The Concept of Ihsan in Islam: Hadith 17 of the Forty An-Nawawi

He (RH) said: The seventeenth Hadith,

on the authority of Abu Ya'la Shaddad bin Aws (RA),

from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said:

"Verily, Allah has prescribed Ihsan (excellence) upon all things.

So, when you kill, kill well; and when you slaughter, slaughter well.

Let one of you sharpen his blade and comfort his animal." [Narrated by Muslim]

Yes, this Hadith is the Hadith of Shaddad bin Aws (RA),

in which the Prophet ﷺ said: "Verily, Allah has prescribed Ihsan upon all things."

The scholars (RH) say that Ihsan is of two types:

Ihsan towards oneself, and Ihsan towards the creation.

As for Ihsan towards oneself, its perfection is what was mentioned in the previous Hadith:

"Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him; and if you do not see Him, He indeed sees you."

This is the greatest Ihsan to oneself: worshipping Allah ﷻ

and being mindful of Him, Glorified and Exalted be He, in secret and in public.

As for Ihsan to creation, it is an absolute term with no limit to its end,

rather, the scholars (RH) only speak of its minimum,

For Ihsan is to parents, and there is no limit to honoring them,

and Ihsan is to relatives, with no limit to keeping ties with them,

and Ihsan is to neighbors, with no limit to Ihsan towards a neighbor,

and other forms of Ihsan to the creation of Allah ﷻ.

The scholars (RH) have said

that the minimum limit of Ihsan is that which, if fallen short of, is prohibited.

Therefore, the people of knowledge (RH) have determined

that some Ihsan is obligatory,

and whatever exceeds that is recommended.

And this varies according to the type of recipient of Ihsan.

For example, in the rest of this Hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said:

"When you kill, kill well; and when you slaughter, slaughter well."

"Let one of you sharpen his blade and comfort his sacrificial animal."

Among the obligatory Ihsan to the animal is sharpening the blade.

Accordingly, whoever slaughters an animal, whether by piercing the throat, cutting the throat, or wounding,

it must be done with something that penetrates and cuts; it must be sharp.

Otherwise, it is not halal. What is struck with the blunt side is not halal; it does not make it halal.

Any benevolence beyond that, such as hiding the knife,

and waiting until the carcass cools down completely, and other such matters,

scholars consider them to be part of the perfection of benevolence in slaughtering.

And apply this analogy to all matters in your life.

in your morning and evening,

in your sleep and waking up,

your entire life involves Ihsan to yourself or to creation. Yes.