Lived Spirituality: What is Ihsan?

What is the importance of Ihsan in Islam?

How does a believer increase in spirituality through excellence?

Sheikh Yasir Fahmy answers these and other questions related to Ihsan in this segment of a recent Friday speech he gave at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center.

“The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked these questions: What is Islam? What is Iman?

Then he lastly was asked, and on the most profound level, what is Ihsan?

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, responds with his beautiful simple eloquence:

He says Ihsan, which is translated linguistically into beauty, excellence and perfection, is when you become a slave to Allah.

Islam is to recognize that we are simple servants of Allah.

Regardless of what you do, regardless of what you know, you understand the depth of what you are is a simple servant of Allah.

That’s why for the Prophet, it was his most beloved description.

“Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa…” (Qur’an, 17:1)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, says: “Should I not be a servant who is thankful?”

Who are the true servant of Al-Rahman?

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,” (25:63)

This is a descriptive for the believer that they love to hear, that I am from the servants of Allah.

And so the Prophet says, Ihsan is that you enter into a state of servitude, that you are a servant of Allah and you worship Him as if you see Him.

And this is the highest level of Ihsan.

That you worship Allah, and in this world that we live in and try to negotiate and make sense, and in every vestige and in every corner, every precipice of earth, we see the signs of Allah (SWT).

Whether when it is I see a small ant crawling, or I see a majestic mountain, or I see the earth or the seas, I see my child, my wife, my neighbors, I see Syria, it doesn’t matter.

I look into the world, and I see the signs of Allah (SWT).

That is Ihsan, and that is why the scholars say this highest level of Ihsan is Al-Mushahadah, where you see and you witness Allah in everything.

That’s the highest level of Ihsan…

Don’t miss this excellent four minute reminder on Ihsan by Sheikh Yasir Fahmy

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