006: The Ihsan Attitude | Excellence in All Matters

"Worship Allah as if you can see Him. And if you cannot, know that He sees you"
This is the description of Ihsan by our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when asked by angel Jibreel.

"Ihsan" can be translated as "excellence" in English. For Muslims, Ihsan isn't just applicable to acts worship, but in every aspect of our lives - our jobs, our studies, our relationships, as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “Verily, Allah has enjoined excellence (Ihsan) in EVERYTHING." (Muslim)

In this discussion, we cover:
1. What is Ihsan? What is Ihsan applicable to?
2. WHY should we act with Ihsan? Isn't "good enough" good enough?
3. HOW we can apply Ihsan in our lives - practical examples in different aspects
4. HOW can we train ourselves to develop Ihsan?

إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ
"Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him (keep their duty unto Him), and those who are Excellent in their deeds" (An-Nahl 16:128)

وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَاحِهَا وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
"And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope;
Surely, Allah's Mercy is ever near to those who act with ihsaan" (Al-Araf 7:56)

May Allah make us amongst the Muhsinin - the people who consistently act with ihsan - in all that we do!

00:00:00 Intro
00:03:10 Imagine you are being watched
00:07:22 Why this topic?
00:12:45 Definition of Ihsan
00:14:20 Levels of Ihsan
00:18:50 Ihsan in everything we do
00:23:23 Categories of Ihsan
00:23:53 How do we apply Ihsan in our lives?
00:33:35 "Doing More" is only applicable if it Meets Specification
00:35:40 The 3rd condition of deeds' acceptance: Appropriate context
00:38:16 Ihsan is one of the hardest things to do!
00:39:43 What's the point: WHY should we strive for Ihsan?
00:42:26 The Key to Ihsan: Recognize Allah's Favors to develop Love and Gratitude
00:45:50 Who would you choose to be promoted? The "good enough" or excellent guy?
00:46:45 Delivering Quality work is the best form of networking
00:49:40 Allah will never allow your efforts to go to waste!
00:51:30 Journey, not the destination: Ihsan is continuous improvement
00:53:51 Life is to test who is BEST - not MOST - in deeds
00:55:00 Ihsan in treating mother: The Greatest Honor
00:57:40 The "extra" deeds patch up our weaknesses and shortcomings
00:59:39 We don't have a "bare minimum" attitude for other things
01:01:06 Spending what you love the most
01:03:01 (Yet another) Good-to-Great reference: The Flywheel
01:06:10 Legendary Shafi'ee Fiqh book: known centuries after death!
01:08:20 Champions become champions behind the scenes
01:09:27 How to train ourselves to be Ihsan?
01:11:56 We all have this teacher...
01:16:05 Investment mindset
01:17:15 Nothing will go to waste
01:18:20 Sahabah: The Muslims role models in all aspect of life
01:19:32 Am I a hypocrite?
01:21:20 Importance of positive peer pressure
01:23:31 Am I good enough?
01:25:50 Faisal, "Housemate that changed me."
01:30:36 Conclusion