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what is Ehsan in Ibadah (worship)? Ehsan in Ibadah is the nearness to Allah. It is the worship with the feeling that Allah is observing him. This leads to concentration and humility in worship and this is Ehsan as Allah Almighty has said:
(Allah) who sees you standing froth in prayer and your movement among those who prostrate themselves. (As-Shu’ra: 218, 219)
And the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: Ehsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him and if it is not that you see Him, then He surely sees you. (Muslim)
Etymologically Ehsan is derived from the source word Hassan which means beauty and goodness. So Ehsan means to make beautiful. In the above quoted verses and Hadith Ehsan means that we make our worship more and more beautiful. Whether it is prayer, fast, supplication, Daawah or Jihad, concentration is a prerequisite for worship and for concentration it is has been told as a yardstick that the worshipper feels himself sitting before Allah. When he will feel Allah is before him or that he is before Allah and that He is watcher over his exterior and interior and knows his intention, then his attention will be directed totally towards Allah. This will generate humility in worship and the worshipper will feel pleasure in his worship. It must be remembered that humility and concentration are the prerequisites of worship, and Ehsan means to turn you attention totally towards Allah and to remove all blemishes from worship.
There is a famous Hadith about Ehsan, which is narrated on the authority of Syedna Umar (radhiallaho unho). He said: We were in the company of the Prophet of Allah (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) and suddenly a man came whose clothes were very white and whose hair was very black. There was no sign about him of a journey, and none of us knew him. (If he had come from afar, there should have been signs of a journey about him or otherwise we should have known him). He squatted before the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) with his hands resting on his thighs and said:
O Muhammad (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) tell me about Islam? The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: You testify that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) is His Messenger, and say your prayer properly, and give Zakat from out of your wealth, and fast in the month of Ramadan, and if you have the capacity then perform Hajj. He said: You have spoken the truth. We wondered that he asked the question and then endorsed the answer. Then he said: Tell me about Eeman? The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: You believe in Allah and angels, and Allah’s books, and His Messengers and the Day of Judgement and good and bad aspects of fate. He said: You have spoken the truth. Then he said tell me about Ehsan. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: You worship Allah with the feeling that you are seeing Him, and if it is not so then you believe that (at least) He is surely watching you. He said: Tell me about the Resurrection Day? The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: Who is asked about it does not know more than the one who is asking (the question). He said: Give me its signs. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: The maid will give birth to her (female) owner. (that is the progeny will rule the mother and will be disobedient of its parents or that the owners will commit adultery with their maids), and you will see that bare-footed, naked-bodied, healthy shepherds will construct magnificent buildings. And then that men left. I stayed there for a while. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) asked if I knew who he was. I said: Allah and His Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) know better. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: He was Jibraeel (alaihissalam) who came to teach you Deen. (Muslim)
How much knowledge and practice of Deen a Muslim Needs?
The Hadith quoted above mentions five fundamentals of Islam which are obligatory for a Muslim, and six things have been mentioned which one must believe in.
In all these are eleven things which, Muhadathin and commentators believe, a Muslim must believe in and practice. Anyone who rejects any of these is not a Muslim. In other words these eleven things are the basic prerequisites to Islam. If somebody does not how to say prayer or how to observe fast etc. then how can he perform these acts of worship. Generally, the Hadith that it is obligatory for a Muslim (in fact the word Muslim woman is also added to it which is not mentioned in the Hadith) to attain knowledge (Ibn-e-Majah) but the knowledge of Deen is imparted nowhere. In fact it is the knowledge of Deen which is obligatory for every Muslim but in our educational institutions entire emphasis is laid on imparting secular education comprising the philosophies of disbelievers, romantic poetry and other skills and information.
Objective of prayer
After these basic things about faith and practice and third important thing that has been mentioned in that Hadith is Ehsan. It means we should not perform our prayer with half-heartedness, making just some physical movements. Many people in fact say prayer just as a form of physical exercise. Of course we do get the benefits of physical exercise in prayer but this is not the real objective of our prayer. Those who say prayer with this intention, their prayer cannot be valid, its performance can be perfect if we perform it considering it a command of Allah Almighty and perform it according to the way of the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam). It is a prerequisite of worship to perform it in the best possible manner.
