Ihsan With Allah, Ihsan Between Us
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T21:09:45.114366+00:00 | Topic: Allah
Ihsan With Allah, Ihsan Between Us
By Omar Suleiman | 51st ISNA Convention
Opening
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon the noble Messenger, his family, and all his companions.
You guys still have any energy in you? Okay, alhamdulillah. You know I was, as we were talking, I was talking to Shaykh Abdul Nasser and Ustadh Zainab about their topics and you know I thought that one thing that we could do is we could just introduce this entire topic of Ihsan.
The Traditional Understanding of Ihsan
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about Ihsan in the Quran and when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) speaks about Ihsan, we tend to automatically take it to worship and we take it to ibadah.
And I have to admit when I first saw the program and I was like, alright Ihsan in culture, it kind of threw me off a bit. How do we have Ihsan in art and Ihsan in beauty? Because the typical understanding, the traditional understanding of Ihsan is when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was asked in the hadith of Jibreel (عليه السلام) when Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was asked:
"Tell me about Ihsan."
And the answer of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was what?
"To worship Allah as if you can see Him. And even when you can't see Him, you realize that He sees you."
The Power of Visualizing Allah's Presence
And it's a very powerful concept. And it's one that if we were to implement in our ibadah, our ibadah obviously would not lack khushu, it wouldn't lack humility. If when we entered into our prayers, we understood that we're standing in front of Allah (جل جلاله) and He's watching us right now and it's as if I can see Him.
Then how many of us would actually be able to delve off into different realms and start thinking about our lunch and start thinking about our conversations and start thinking about our work if we actually understood that Allah (جل و عز) was looking at us as we entered into that prayer.
And that as Al-Imam Al-Qayyim (رحمه الله تعالى) narrates:
"When a person enters into his salah, and then he turns away, turns away not physically, turns away spiritually from Allah (جل و عز). Allah (جل جلاله) says to him: 'يَا عَبْدِي، أَيْنَ إِلَى؟ - Oh my servant, where are you turning to? 'إِلَى خَيْرٍ مِنِّي؟ - Are you turning to better than me?"
Have you found something better than Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) to work for? Have you found something better than Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) to occupy your attention? Have you found something better than Allah (تعالى و سبحانه)'s love to strive for? Where are you turning to? What are you looking for?
"Oh man, what is it that has deluded you in regards to your Lord (تعالى و سبحانه)?"
Creating Consistent Motivation
And so Al-Ihsan with Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) showing excellence with Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) in our worship with Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) is a very powerful notion in and of itself. It requires one to actually be able to visualize themselves standing in front of Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) as they would on the day of judgment. And as he said (رحمه الله تعالى) "who perfects his standing in this world will perfect his standing in the next world."
But now how does that translate outside of the realm of salah, outside of the realm of prayer? And what does it truly mean in the way we hold ourselves and carry ourselves? In essence what it does is it creates a consistent motivation. It creates a consistent drive. It creates a consistent sense of purpose.
You don't lose Ihsan after 40, 50, 60 years. Your Ihsan only grows. Your love for Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) only grows. Hence your drive continues to grow.
And when people burn out in serving people and subhanAllah it's very interesting because studies show that people that volunteer, people that work in the field of humanitarianism that have a faith background actually tend to last longer than those that work from a completely secular humanist background. Why? Because you know what? When you're volunteering and you're out there and you're serving the world and people are giving you all kinds of flack and you're not being appreciated, it's very easy to burn out after 2, 3 years and say "you know what I'm not getting paid for this. Why am I doing this in the first place?"
But when you're doing it for Allah (تعالى و سبحانه) and for appreciation that the people cannot give you, your drive is consistent. And so it creates a beautiful character. It creates a beautiful drive.
The Story of the King and His General
And it's very interesting because Imam al-Qayyim (رحمه الله تعالى) he said that there was a king that once told his children, he said "I love my general more than I love you." They said "why?" He said "anytime you tell us to do something we respond. You tell us something, we do exactly as you tell us to do. We're obedient children. Why would you love your general more than you love us?"
And so he said "come with me" and they went out and he asked his sons for some water. And so right away they rushed to bring him water.
And they walked for a little bit longer and then he simply did this. He looked to a place where there was water and he didn't say anything. And so the general ran and went and fetched him water. And he brought it to him. And he said "that's why I love him more than you. I didn't even have to tell him. He knew that I wanted it and he went out and got it."
