Nawawi Hadith 17: Ihsan Toward Every Creature

Part One: Ihsan Written into Everything

Brothers,

Today’s khutbah is based on the 17th hadith in Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith:

On the authority of Abu Ya'la Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: 'Verily Allah has prescribed ihsan in all things. So if you kill, kill well. And if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters.' (Muslim)

Shaddad ibn Aws was a companion known for his knowledge and his tears, a man who wept whenever death was mentioned. He narrated this hadith because he understood its weight: Allah has not left a single action, however small, however seemingly harsh, outside the demand of ihsan.

The example the Prophet ﷺ chose is striking. He did not pick prayer, or charity, or fasting to illustrate ihsan. He picked killing and slaughtering, the two acts that look furthest from mercy on the surface. If ihsan is required even there, then no corner of our lives is exempt.

Part 1: What Ihsan Means

Ihsan is usually translated as excellence, but the word carries more than doing a job well. It means doing something as though Allah Himself is watching, because He is. The Prophet ﷺ defined it plainly in an earlier hadith of this same collection:

Ihsan is that you worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then indeed He sees you. (Bukhari & Muslim)

This is the standard behind every act, not only worship in the narrow sense. Ihsan in prayer means praying as if you can see Allah. Ihsan in work means working as if Allah watches your effort. Ihsan in slaughter means showing mercy to a creature even in the very moment its life is taken, because Allah is watching that moment too.

Is there any reward for goodness ˹ihsan˺ except goodness ˹ihsan˺? (Ar-Rahmaan, 55:60)

Allah ties the word to itself in this ayah. Show ihsan, and ihsan returns to you, from Allah, in this life and the next. This is not a coincidence of the language. It is a promise.

Part 2: Ihsan Extended to Animals

The Prophet ﷺ chose slaughter deliberately because it is the hardest test of mercy. It would be easy to claim ihsan while doing something pleasant. The true measure of a person’s mercy is how he behaves in a moment where cruelty would be easiest to justify.

A man was sharpening his knife in front of a sheep he was about to slaughter. The Prophet ﷺ said to him, 'Do you want to kill it twice? Why did you not sharpen your blade before you laid it down?' (Bayhaqi)

Think about what this hadith teaches. The man had not done anything forbidden. He was simply careless, sharpening the blade where the animal could see and sense what was coming, adding fear on top of what was already required. The Prophet ﷺ corrected even this, because ihsan does not stop at the minimum. It reaches for the most merciful version of every act.

A man saw a dog eating mud out of thirst. He climbed down into a well, filled his shoe with water, held it in his mouth, and climbed back up to give the dog water. Allah appreciated his deed and forgave him, admitting him into Paradise. (Bukhari & Muslim)

The companions asked the Prophet ﷺ, “Is there reward for us in caring for animals?” He answered, “There is a reward in every living creature.” A man who was not even known for righteousness earned Paradise through one act of ihsan toward a thirsty dog. Compare this to the warning attached to cruelty:

A woman was punished because of a cat which she imprisoned until it died of hunger. She entered the Fire because of it. She neither fed it nor gave it water when she confined it, nor did she free it to eat the insects of the earth. (Bukhari & Muslim)

There is no living creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but they are communities like you. We have left out nothing in the Register. Then to their Lord they will ˹all˺ be gathered. (Al-An'aam, 6:38)

Every creature belongs to a community, precious in the sight of its Creator, accountable to Him in ways we do not fully understand. If Allah holds us accountable for how we treat what cannot speak for itself, imagine how carefully He watches how we treat one another.

Ihsan is that you carry out every act as though you stand before Allah, seeing Him, for even if your eye does not see Him, your heart should never forget that He sees you. (Ibn al-Qayyim)

Part 3: Ihsan in Everyday Work

This hadith is not only about slaughtering animals. It establishes a principle for every craft, every job, every responsibility.

