Excellence in all things

Arabic

إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَتَبَ الْإِحْسَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَإِذَا قَتَلْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الْقِتْلَةَ، وَإِذَا ذَبَحْتُمْ فَأَحْسِنُوا الذَّبْحَةَ، وَلْيُحِدَّ أَحَدُكُمْ شَفْرَتَهُ وَلْيُرِحْ ذَبِيحَتَهُ.

Translation

Allah has prescribed iḥsān upon everything. So when you kill, kill well; when you slaughter, slaughter well — sharpen your blade and spare the animal suffering.

Narrator

Shaddād ibn Aws

Source

Muslim 1955

Commentary

Iḥsān is not just excellence in prayer — it is excellence in every act that leaves your hand, including the uncomfortable ones. If iḥsān extends to how we slaughter, imagine how it extends to how we speak and how we treat each other.