And he authored a very beautiful, it's a very beautiful sentence. SubhanAllah, it's very powerful. There's so much that's contained within it. He said enhance in our relationship with Allah:
"I don't want except to want what He wants. Think about how beautiful that statement is and how much is contained within that statement. I don't want except to want what He wants (وتعالى سبحانه). I actually want my desire to be what Allah (جل و عز) desires of me."
And so that drive would be consistent.
Two Behaviors Created by Ihsan
And in essence Ihsan al-Imam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله تعالی) he said Ihsan creates two behaviors within a person. Number one, when a person sins and when a person disobeys Allah (وتعالى سبحانه), we're still talking about Ihsan with Allah (وتعالى سبحانه). Number one, he recognizes and he realizes, "I love Allah more than I love disobeying Allah."
And I love Allah more than I love myself. And if I love Allah more than I love myself, then I'm more interested in pleasing Allah than myself. Hence I will abandon that sin.
So that's his behavior when he commits a sin, when he disobeys Allah (وتعالى سبحانه). Then when he does a good deed, he tells himself, "I love the praise of Allah more than I love the praise of the people." And so he's able to maintain Ikhlas, he's able to maintain sincerity going forth on that path.
And in the way he treats people, he doesn't always have to be thanked. He doesn't always have to be appreciated. He doesn't always have to be told good job and what you're doing is amazing because if you're that type of person that starts to crave the approval of people and the reward of people's acceptance, then you will simply sway to where they take you.
And it's no longer going to be about principles and what's actually good for people. It's going to be about what's going to gain recognition from people.
And so Ihsan creates that behavior within oneself, where you know what, I just want Allah to appreciate me. And when I disobey Allah, I realize I love Allah more than myself. So I will work harder to please Allah and not please myself.
Ihsan With People - From Creator to Creation
How does this transition from Al-Ihsan ma'al khaliq, showing Ihsan with the Creator to Al-Ihsan ma'al khalq, excellence with the creation? Interestingly enough, every time Allah mentions Ihsan in the Quran, Allah mentions it in the context of the way that you treat people.
"And we have enjoined upon man and woman to treat his parents with Ihsan, with excellence."
You know, Allah doesn't just tell you in the Quran that we've enjoined upon you obedience to your parents. No, obedience is a given. Obedience is because you're human. That should be natural. It should be beyond:
It should be beyond obedience. It should be beyond الطاعة or following them or listening to what they tell you to do. Allah tells you to honor them. Allah tells you to pay attention to the details because in essence as greatness is paying attention to detail, Ihsan is paying attention to the small things.
Ihsan is paying attention to the details of the way that you treat people. And so when Allah tells you treat your parents with Ihsan, Allah is telling you to elevate it, to do what they don't expect of you.
The Beauty of Small Deeds
You know, Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi (رحمه الله) he said very beautifully. He said that it could be at times that you do something that is small for the sake of Allah and you don't think too much about it. And because of that, Allah enters you into Jannah. Whereas you do something large, you do a huge good deed, but because you've thought about it so much, your intentions have been corrupted and that good deed is rejected.
And I'll give you an example. My four-year-old daughter May brings me, you know, a heart from school that's cut out of construction paper that says, "I love you dad." And the D fell off and it just says, "I love you ad."
All right. And draws a stick figure of me and I'm missing an ear and I'm missing a leg and I've got six fingers on one side and two fingers on the other side. That to me is more beautiful than a Picasso.
That's the most beautiful art I've ever seen. Why? Because of the heart and might not be the heart. I mean, we tell ourselves it's the heart of a four-year-old, but just the thought that my daughter made this for me. The excitement in her eyes when she gave that to me. And every mother and father will tell you the same thing. You hang it up on your wall, you love it, you appreciate it.
The Man Who Entered Jannah
Likewise, it's the small things that you do for Allah sometimes that you don't even realize. Think about that man, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
(Hadith Reference)
That a man entered into Jannah and was strolling in Jannah because he removed something harmful from the road.
Do you really think he thought that as he was walking and he saw something harmful on the road, "oh, if I pick this up, I will enter Jannah and the Prophet of God (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is going to tell the Muslims about how he saw me strolling in Jannah and my name or my mention will be preserved in history."
