Gateways to Enlightenment : Episode 4 – Ihsan, Excellence and Contentment

The final talk in the series presents the Gateway of ihsan- the station of contentment or excellence, makam al’ihsan. The previous three talks emphasized the modes and means of completing humanity, how to perfect the science of acceptance and willful surrender, the completion of Islam. Further evolving into the refinement of awareness, perception and watchfulness, perfecting Iman, faith and trust in the totality and the Unicity of reality. Thus, culminating in ihsan: the threshold of being. The key themes explored in this talk are the nature of selfless service and its parameters, perfected resonance with truth and the meanings of refined watchfulness and total instantaneous accountability. Arriving at this gate means you have done all that you can, and continue to strive to one’s utmost. The Dawn of self-knowledge - the station of ma’arifa is also discussed leading into a brief presentation on the levels of unity and the dynamics of living in full consciousness, the living awareness and witnessing of the perfection of truth encompassing and within all states and experiences. Various Qur’anic verses reflecting different aspects of the states and stages surrounding this station are relayed and interlaced throughout the exploration of these themes. The meaning of the completed person and some of the key driving forces of human life are discussed through the vista and lens of excellence, with reference to the Prophetic profile. Shaykh Fadhlalla shares several fundamental keys to constancy, unfolding awareness and resonance with the essence coupled with the appropriate general indications, warnings and guides that speak to this aspect of the journey in closing this series of lectures. Key excerpt: “To go into the ultimate mi’raj, flying beyond limits, you have to put your face into dust, and die. Look at the miracle of Creation! Everywhere you turn, there is the Face of Allah. What do you see that is not perfect? As The Prophet (pbuh) said, “When you can see your affliction as a gift, you are entering into the boundlessness of ihsan.”