Reason for thoughts in the prayer
Many people face the problem that different kinds of thoughts keep crossing their mind during prayer and therefore they find it hard to concentrate. The way prescribed by Allah and His Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) that you worship Allah in a way as if you are seeing Him is intended to create concentration and humility and if this is not possible then you should at least have the belief that Allah is seeing you. When this belief establishes in man that Allah is seeing him and that He knows each and every action and thought of his then concentration automatically develops in his worship and he gets rid of unnecessary thoughts. Then he also starts to enjoy his worship and thoughts do not come crowding to him when he stands for prayer and he no longer says his prayer is robot-like manner. The stronger the relationship with Allah the stronger love for Him and the stronger the belief that Allah is watching him the greater the pleasure in worship.
Those who perform their prayer as a set of physical movements and say it very quickly should remember that their prayer remains imperfect. It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim that a man perform prayer in the same manner before the Noble Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) who said: You say your prayer (again), you have not yet said your prayer. He said his prayer again and came to the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) and said Salam. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) answered his Salam and then said: Say your prayer, you have not yet said your prayer. He said his prayer again in the same manner and then came back and said Salam. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) answered his Salam and said: Say your prayer, you have not said your prayer yet. He said: O Prophet of Allah teach me to say prayer. Then the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) taught him to perform each and every step of prayer and asked to perform every step in such a way that his body attains peace. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said whether you are prostrating or bowing perform each step with peace. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) asked to sit calmly between two prostrations. But we do not perform any stage properly. If somebody is saying prayer behind an Imam he at time moves ahead of Imam, which is not correct. After all they cannot finish their prayer before Imam then what is the need for such a hurry. One should avoid saying prayer in haste because the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) forbade from picking beak like a crow (in prayer). (Abu Daud, Musnad Ahmad) The companions (radhiallaho unhum) asked! O Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) how he steals prayer? The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: He does not perform bowing and prostration properly. (Musnad Ahmad)
Let us adopt the way prescribed by Allah and His Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) to assume humility and concentration in our worship. This way has been described in the Hadith and requires as to worship with the belief that we are seeing Allah or at least He is watching us. This will create concentration, humility and sincerity in our worship and this very thing is Ehsan.
Many people believe that Ehsan means that you can see Allah with your eyes. This notion is not corroborated by the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) and his companions (radhiallaho unhum). This is highly unfair that Qur’anic verses, Ahadith and the sayings of saints are distorted to use as arguments in order to Islamize Indian and Iranian philosophies. Whereas in reality, terms such as dissolution, pantheism, monotheism and the union of souls have come from Hindu Vedas and Iranian philosophy. Because Hinduism was prevalent in India and majority of Muslims converted from Hinduism and because due to lack of knowledge the real Islamic faith could not strike deep routes, Hinduistic norms are still common in our society, for instance ritual at marriage and funeral and many other beliefs. Similarly, Persian literature spread many misleading concepts and notions. The sub-continent had Persian-speaking rulers for a long time and this spread Persian language and literature and along with this Persian philosophy too. Therefore Persian philosophy is also behind many distortions in faith. Unfortunately, in our society not much attention is paid to the Qur’an and Hadith which is real Islam. Even in many religious madrassahs more emphasis is laid on philosophy and logic instead of the Qur’an and Hadith. This is the reason why instead of following the Qur’an and Hadith, the practice of Qiyas and Ijtihad is followed. This has led to the worship of personalities and people are treading the path of sectarianism, extremism and prejudice and have subsequently deviated from the real Islam. This also explains why Islam could not be implemented in our part of the world and people are faced with conflicts. If we study history, we find that it was in Abbassid era that Muslims fell prey to different innovations and heresies and started relying on philosophy instead of the Qur’an and Hadith. The Ulema started to follow the philosophers and reasoning and logic replaced the real religion and as a result Islamic Caliphate also disappeared and mysticism became the order of the day. We see that the similar attitude is prevalent today. Particularly in the sub-continent philosophic innovations and reasoning are very common. This has harmed the dignity and sanctity of Islam. It is important that people are redirected towards Islam and the foundation of true faith is laid. This foundation will raise Islam to new heights and will provide guidance to the entire humanity. It will also fulfil the cause of Da’awah and Jihad. The prevalent practice of preaching in the sub-continent has caused the flourishing of sects, not of Islam. It is the responsibility of Muslim Ummah to return to the essence of Islam, that is the Qur’an and Sunnah and promote Da’awah and Jihad so that Allah’s Deen may become prevalent on this earth.
