have any “bad
memories” about it, so what’s the big deal? No, that’s not how a
Muslim sees things. A Muslim should implement excellence in every aspect
of life, even when it comes to an animal’s final moments in life. If
you treat the animal well and with perfection when killing it, you will
certainly treat it even better while it is alive; you will shelter it
with excellence and mercy, and you will feed it in such a manner as
well.
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not teach us this just
with words. He explained the practical steps to achieve this proficiency
(sharpening the blade and sparing it suffering). This shows us that
proficiency isn’t just “an idea,” but one must also seek the means
to apply it.
Another
example is divorce. Usually one correlates divorce with arguments,
fights, and going to court. But look at what Allah says:
[Divorce
must be pronounced twice and then (a woman) must be retained in
honor or released in ihsan (kindness).] (Al-Baqarah
2:229)
Even
during divorce a person is supposed to maintain ihsan; because if
you can do so during divorce, you will certainly be able to do so during
a happy marriage. Do you see how the Qur’an and Prophetic sayings give
examples of certain extremes in life? If you can achieve ihsan
during these extremes, you’ll certainly be able to achieve it in
normal situations also.
Prophet
Yusuf (peace and blessings be upon him) was imprisoned unjustly. He was
falsely accused of trying to rape the wife of the minister. It is a
disgraceful accusation, but he was patient. Many years later while still
in prison, he was told that the king of Egypt had had a dream:
[The
king (of Egypt) said: “I do see (in a vision) seven fat cows, whom
seven lean ones devour, and seven green ears of corn, and seven
(others) withered. O you chiefs! Expound to me my vision if it be
that you can interpret visions.”] (Yusuf 12:43)
Yusuf
(peace and blessings be upon him) knew what it meant: a devastating
starvation that would last for seven years. What did he do? Did he
request that they let him free first? Did he decide not to tell them
what it meant so all those non-believers would starve to death? No,
instead he demonstrated to us ihsan. Without putting any
conditions, he interpreted the dream for them: seven years of prosperity
followed by seven years of devastating drought and starvation.
Not
only that, but even though he wasn’t asked, he gave them the solution
to these coming crises. He planned for them what to do in the following
15 years. He told them to increase their productivity as much as
possible in the first seven years while minimizing their consumption, so
that they would have enough food to survive the seven years of drought.
Furthermore,
when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was freed from prison and
became the minister of agriculture and economy, he organized the process
of storing the food and then distributing it during the second seven
years. Since the drought was all over the Middle East, he introduced a
system where foreign countries could exchange food from Egypt with any
of their homemade products. He did this in order to encourage them to be
productive and so they would look at the food they got from Egypt as
trade and not charity. He did all this even though they were all
non-believers. This is a message to all our brothers and sisters that
are living in non-Muslim countries. Wherever you are, you must have a
positive impact, you have to make a contribution, because you are a
Muslim.
The
best type of ihsan though, is ihsan in your relationship
with Allah, your Creator. To worship Allah as if you see Him, and even
though you can’t really see Him, always keep in mind that He sees you.
Excellence
leads to perfection, and perfection is our ultimate goal. We strive to
perfect our characters so that we can reach the highest attainable
status in the sight of Allah, and also to perfect our surroundings and
work so that we won’t feel ashamed when we present them in front of
Allah, the Messenger, and the Believers.
Those
who achieve excellence and perfection in this world will lead because
the divine rule says so, and if anyone else leads us, we will always be
lagging behind. So we must change our current condition, and when we do
that, certainly, Allah will change the condition of our entire Ummah,
and we will lead the world in sha’ Allah.
* Excerpted
with some modifications from: http://www.amrkhaled.net/articles/articles337.html
**
Amr Khaled is an Egyptian da`iyah who hosts the popular series Sunaa`
Al-Hayah (Life Makers) on Iqra' satellite channel. He is the
founder and chairman of Right
Start Foundation International, based in the United Kingdom. He is
presently studying for his doctorate at Wales University, UK, with the
thesis title “Islam and Co-Existing with Others.”
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