How excellence transforms your relationship with Allah and everyone around you
In Surat As- Sajdah, Allah is talking about ihsan (perfection and excellence). If you search for the word ihsan in the Quran, you find many verses on this topic. Allah Almighty is teaching us through His attributes and actions how to deliver excellence and perfection.
ٱلَّذِیۤ أَحۡسَنَ كُلَّ شَیۡءٍ خَلَقَهُۥۖ وَبَدَأَ خَلۡقَ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنِ مِن طِینࣲ ﴿ ٧ ﴾
Who has made excellent everything He created, and He originated the creation of man from clay, [As-Sajdah, 32:7]
Allah is the one who perfected everything He created. Be like your Lord, emulate His attributes. As He stated:
Be lordly (rabbanī). [Al Imran l, 3:79]
As He exhibits ihsan, we too should try to have this approach.
In the famous hadith of Jibril, when he walked into the Prophet’s mosque ﷺ in Madinah in the guise of mysterious man, and sat down before him so close that their knees were touching. He asked the Prophet ﷺ some questions, starting with the definition of Islam and then imaan followed by ihsan.
The Prophet ﷺ explained that ihsan is having an awareness of God such that it motivates you to do your best, as you would if you knew you were being recorded by CCTV. You monitor yourself.
أن النبي ﷺ قال:
«الإحسانُ أن تَعبُدَ اللَّهَ كأنَّكَ تراه، فإن لَم تكُن تَراه فإنَّه يراك»
Excellence (Ihsan) is to worship Allah as if you see Him; and if you do not see Him, then indeed He sees you.” [Sahih Muslim]
Allah is teaching us how to deliver ihsan, and he started with himself. He perfected everything He created. So focus on perfection. Not in an obsessive paralysing way, that delays the completion of every project, but in a healthy way, so your actions are not performed with lazy inattentiveness. Our priority is to perfect our worship of Allah, and then on our relationship with others. So when we perform salah, it should be done with ihsan, because Allah is watchful. When you know He is watching you and listening to you, you would not pray robotically, with your heart absent in a couple of minutes. In another verse, Allah mentioned the word itqaan, which unlike ihsan, appears only once in the Quran. It is not so much being mindful of Allah, which is a spiritual quality, as being conscious of the quality of your actions, which is more practical. Allah refers to it in relation to the mountains, and how He perfected the quality of the mountains.
وَتَرَى ٱلۡجِبَالَ تَحۡسَبُهَا جَامِدَةࣰ وَهِیَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ ٱلسَّحَابِۚ صُنۡعَ ٱللَّهِ ٱلَّذِیۤ أَتۡقَنَ كُلَّ شَیۡءٍۚ إِنَّهُۥ خَبِیرُۢ بِمَا تَفۡعَلُونَ ﴿ ٨٨ ﴾
And you see the mountains, thinking them fixed, yet they pass as the passing of the clouds—the making of Allah Who has perfected everything; He is indeed All-Aware of what you do. [An-Naml, 27:88]
The mountains are there for us to reflect upon the creation and craftsmanship of Allah, who designed and created all things with absolute precision and mastery, without flaw or deficiency. The highest level of perfection, because it comes from Allah Himself. Allah’s perfection in creation is the ultimate model of precision. Through it, He invites humans to reflect upon the universe in order to recognise the greatness of the Creator.
We need ihsan between us and Allah and itqaan when it comes to our actions. Excellence (ihsan) is to perfect your work while being mindful of your Lord, and precision (itqaan) is to do the work well while being mindful of quality.
Most of us are familiar with the hadith that we should strive for excellence:
عن عائشة رضي الله عنها أنّ رسول اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:”إنَّ اللهَ تعالى يُحِبُّ إذا عمِلَ أحدُكمْ عملًا أنْ يُتقِنَهُ”. أخرجه أبو يعلى والطبراني، وقد صححه الألباني في الصحيحة نظرا لشواهده.
ʿA’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Allah, the Exalted, loves that when any one of you performs an action, he perfects it.” [Abu Yaʿla and at-Tabarani]
However, not everyone knows the context. The Prophet ﷺ was in the cemetery, and he saw the person who was digging the grave and observed that he was not doing it to a high standard, so he directed the man to improve it and straighten it. He commented further that the man may wonder why he should fix the grave as it would not benefit the one who had passed away, but pointed out that Allah loves us to do what we undertake with excellence – even if it is digging of the grave.
عن أبي كُلَيب أنه شهد مع أبيه جنازة شهدها رسول الله ﷺ وأنا غلام أعقل وأفهم، فانتهى بالجنازة إلى القبر ولم يمكن لها قال: فجعل رسول الله ﷺ يقول:
سووا لحد هذا، حتى ظن الناس أنه سنة، فالتفت إليهم فقال: أما إن هذا لا ينفع الميت ولا يضره، ولكن الله يحب من العامل إذا عمل أن يحسن».
Abu Kulaib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: He attended a funeral with his father – a funeral which was attended by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ – and I was a young boy who could comprehend and understand. When they reached the grave, it had not been properly prepared. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ began saying:
“Level this grave (the lateral niche) properly…” So much so that people thought it was an established sunnah. Then he turned to them and said: “Indeed, this does not benefit the deceased nor harm him. But Allah loves that when a person performs an action, he perfects it.” — [Shuʿab al-Iman]
This means that itqaan has to be in our DNA. We must seek perfection and excellence, between both us and Allah, and us and others.
