Hurdle Along the Path of Acquiring the Ihsan Driving Spirit

On the believer’s journey of life, it is an obligation to work wholeheartedly on attaining the level of Ihsan. Ihsan is perfection and excellence in action – attaining the status of good-doer the way depicted in the Quran. It is also having focus and devotion in the servitude of Allah – worshipping Allah as one sees Him, as defined by the Prophet (pbuh). One should note that reaching the level of Ihsan is not gained by one’s effort, rather it is a favor from Allah (swt) bestowed upon those who sincerely strive for it. “And those who strive for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good” (29:69).

The believer, whether he/she has attained the level of Ihsan or not, has by obligation to seek the driving spirit of Ihsan. As this driving spirit constitutes the driving power of perseverance and endurance, it instills the spirit of constantly seeking to be a better servant. It sets one’s comportment, on one hand to race for the good, and on the other hand to hasten to repent. Hence, it comprises the power for Mujahada (striving), the nourishment for Inaba (constantly returning to Allah, swt), and the tool for safeguarding and observing Allah’s commands. One can see that the Ihsan driving spirit is not just embraced to become a very pious believer, aiming to be one of the foremost and nearest to Allah. It is actually a necessary act of worship capable of safeguarding the basis of belief, securing Iman (faith), and maintaining the focus on following the path of the ultimate truth.

However, despite much sincere effort, many believers are unable to acquire such a driving spirit. For some, it comes and goes. But most keep striving without trying to understand the reasons standing against acquiring this driving spirit of Ihsan.

The reality is that one can be carrying illnesses without knowing he/she has them. These illnesses keep degenerating one’s conscious. One might then be unconsciously adhering to one system of belief, while seeking to achieve goals under another system of belief. Striving is in this case purposeless and futile. An example of such is one seeking to have focus in prayer, when his/her driving spirit is dwelling on seeking more worldly gains. What is really happening then, is that the unconscious longing for worldly gains is preventing the efforts invested in finding focus in the prayer to sprout and become effective. Meanwhile, the person remains unaware of the reason of the inefficiency of his/her effort, and ends up giving up on trying!

The main causes for these illnesses emanate essentially from the influence of the godless environment in which one is living. One might be striving hard in such an environment to shield him/herself from being distracted and/or desensitized, but yet things crawl to him/her from every direction in an inevitable way – while navigating the web, reading news, while driving, shopping, etc.

Things might look innocent and insignificant at first glance, but in reality, they have a massive impact on one’s behavior. Take the example of how people express their feelings or exhibit their joy to matters which do not have any importance in one’s purpose of life. Witnessing such a thing over and over makes one’s subconscious see the matters that led to this expression of joy as the sole path to joy. The example of an exaggerated joy expressed by pop stars, actors, or players when receiving an award, would make the receiving of an award in such an arena seen as a path to happiness and an alluring substance for a “sweet” daydreams. In fact, in one’s subconscious, the longing for a joyful moment becomes strongly linked to the image of receiving an award, and not, for example, to performing prayer!

Take also the example of the pleasure one enjoys after achieving a dream or removing an obstacle from his/her path. This feeling of pleasure, if it is not chaperoned by divine guidance, turns into a feeling of self-sufficiency that enables a favorable ground for arrogance to be instilled into the system of belief. In fact, the feeling of self-sufficiency in a godless environment is regarded with high esteem and considered an achievement of freedom and self-fulfillment. In reality, however, growing the seed of arrogance within oneself is metamorphosing one’s attitude to become one who rejects truth and degrades people, as the Prophet (pbuh) has previously described in a Hadith: “Arrogance means rejecting the Truth and belittling people.” Keeping such a disease untreated would further cause more diseases, the likes of envy, stubbornness on following one’s whims, and the belief that one is guaranteed the admission to the gardens of bliss in the Hereafter! Once these illnesses are spread into the heart, even the hardest of sincere striving would not be able to help gain the Ihsan driving spirit.

However, such a situation should not in any way cause one to despair. Yes, hidden illnesses might not be possible to diagnose, but the reviving of virtues in the self would have the power to neutralize these diseases and enable one to seek the Ihsan driving power.

One of the most substantial virtues necessary on the path to Ihsan is mindfulness, which is the foundation of focus and the heart of the Duaa (supplication to Allah, swt). Mindfulness is a challenge that can be, in fact, developed by two aspects. The first aspect is making the Quran the spring of the heart – the source of joy and the basis of one’s worldview. The Prophet (pbuh) taught us to supplicate for such a virtue. The second aspect is the constant remembrance of Allah (swt). Abud-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, "Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions which are the purest to your Lord, which exalt you to the high ranks, which are more efficacious than spending gold and silver (in charity), and better for you than you should encounter your enemies whom you will smite their necks and they will smite your necks?" They said, "Certainly." He (pbuh) said, "Remembrance of Allah, the Exalted."

However, there is one element that can bring together all these aspects, strengthen them, develop them, and help one persevere on them. This element is Shukr (gratefulness). Indeed, Shukr helps to constantly renew the appreciation of the infinite gifts of Allah (swt), learn to recognize the finest and the loftiest among them, and then dwell on giving thanks for them. If one looks closely into the guidance of the Prophet (pbuh), he/she would realize that the best of gifts is, indeed, to be permitted by Allah (swt) to remember Him – due to knowing that one would have followed the path of evil, had it not been for Allah’s grace and mercy upon His servants. One can understand then the great teachings of the Prophet (pbuh) who taught us to say upon waking up: “All praise be to Allah, Who restored to me my health and returned my soul and has allowed me to remember Him.” Then there's also the precious advice the Prophet (pbuh) gave to Muadh Ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) held my hand and said, 'O Mu'adh. By Allah, I love you and advise you not to miss supplicating after every Salat (prayer) saying: “Allahumma a'inni 'ala dhikrika wa shukrika, wa husni 'ibadatika, (O Allah, help me remember You, expressing gratitude to You and worship You in the best manner).'”"