What is iḥsān? What does it mean to worship Allah as if you see Him?

"just as light indicates its source. The first level, the tranquility of humility when standing for service, refers to the dignity and humility that befall a person in the station of excellence. Faith necessitates humility and calls towards it. As اللّٰه the Exalted says in سُورَة الحَدِيد: "Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of اللّٰه and what has come down of the truth?" He calls them from the station of faith to the station of excellence, meaning: Has the time not come for them to reach excellence through faith?"

"indeed many books. And that is the grace of اللّٰه; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And اللّٰه is the possessor of great bounty. Chapter: The Station of Ihsan The Reality of Ihsan Among the stations of "You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help" from سُورَة الفَاتِحَة is the station of Ihsan. It is the essence of faith, its spirit, and its perfection."

"I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteous deeds and then remains guided. And He also says: "Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Ihsan [excellence] is to worship Allah as though you see Him. This hadith of Ihsan is unanimously agreed upon, reported by Ibn Umar. Allah also says: "By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and exhorted each other to truth and exhorted each other to patience."

"and realizing the state. The first two types, the connection of adherence and the connection of witnessing, are clear and undisputed, representing the stations of faith and excellence. The connection of adherence is the station of faith, while the connection of witnessing is the station of excellence. In my view, there is no further goal beyond this, and any true connection mentioned thereafter falls under the station of excellence."

"there is no deity but You." This becomes a state and station for the person. It is not denied that people can reach this state. The Prophet مُحَمَّد, peace be upon him, said, "Ihsan is to worship اللّٰه as if you see Him." When one reaches the station of Ihsan, it is as if they see اللّٰه, the Glorified. Thus is their conversation and intimate discourse with Him. However, it is preferable to use the term "intimate discourse" instead of "intimate conversation," as this is the term chosen by the Messenger of اللّٰه, peace be upon him, to describe the state of the servant, saying, "When one of you stands in prayer,"

"His authority is only over those who take him as an ally and those who through him associate others with God" from سُورَة النَّحْل. The Prophet, peace be upon him, made the excellence of servitude the highest rank of religion, which is excellence. In the حَدِيث of جِبْرِيل, when he asked him about excellence, he said, "To worship God as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.""

"his marks of honor before his Creator is that He prepared for him all his needs and interests, the instruments of his livelihood and the causes of his life, so that he raised his head only to find all of that ready and waiting. The ninth: that He, glorified be He, willed to make manifest man's nobility and excellence over all other creatures, and so created them before him. It was for this that the angels said: "Let our Lord create what He wills, He will never create a creature more honored in His sight than we are." Then, when He created Adam and commanded them to prostrate to him, his excellence and nobility over them appeared through knowledge and understanding."

"the knower. It was for this that He, glorified be He, made manifest Adam's excellence over the angels through the knowledge with which he alone was singled out. And consider how God recorded Adam's excuse before his descent to the earth, and alerted the angels to his excellence and nobility, and proclaimed his name before bringing him into being, saying: "I am placing upon the earth a vicegerent." Consider how He marked him with vicegerency, and that was an appointment of authority for him before he existed,"

"shouted at the lion, and said, Did I not tell you not to disturb my guests? The lion moved away, and Ibrahim performed ablution. Abu al-Khair then remarked, You were busy perfecting the outer self and feared the lion. We were busy perfecting the inner selves, and the lion feared us. The insights of the elders and their knowledge of people's beliefs and secrets are vast. Stories abound of them encountering Khidir, peace be upon him, asking him questions, hearing supernatural voices, and witnessing various miracles. However, such stories do not benefit those who deny them unless they witness these events themselves."

"The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said, "The excellence of a learned person over a worshipper is like my excellence over the least of my companions. This hadith highlights the superiority of the learned over the worshipper and is supported by various narrations on the virtue of knowledge. If a worshipper questions the status of a learned person who acts upon his knowledge or even a sinful learned person, it should be reminded, "Do you not know that good deeds erase bad deeds?"