Allah ﷻ tells us in the Qur’an that the only thing that will be of benefit to us on the Day of Judgement is a purified soul. In order to achieve this, we must seek ihsan. Ihsan literally means to make something excellent. The definition is further outlined in the hadith of Jibril in which the Prophet ﷺ said: Ihsan is “to worship Allah as if you can see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then to at least be aware that He sees you”. Most of us are satisfied with being subpar in our relationship with Allah ﷻ while we strive for excellence in matters of this world. However, the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions found immense pleasure in excelling in their interaction with Allah ﷻ and would thus engage in it for hours without tiring. They committed themselves to excellence, as should we. We must remember that, while there is a possibility of failure after every success in this life, those who succeed in the deen achieve a success that has no possibility of failure in the Hereafter.