As for those who believe and do good ˹deeds˺, We certainly do not deny them the reward of those who did good. (Al-Kahf, 18:30)

A man who repairs a car well, who cooks a meal well, who teaches a child well, who cleans a space well, all of these are living out this hadith when they do their work with excellence rather than the bare minimum. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Verily Allah loves that when one of you does a job, he perfects it. (Bayhaqi)

Notice the phrase “loves.” Excellence is not simply required, it is beloved to Allah. Sloppiness, cutting corners, doing just enough to get by, these do not merely fall short of ihsan, they fall short of what Allah loves from His servants.

Part 4: Ihsan Even When No One Is Watching

The reason ihsan reaches into private, unseen moments, sharpening a blade before an animal sees it, showing kindness to a creature no human witness will ever hear about, is because ihsan is built on the awareness that Allah sees what people do not.

Who is better in faith than the one who submits himself to Allah, does good ˹muhsin˺, and follows the way of Ibrahim, the upright one? And Allah took Ibrahim as a close friend. (An-Nisaa, 4:125)

Ibrahim, upon him be peace, is described here as muhsin, one who practices ihsan, precisely because of his complete submission. This is the model: submission that produces excellence in action, not for show, but because the heart knows its Lord is present.

Part Two: Living Ihsan in Every Circumstance

Brothers,

Part 5: The Prison Context, Excellence Where No One Expects It

Brothers, this hadith has direct bearing on your life here. In a place where the system often expects the worst from you, where staff and the outside world may assume the least effort, the least care, the least excellence, ihsan is your quiet answer.

When you clean your space, clean it with ihsan, not because anyone is checking, but because Allah sees it. When you are assigned a task, whatever it is, do it well, because excellence is worship when the intention is right. When you speak to another man, even one you have no reason to respect, speak with the excellence the Prophet ﷺ demanded even toward an animal about to be slaughtered.

Many of you deal with men who are difficult, situations that are unfair, staff who are indifferent or worse. It would be easy to match indifference with indifference, harshness with harshness. But this hadith teaches that ihsan is precisely for the moments when cruelty or carelessness would be the easy path. If the Prophet ﷺ demanded mercy in the taking of an animal’s life, how much more does he demand mercy and excellence in how you deal with living, breathing men around you every day, men who will also stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment.

Let your worship here be ihsan too. Pray as if you see Allah, even when the schedule makes it hard, even when the space is small, even when no imam is present to lead you. This is exactly the standard the hadith of Jibril set for prayer itself.

Part 6: A Standard for Every Relationship

Ihsan does not end with animals or with work. It governs how a son treats his mother, how a man treats his cellmate, how a Muslim treats a non-Muslim, how anyone treats someone who cannot fight back or retaliate.

And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and ˹show˺ goodness ˹ihsan˺ to parents. (Al-Israa, 17:23)

Ihsan toward parents is placed directly beside tawhid in this ayah. That is how central ihsan is to the structure of faith itself. It is not a bonus virtue for those who have mastered everything else. It sits at the very core.

Ihsan is that you do not wait to be told what is right before you do it, and you do not wait to be watched before you do it well. (Hasan al-Basri)

Part 7: The Reward Awaiting the Muhsin

Allah does not leave ihsan without recompense.

This is because whatever thirst, fatigue, or hunger they suffer for the cause of Allah, and whatever step they take that enrages the disbelievers, and whatever loss they inflict on an enemy, is recorded for them as a good deed. Surely Allah does not deny the good-doers ˹muhsinin˺ their reward. (At-Tawba, 9:120)

Every act of ihsan, even the ones no one records, even the ones done in a locked cell far from any witness, is recorded and rewarded by Allah. He does not forget the smallest act of excellence offered sincerely for His sake.

O Allah, make us among the muhsinin, those who perfect their deeds for Your sake alone.

O Allah, grant us mercy in our hearts toward every living creature You have created.

O Allah, let us worship You as though we see You, knowing that You see us always.

O Allah, perfect our character even in the moments no one else is watching.

O Allah, remove harshness from our hearts and replace it with excellence and mercy.

O Allah, let our work, our worship, and our words all carry the mark of ihsan.

O Allah, forgive us for the times we gave less than our best when You deserved our best.

O Allah, make this place a means of refining our character until we leave it better than we entered it.