IHSAN THE ART OF THE SUFIS

Part I
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An inward research on the famous Hadeeth on various perspectives
Umpteen people have come up with umpteen explanations for the term Ihsan but, the real explanation for that is in fact, is the explanation given by our Prophet Muhammad(Peace Be Upon Him). Before, having a deep look into the Hadeeth that throws great light on the great aspects of the Dheen (religion), we will have a brief explanation of Ihsan.
The lexical meaning of "Ihsan" is help, aid, support etc. But, to understand the Qur'an and Hadeeth, we have to see what the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has used to define the same. In the case of Ihsan our Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) has said, " It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state then you must remember that He is seeing you" (roughly worded).
So, we can say that Ihsan consists of two parts --
1. to worship Allah as if we see Him
2. to worship with the thought that He is seeing us
Both the parts comprise of Ihsan and the Sufis have termed the first part as "Mushahada" and the second part as "Muraakhaba". The Sufis have also explained that Mushahada is superior to Murakhaba.
The Sufis have also said that this Hadeeth is the basis of Tasawwuf (Sufism). But for this Hadeeth, people would have totally denied the validity of Tasawwuf (Sufism) and the Sufis.
Another important aspect of the Hadeeth is that it clarifies that Ihsan is very much part of Dheen. The sentence "That was Jibreel who came to teach the people their dheen (religion)", shuts the mouth of all those who say that Sufism is not part of the Religion, Islam. (Many people use the christian version of Jibreel, Gabriel to refer to the archangel. Insha Allah, I will refer to the archangel as Allah has referred in His Qur'an)
Islam and Iman can be learnt and practiced from the Ulemas who have studied the Qur'an and Sunnah. But the concept of Ihsan can be learnt only from Ulamaye Billah (Scholars of Allah), Arifeens (The known people) and Murshids (the Guides) who have been gifted with the knowledge of the self and the knowledge of their Rabb (Lord). This has been proved by the Sufis on various accounts and the greatest scholars of the religion have accepted this. Many still dispute this statement but it is beyond doubt that the state of Ihsan has been explained to this world only by the great Sufis and many great Ulemas have learnt this art only from them. (The term Sufis and Ulemas used in the above paragraph may hint that Ulemas are not Sufis and vice-versa but, it is not correct. In the past few centuries, the certified learners of Islam (Ulemas) have openly come out and criticized the Sufis and their traditions. In fact, Sufis are great scholars with great knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah. Apart from this, they have refined their hearts with the help of a Shaikh (spiritual guide) and have attained the state of Fana (emptiness) and knowledge flows to their heart from the Lord's courtship. Many Ulemas have become great Sufis and Sufis are in fact great Ulemas.)
We will examine some finer details of Ihsan in our next article. Here, we give the whole text of the famous Hadeeth known by the names, "Hadeethe Jibreel" and "Hadeethe Ihsan".
Narrated Abu Huraira:
One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Jibreel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan ?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is seeing you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.
1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.
The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (Qur'an 31. 34) Then that man (Jibreel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Jibreel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.