You really think he thought about it? No. He developed a character of Ihsan, a character of excellence. And so as he's walking on the road, he sees something harmful from the road and he thinks to himself, "you know what, I should remove that so that it doesn't harm people."
He didn't think too much about it. And that's the beauty of those small deeds that you do for Allah. As you're walking and not cutting in front of somebody when you get to the escalator, not pushing someone out the way because Jimmy Carter is walking by.
I saw some of you in the lines. Some of you are about to get a little rowdy. Serving a glass of water as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
"Do not belittle any one of your good deeds."
Because you don't know which one of them Allah is going to accept. So even serving a glass of water with a smile on your face, that might be the one.
The Power of One Good Deed
You might show up on the day of judgment and Allah looks at your salah, Allah looks at your prayer and you were distracted in every single prayer. And every single day of fasting you had a scene of backbiting
Ihsan
or lying or saying something that was displeasing to Allah. But for one moment, you did something for Allah. And it was small and it was out of your love for Allah.
And so Allah takes that good deed. And as Ibn Mas'ud radiallahu anhu said, if Allah wants good for you, Allah will take a good deed. And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) said, Allah could multiply a good deed by 10, He could multiply it by 700, to whatever He wills.
He will take a good deed and He will continue to multiply it until it dwarfs your sins just because He wants to enter you into Jannah. Because of the heart behind that good deed. That's ihsan.
Ihsan With Parents
Allah says, show that ihsan to your parents. Give them a call when they don't expect it. Sit with them for dinner when they don't expect it. Give them gifts when they don't expect it.
Ihsan With Spouses
Ihsan with the way that we treat our spouses. You know, Abdullah bin Abbas radiallahu anhu, and this is all part of creating a beautiful culture now. We're starting off with the individual with the family, right? Abdullah bin Abbas radiallahu anhu, one day as he was entering into his home, people used to make fun of Abdullah bin Abbas. You know why?
Because before he would enter into his house, he'd start fixing his clothes up, start combing his hair, start spraying cologne, getting ready to enter the home. You know, most people when they go home, what do they do? As they enter into the house, they just shut it all off, drop on the couch, and ask, "where is the food?" Strange stuff, you know.
Ironically, dress down to a wife beater. What's called the wife beater. SubhanAllah, this is weird stuff.
Ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu, as he's about to get into his house, starts combing his hair and getting dressed and looking nice. So the sahaba used to laugh at him. And he said, "Listen, I like to look good for my wife, just as I like her to look good for me."
The Line of Rights in Marriage
And he gives this beautiful analogy. He says that Allah has put a line. That line between you represents the rights that are to be fulfilled of each spouse. To be fulfilled of each spouse. If each one of us is claiming all of their rights, then you're standing at that line. And it's only natural that if you're a person who claims all of their rights, now don't take anything that I'm saying, don't misconstrue what I'm saying and saying that I'm saying that you should allow your spouse to abuse you, you should allow your spouse to do things to you because you should back off of that line.
No, no. There are rights that need to be claimed. And then there are days that you know what? You let a statement go out of Ihsan. He's having a bad day. She's having a bad day. You let it go.
A statement. Something that you didn't like. Your spouse rolled their eyes at you. You let that go.
He said that "I don't claim all of my rights from her because I don't want to be at that line. Because I'm afraid if I go all the way up to that line that I'm going to cross over it. Instead what I do is I step back and I make sure that I fulfill all of the rights she has upon me. So that on the day of judgment that gap that's left over Allah will compensate. Meaning what? I always do a little extra for her and demand a little less from her."
That's a part of faith. That's a part of my Islam. That's a part of my Ihsan. That's a part of the way that I've been programmed by my religion, by my faith, by my Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) to treat my spouse. Give a little bit extra. Take a little bit less.
Because I'm seeking something from Allah. I'm not just seeking instant gratification in this world in the form of physical gratification or emotional gratification. I want something more. And I will treat you with even better behavior. With even kinder behavior than what's expected of me.
The Prophet's Consistency
And you know what's amazing about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ)? His seerah is full of the unexpected surprises to his spouse. He tells Aisha radiallahu anha, one of the things I adore about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) if you read in the history of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) you know people tend to change with their circumstances, right? When people are rich they tend to be a little bit different than when they're poor. When people are suffering from oppression they tend to be a little bit different.
The Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) goes from being rich and healthy and happy to being poor and in poverty and boycotted and mocked to being head of state (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and not rich but established and his personality doesn't change.
Racing With Aisha
And so when he tells Aisha radiallahu anha early on, early on in their marriage as they're going on an expedition he says to the rest of the sahaba, "go ahead, go forward" and he challenges Aisha radiallahu anha to a race. Yes, our Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) would foot race with his wife and camel race with his wife.
Later on in the seerah, once again Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) tells the sahaba, "hey, move forward." And once they're out of sight he challenges Aisha radiallahu anha once again to a race. How many times
did the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) surprise his spouse? How many times did he show that extra ihsan, that extra unexpected smile that wasn't expected of him? And that's the point.
Characteristics of Al-Muhsineen
And when Allah talks about ihsan in Surah Al-Imran, when Allah (عز وجل) says:
"Rush to the forgiveness of your lord and a paradise that is more than the earth and it's been promised for the muttaqeen."
Allah (عز وجل) then describes the characteristics of al-muhsineen, people of ihsan. And you know how he describes them?
This relates to the people. A person who gives charity whether he himself is in need or whether he's in ease.
Meaning what? You know when you go to a fundraiser, who does everyone look for? The doctors. I know this, I do fundraisers. As a fundraiser you keep eyeing the doctors and I don't know who you are, you keep looking at the doctors and you keep saying, "brothers, fear Allah, how much money do you have? Give for the sake of Allah."
I don't actually do that but a lot of fundraisers do that. Focus on the doctors, right? But there's a person of ihsan that's sitting there. And that hears the call of Allah and sees the pictures of people that are in need and is naturally driven to give even when it's not expected of them because they themselves are in need.
And so Allah says this person of ihsan he will give even when he needs himself. And the second person, those who swallow their anger. They swallow their anger when their anger is justified.
It's easy to not get angry when you're at fault. But they swallow their anger when their anger is justified. They completely swallow it.
And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
(Hadith Reference)
"I guarantee a home in the center of Jannah for the one who leaves arguments even when he is completely right. Even when he is completely justified. Why? I'm not leaving it for you. I'm leaving it for Allah. I want that house in Jannah. I don't want Allah to be angry with me. I want Allah to give me."
So there's ihsan with Al-Khalaq. There's ihsan with Allah that leads to the ihsan in the way that they treat people.
And those who forgive and pardon people. Why? They can totally claim their rights. They can do whatever they want.
"Let them forgive and pardon. Don't you want Allah to pardon you? Don't you want Allah to overlook your mistakes?"
And Allah says at the end of this ayah very simply:
"And Allah loves the people of ihsan."
Meaning what? If you act in this way that's being mentioned here in this ayah, you will gain the love of the people around you as well.
But you weren't looking for their love in the first place. You were looking for the love of who? Allah. And so Allah assures you:
"Allah loves the people of ihsan."
The Prophet's Character and Trust
Allah loves the people of excellence. And you know subhanAllah, as my time is running out, I want to just leave you with something very interesting. You know the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) one of the amazing things, because when we look at a culture of ihsan, we see that the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) always went above and beyond.
He was always trusted even by his enemies. Even as they were boycotting him, even as they killed his family members, even as he suffered, and even as he was trying to escape them. They had their valuables with the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) because they knew that they could trust the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) even when they did that to him.
And the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), he honored that trust. He didn't tell Ali radiallahu anhu, "look, take Abu Jahl's watch, give the rest of it back, just kind of poke him." No, he appointed Ali radiallahu anhu to return their belongings to them.
That was expected of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and he went beyond the expectations. Everyone knew what the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) was like. Everyone knew what the Muslims were like.
The Muslims had a behavior that they exhibited and so there's ihsan with Allah, there's ihsan with your family, there's ihsan with your community, and there's ihsan from your community to the community around you. People should know better of Muslims. People should know that there are certain attributes, certain things about Muslims that are honorable and that are noble.
They're not just the people that park their cars illegally on Salatul Jumu'ah and block our driveways, they're more than that. There are people that we love, there are people that we can trust, there are people that are honorable.
