The Concept of Perfection of Action (Itqan) Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar

Haque on Sept 27, 2013

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 ouramanah. 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:

صنعالل ال ذيأت قنكل شيء

“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.

ال ذيأحسنكل شيء خلقهSurat at-Teen says that Allah (SWT) created man in the best of forms.

نسانفأحسنت قوي لقدخلقناالWe also get a glimpse of the perfection of Allah’s creation in Surat Al-Mulk,

من فارجعالبصرهلت رى فخلقالر ح نمنت فاوت طباقام ات رى ال ذيخلقسبعساوات

فطور ث ارجعالبصركر ت يينقلبإليكالبصرخاسئاوهوحسير“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 itqanmanaged 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:

عالالغيبوالش هادةف ي ن ب ئكم وقلاعملوافسي رىالل عملكمورسولهوالمؤمنونوست ردونإل باكنتمت عملون

“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.

سلماتفاست غفروهإن ههوالغفورسلميوامل

أقولق ولهذاوأست غفرالل لولكمولسائرامل

الر حيمث)مجعي.أوأصحابهآلهوعلىاملرسليسيدعلىوالسالموالصالةالعامليربهللاحلمد

بعد(أما

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.

وامابنفسهم ي غي حت الل لي غي مابقوم إن “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.