In today’s khutba, I intend to discuss the Islamic concept of itqan. The Arabic word Itqan is used to indicate the highest level of quality work and the correct and complete performance of duties. It has to do with arranging and doing things in a way that yields the most perfect results. Itqan or perfection of action is a part of our amanah. Being thorough in doing something is an obligation upon Muslims.
In Islam, quality work has a special spiritual flavor because of its association with Allah (SWT). The itqan or perfection with which Allah (SWT) creates everything is mentioned in numerous ayat of the Qur’an. For example, ayah 27 of Surat an-Naml tells us:
صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِي أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ
“This is the handiwork of God who has perfected all things” (al-Naml, 27:88).
Ayah 7 of Surat as-Sajdah mentions that Allah (SWT) perfected everything which He created.
الَّذِي أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ
Surat at-Teen says that Allah (SWT) created man in the best of forms.
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
We also get a glimpse of the perfection of Allah’s creation in Surat Al-Mulk,
الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا مَّا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ مِن تَفَاوُتٍ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍ ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ
“He who created the seven heavens, one above the other; you will not see any flaw in what the Lord of Mercy creates. Look again! Can you see any flaw? Look again! And again! Your sight will turn back to you, weak and defeated” (al-Mulk, 67:3-4).
Itqan means to strive for perfection, without sacrificing the quality of the work one is engaged in. Itqan is a criterion for achievement and excellence, which comes through working hard and not giving up. Indeed this is what has been shown by our beloved Prophet (SAW). He did not give up while spreading the message of Islam to his people despite the obstacles that came in his way. Through hard work, patience, persistence, and perseverance, he not only changed a pagan community into a civilized society, but was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. All his actions were done at the highest level of itqan. His companions followed him in his footsteps and with enormous effort and itqan managed to spread the message and blessings of Islam to a large part of the globe including Asia, Africa and Europe in less than a hundred years. According to a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said,
“Indeed Allah loves one who when he does a work, he does it with itqan.” In other words, Allah is pleased with the person who when he performs a deed, he executes it with excellence. Itqan in this hadith refers to the attitude of being careful, meticulous, diligent and excellent in carrying out responsibilities and tasks. If a person is willfully negligent, waists his or her time, then of course this person will incur the displeasure of Allah. We have in Surat at-Taubah:
وَقُلِ اعْمَلُوا فَسَيَرَى اللَّهُ عَمَلَكُمْ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَسَتُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
“Do deeds! Allah will see your deeds, and (so will) His Messenger and the believers. And you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. Then He will inform you of what you used to do”(at-Taubah, 9:105).
This ayah tells us that our deeds will be shown to us on the Day of Judgment. Indeed, we have to be very careful and very watchful of whatever we do.
Iman or faith should propel a person to work in as perfect a manner as possible, be it for welfare of this world or for the afterlife. When doing anything at the level of itqan, our attitude always remains positive. We do not become complacent and we do not become selfish. Therefore, we do not have to doubt the quality of the work we produce. A society having itqan in its work ethics is more proactive, more responsible, and more sensitive towards others. Doing something without itqan leads to an attitude of mediocrity or taking things for granted. This attitude prevents a person from achieving any kind of success. We need to educate ourselves, our families, and our children to avoid this mediocre attitude. Success does not come by doing things half-heartedly.
People with negative attitudes always utter words of discouragement to themselves and to those around them. Rather than achieving excellence in what they do, they continue to criticize, condemn, complain and make excuses. They always complain about not having enough time, enough resources, and enough opportunities. They usually have very low self-esteem of themselves and lack confidence in themselves. And what they love to do is to give up halfway and let go of responsibilities. They also love blaming others for their own shortcomings and weaknesses.
Let me share with you a very positive cultural practice of the Japanese people. It is the culture of the Japanese people to strive for total professionalism in whatever they do. Any task is taken seriously, and is done with utmost dedication. In Japanese organizations, employees at all levels are expected to seek perfection in their respective professions. This is true even for low-grade workers. The general attitude is that the only way to do a job is to do it perfectly. The Japanese are known to practice a simple philosophy called Kaizen, which means “to become good through change.” It is a philosophy of continuous improvement; of restructuring and organizing every aspect of a system to ensure that it remains at peak efficiency. Itqan is doing all this and much more. It is a value that has been emphasized by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
I invite myself and you to strive to improve. Let today be better than yesterday and let tomorrow be better than today. Let us keep improving ourselves in our daily duties and dealings with family members, friends, and all others, at all times and all places.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين. ( ثم أما بعد)
Islam requires; rather it demands that whatever we undertake to do, we do it really well. There are no half-hearted measures in Islam. No sloppy, shoddy work. If you are a Muslim, and you do something, you have to do it well. But unfortunately this is something many of us have forgotten. This is one of those important lessons of our culture and history that we need to re-learn. When we do something, whatever it may be, those looking at our work should be able to say: “Ah, a Muslim must have done it!” That is how our Aslaaf (our predecessors) used to be, and that is what we need to become. Excellence and superior performance need to stop at us. Our dedication and commitment to our work will not only let us progress further in work, but will earn for us the blessings and mercy from Allah (SWT). The Prophet (SAW) said in a hadith,
“O people, Allah is good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good.” This hadith encourages us to work carefully and responsibly to earn the pleasure of Allah (SWT). Regardless of the nature of job, be it a ritual; a mode of worship, be it maintaining good relationships with our fellow human beings, or be it any other work, we are called upon to have itqan. If we perform our prayers merely to fulfill a responsibility, then our prayers may not have the desired effect on us. In our professional lives, if we do our jobs and perform our duties just for the sake of earning a livelihood, we may remain mediocre all our lives. As students, if we study just to pass the exams and our feelings are devoid of the quest to learn deeper into what we study, then we will end up being ordinary students and not outstanding ones.
As a community, we must always look for ways to improve our situation. We must discard any poor image of ourselves, and our work ethics. Do we make appointments and not stick to them? Do we make promises and not fulfill them? Do we undertake a job and settle for poor performance by not working hard enough? We have to strive to change this general image of Muslims. Good practices and work attitudes of other communities should be good examples for us. Of course, we are fortunate to have the best guide and the best model is our beloved Prophet (SAW). We can change and improve when we truly desire to do so, and when we make sufficient effort to do so. The Qur’an tells us that our situation will not change for the better, if we do not put in any effort to change it ourselves.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ
“God does not change the condition of a people unless they change what is in themselves.” (Al-Ra’d, 13:11).
May Allah (SWT) give us the tawfiq and guidance to improve for the better, and to have itqan in all that we d1o. Aamin Ya Rabb al ‘Aalamin.