عن أبي يعلى شداد بن أوسٍ رضي الله عنه، عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:
((إن الله كتب الإحسان على كل شيءٍ، فإذا قتلتم فأحسنوا القِتْلة، وإذا ذبحتم فأحسنوا الذِّبْحة، ولْيُحِدَّ أحدُكم شفرته، ولْيُرِحْ ذبيحته))
In another hadith, Abu Yaʿla Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Verily, Allah has prescribed ihsan (excellence) in all matters. Thus, when you execute, execute with excellence; and when you slaughter, slaughter with excellence. Let one of you sharpen his blade and grant rest to his animal.” [Sahih Muslim]
Strive for excellence
Let’s aim for excellence in our salah, mindful that we are being observed by Allah. It should bring peace and tranquilty to our hearts. Let’s push the button of ihsan in our salah. And extend it to our recitation of the Quran, the way you speak to your parents, and spouse, children and how to deliver a good service to your clients.
How do we improve ourselves? Just read the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ. Look how he used to receive his companions with a smile on his face no matter what he was going through himself, how he encouraged others with good words. He is our role-model, our qudwa. We need to implement ihsan in the best manner. You will feel the difference when you pray with ihsan, when you speak with ihsan, and when you act with ihsan. The contrast is stark. It improves the quality of your relationship with Allah, and with people around you. This is why the Prophet ﷺ was beloved to everyone who knew him, because he was the manifestation of ihsan.
The reward of ihsan
The Quran highlights the reward for striving for excellence. It earns Allah’s love:
لِّلَّذِینَ أَحۡسَنُوا۟ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ وَزِیَادَةࣱۖ وَلَا یَرۡهَقُ وُجُوهَهُمۡ قَتَرࣱ وَلَا ذِلَّةٌۚ أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِۖ هُمۡ فِیهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ ﴿ ٢٦ ﴾
For those who have done good is the best and (even) more, and neither gloom nor humiliation overwhelms their faces. Those are the fellows of the Garden(of Paradise); therein they abide. [Yunus, 10:26]
Therefore, if you want Allah’s love, show ihsan. When Allah loves you, then people love you. But your intention has to be for Allah’s sake. Be genuine. It does not come overnight, but it is possible by monitoring your intentions and actions on a daily basis, until it becomes second nature.
Allah further mentions that our having ihsan does not benefit Him, rather it is for own sake:
إِنۡ أَحۡسَنتُمۡ أَحۡسَنتُمۡ لِأَنفُسِكُمۡۖ وَإِنۡ أَسَأۡتُمۡ فَلَهَاۚ فَإِذَا جَاۤءَ وَعۡدُ ٱلۡـَٔاخِرَةِ لِیَسُـࣳۤـُٔوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمۡ وَلِیَدۡخُلُوا۟ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةࣲ وَلِیُتَبِّرُوا۟ مَا عَلَوۡا۟ تَتۡبِیرًا﴿ ٧ ﴾
If you excel in doing good, you excel in doing good to your own benefit; and if you do evil, you do so against yourselves. Then when the promise of the second time comes true, they will defile your faces, and they will enter the Mosque as they entered it the first time, and they will utterly destroy all that falls into their power. Al-Israʾ, 17:7]
In another verse, Allah mentions the fruits of ihsan:
وَأَنفِقُوا۟ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تُلۡقُوا۟ بِأَیۡدِیكُمۡ إِلَى ٱلتَّهۡلُكَةِ وَأَحۡسِنُوۤا۟ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِینَ ﴿ ١٩٥ ﴾
And spend in the way of Allah and do not cast your own hands into annihilation, and excel in doing good. Indeed, Allah loves those who excel in doing good. [Al-Baqarah, 2:195]
Allah commands ihsan:
۞ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ یَأۡمُرُ بِٱلۡعَدۡلِ وَٱلۡإِحۡسَـٰنِ وَإِیتَاۤىِٕ ذِی ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَیَنۡهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلۡفَحۡشَاۤءِ وَٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَٱلۡبَغۡیِۚ یَعِظُكُمۡ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ﴿ ٩٠ ﴾
Indeed, Allah commands to justice and ihsan excelling in doing good and bringing (charity) to the relative, and He forbids obscenity and what is deplorable and oppression. He admonishes you, that you may remind yourselves. [An-Nahl, 16:90]
Ihsan is a test
In Surat Hud, Allah reminds us that life is a test to see who excels in their deeds:
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِی خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَ ٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامࣲ وَكَانَ عَرۡشُهُۥ عَلَى ٱلۡمَاۤءِ لِیَبۡلُوَكُمۡ أَیُّكُمۡ أَحۡسَنُ عَمَلࣰاۗ ﴿ ٧ ﴾
And it is He Who created the heavens and the earth in six days—and His Throne was upon the waters—in order to test you as to which of you is best in conduct. [Hud, 11:7]
وَٱبۡتَغِ فِیمَاۤ ءَاتَىٰكَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلدَّارَ ٱلۡـَٔاخِرَةَۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِیبَكَ مِنَ ٱلدُّنۡیَاۖ وَأَحۡسِن كَمَاۤ أَحۡسَنَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَیۡكَۖ وَلَا تَبۡغِ ٱلۡفَسَادَ فِی ٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدِینَ﴿ ٧٧ ﴾
And seek in whatever Allah has brought you the Home of the Hereafter, and do not forget your share of the Earlier(Life) , and do good as Allah has done good to you, and do not seek corruption in the land; indeed, Allah does not like the corrupters.” [Al-Qasas, 28:77]
Three dimensions of ihsan
We can apply ihsan to every situation and of course, when it comes to the environment. Do not waste resources. People of Jannah are people of ihsan, so have ihsan in your relationship with Allah, with people and with the environment.
May Allah enable us to be people of ihsan and people of Jannah. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah of Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 21st November 2025.