Now the question is that should Ehsan in that Hadith be taken to mean that man can see Allah? If we keep in view other verses and Ahadith in this concern this belief stands negated that one can see Allah with our eyes in this world. It is a principle that if a concept is not clarified by one verse or Hadith we seek help from other verses and Ahadith. But even if we concentrate on the meaning of that Hadith, it comes clear that the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) did not say that Ehsan means that man can see Allah with his eyes. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: Allah’s worship should be done in such a way as if you are seeing Him. It means that you perform worship with the belief that Allah is observing you. This belief will help develop humility and concentration. This we can understand with the help of an example. Say, a father forbids his son from drinking or any other sin and asks him to think as if his father is watching him if has any temptation to do so. This thinking will certainly stop the son from committing that sin but this would not mean that the father was present there physically.
The same case is described in this Hadith that you have a firm believe that Allah is watching you. Otherwise Allah is watching everyone though He is not present there because the Qur’an says:
(Allah) Most Gracious is firmly established on the throne. (Taha: 5)
Similarly, Allah has clearly declared in the Qur’an:
No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. (Al-Anam: 103)
In other words Allah can see all
but none can see Him. It is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim that Masrooq (radhiallaho
unho) asked Ayesha (radhiallaho unha) that when the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi
wasallam) went on the Divine Journey and met Allah, did he see Allah there?
Ayesha (radhiallaho unha) said: Subhan Allah, I am shocked to hear this, then
she said quoting the same verse that had you not heard Allah Almighty said: No
vision can grasp Him but His grasp is over all vision. In the tradition of
Muslim it is narrated: Syeda Ayesha (radhiallaho unha) said to Masrooq: Whoever
thought that Muhammad (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) saw his Lord then he lied
about Allah.
Moosa (alaihissalam) also expressed the desire to see Allah but Allah said to
him, you cannot see me at all (Al-Araf: 143). But to show Moosa (alaihissalam)
and other people that nobody has the courage to see Allah in this world, Allah
thrust His Light on the mountain of Toor which disintegrated and Moosa (alaihissalam)
fainted as a result.
It is proved by a number of other verses and Ahadith that no eye in this world
can see Allah Almighty but the dwellers of Heaven will see Allah in the
hereafter. It is narrated in a Hadith. When the dwellers of Heaven will have
settled down in the Heaven then Allah Almighty will says: Do you want anything
else? The dwellers of Heaven will say: O Allah haven’t you turned our faces
white (with Noor) and endowed us with Jannah and saved us from Hell (Now what
else should we ask for)? Then the veil will be lifted and the dwellers of Heaven
will find nothing more beautiful than the seeing of their Lord. (Muslim)
When the companions (radhiallaho unhum)
asked the Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) that if they would see their Lord
on the Resurrection Day. The Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam) said: You will
see your Lord without any difficulty like you see a full moon without any
difficulty. (Bukhari, Muslim)
We should have the belief in not being able to see Allah in this world and
in the seeing of Allah in the hereafter by the dwellers of Heaven because both
these beliefs are corroborated by the Qur’an and Hadith. We should not argue
that if man can see Allah in the hereafter then why can’t he see Him in the
world. There is no room for such reasoning in belief because when it comes to
faith we have to believe in what Allah and this Prophet have ordained. We cannot
make any change on our part. Likewise from the seeing of Allah in Jibraeel’s (alaihissalam)
Hadith we would not imply that we can see Allah with our eyes in this world. In
fact we are being told in that Hadith as to how we can make our worship perfect
so that it is accepted.
Can we see Allah in this World?
Many people take the above discussed
Hadith to mean that if Allah’s worship is performed in a certain way, then we
can see Him.
From Ehsan they imply that we can see Allah is this world. The Sufis have
founded their mysticism. They perform their certain forms of worship and
mentions in their characteristic way and believe that in this way man gets so
close to Allah that not only he can see Allah, in fact the distance between him
and Allah is also removed. They deny any difference between Allah and His slave.
They say a slave gets so near Allah through worship that a stage comes when
there remains no difference between Lord and His slave. Slave becomes Lord and
Lord becomes slave. This notion is known as monotheism among the Sufis. They
support this theory with their own reasoning and some Qur’anic verses and
Ahadith whose meaning they have twisted. From the same philosophy they have
derived the polytheistic faith of dissolution, which says that Allah is
dissolved in His slave or that the soul of slave unites with Allah. That is why
when a Sufi dies they say he has united with Allah or he has united. Likewise,
they have spread many misunderstandings by inventing terms like Ehsan, Wisal and
Ittehad. They have devised a number of kinds
of mention and meditation. They conduct meditation in meditation halls. These
practices are prescribed to people for mental peace but these things contradict
Qur’anic verses and Hadith. It is manifest apostasy to derive any such
far-fetched meaning from Ahadith. This is against the practice of Salaf.