The Story of Zayd ibn Sa'na
And when you look at the life of the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), you find that Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) some of the most beautiful ahadith about the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) are when the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) was offended, when he was insulted.
Why? Because the more ugliness that's shown towards you, the more ihsan you should show. And I'll ask permission, Shaykh, can I just share one story, inshaAllah ta'ala. And it's the story of Zayd ibn Sa'na radiallahu ta'ala.
Zayd ibn Sa'na was one of the greatest Jews of Medina, the greatest rabbis of Medina. And he wanted to test the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). So the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) owed him some money, actually 20 kilograms of dates. And he came to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) in front of his companions three days before it was due, and he grabbed the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and he said, "you people of Bani Hashim, you always cheat, you always wait to the last minute to pay."
And he started to abuse the Prophet (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) and he was testing Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ). Umar ibn al-Khattab radiallahu ta'ala, he got up and he grabbed Zayd ibn Sa'na, and he was about to knock him out, frightened him. And Rasulullah (صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) he pulled Umar to the side and he said, "this isn't what we wanted from you, ya ibn al-Khattab. You could have advised him to be kinder in asking for his debt, and you could have advised me to pay it earlier, to pay it with more ihsan."
So he sent Umar radiallahu ta'ala with Zayd ibn Sa'na to give him 20 kilograms of dates, and he told him, "give him an extra 20 because of the way you treated him." Allahu akbar.
So Umar radiallahu ta'ala was walking with him, and Zayd ibn Sa'na says, "do you know who I am, O Umar?" He says, "no, I don't care."
He says, "I'm Zayd ibn Sa'na." Umar radiallahu ta'ala says, "Hadhr al-Yahud, the rabbi of the Jews," he says, "yes." He says, "then why did you act that way? It wasn't expected of you, you're a respected man."
And he said, "because there are two things I read about the Prophet to come, the foretold Prophet. I read about him:
"That his forbearance is greater than his anger,"
"And the more foolishness and anger you show towards him, the more his forbearance and his compassion will shine."
And that's exactly what happens. And he said:
"I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
The best hadiths of the Prophet are the ones where he was offended.
Showing Beauty When Faced with Ugliness
Because the more ugliness that's shown to you as an individual and as a community, the more ihsan we should show. And so the more ugliness that's shown to us right now by Islamophobes, the more our ihsan should shine in this society.
And you know, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in my last concluding remarks, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) one of my favorite ahadith from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) actually comes when Aisha radiallahu anha, she says, "you know, I used to say things to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and it wouldn't get him mad."
But she said, "one time I said something to him and it really got him mad. She said, I said to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) because I wasn't jealous of any of his wives like I was of Khadija radiallahu anha, even though she passed away, I didn't even see her. But he used to love her so much and talk about her so much and visit her grave and he would hear the voice of her sister and say, 'Allahumma hala, O Allah it's hala,' and he would send food to her friends."
He loved her so much. So he said, "one time I got jealous and I said, hasn't Allah exchanged that old woman from Quraysh with someone better than her?" Said it to him straight up. Now by the way, Aisha is the narrator of this hadith.
She's telling us this so that we can learn from it. She's not, you know, people use these hadith to mock her radiallahu anha, her mother radiallahu anha. She's saying this to say, "look, this is what I said to him."
And she said, he got mad. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s face turned red and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s hair stood on his body. He was angry.
You know what he says (صلى الله عليه وسلم)? He says:
"Wallahi, I swear by Allah, Allah did not give me better than her. She believed in me when people disbelieved in me. She trusted me. She considered me truthful when others called me a liar. She spent on me when others did not spend on me. She gave me children. Allah gave me children through her and Allah did not give me children through others."
How amazing is it that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was at his angriest and when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)'s face turned red, he didn't say a single word of insult to Aisha radiallahu anha.
He didn't say, "you're not better than her because you're this and this and this and that." No, he responded with ihsan. The most beautiful hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) about Khadija radiallahu anha was when he was really really really mad.
Conclusion
What does that show you? When ugliness is shown to you, show beauty to the people around you. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to make us a people that show ihsan with Allah, that show ihsan with our families, with our communities, with our spouses, that show ihsan with the non-Muslims, even with the Islamophobes, and that as a community show ihsan to those around us. We ask Allah to make us a community of excellence.