iHsan

IHsan is the beauty of the deen and the highest level, so it is also the rarest achieved level by people and possibly the hardest.  It is to behave as if you see God, because even though you cannot, He sees you.  At this level people often have lost interest in the World (Dunya) completely.  They do not shy away from it, but they hold the world in their hands rather than in their hearts (they see it as a means to an end, rather than the end goal itself).  "Blessed is he who sees with his heart, but whose heart is not in what he sees".

We are naturally connected to things in the world by our desires.  Sexual and Food are some examples of desires.  Desires are given to us for good reason, but we should learn how to tame them and control them rather than allowing our desires to control us. The hellfire is surrounded by things we desire, and it is sufficient for a person to enter the hellfire if they follow their desires.  So do not make your god your desires.  

Desires can be seen as strings with hooks from the world attached to the heart.  One need only pull at one of these heart strings to control our behaviour.  This is how others use desires to manipulate us (and Satan routinely does.  It is some of his greatest tools).  Also, when one of these worldly objects we are hooked to suddenly goes (and they will all go eventually, except the face of God) then a deep pain is felt in our heart, which is the sudden severing of the heart string.  

So what must we do to achieve this level of iHsan whereby our heart is solely attached to Allah swt and the hereafter and not to the world at all.  One of the hardest things is to unhook the strings we already have to the world.  The secret is mental strength.  However, mental strength partly comes from training and practise. Physical practises like abstinence (e.g. Little but sufficient is better than over indulgence in anything. Moderation in all things is the best. etc).

MENTAL HABITS

• don't waste time feeling sorry for yourself
• don't let others control your emotions - you control your emotions and attitude
• don't shy away from change - embrace change
• don't waste energy on things you cant control - e.g. other people, etc
• don't worry about pleasing others - be kind and fair but don't be afraid to speak up
• don't fear taking calculated risks
• don't dwell on the past
• don't make the same mistake over and over - learn from them - and don't fear making mistakes and looking like an idiot
• be happy for other people's success and learn from it
• don't give up after failure, its just one step closer to your goal
• don't fear alone time - use downtime to reflect, plan, be productive
• don't expect anything or feel the world owes you anything
• don't expect immediate results - be patient - delay gratification (marshmellow effect)
• spend mental energy wisely - not on worrying about things beyond your control, but by preparing and planning for them
• replace negative thoughts for productive ones
• be aware of your emotions and accept them - do not be controlled by them - own them
• reflect on your progress daily
• pain is good - when you feel defeated that is the time to fight - only count when it starts to hurt
• be accountable for your actions - take responsibility

PHYSICAL HABITS

• be kind to those who are rude to you
• practise tolerating discomfort, not luxury
• e.g. less food
• less sleep
• regularly do the things no one else wants to do