Defining Ihsan in Light of Surah Yusuf
Mustansir Mir, in his "The Qur'ânic Story Of Joseph: Plot, Themes, And Characters", writes:
Although Jacob certainly possesses the third quality, ihsân, as far as the story is concerned, it is Joseph who possesses it in the highest degree, and the adjective muhsin is used in the sûra with explicit or implicit reference to Joseph only. This is appropriate because ihsân is an active virtue and it is Joseph, not Jacob, who bears the brunt of the action in the story and so has to display this quality in practice. A concise definition of ihsân is provided in vs. 90:
innahu man yattaqi wa yasbir fa inna 'llâha lâ yud`iu ajra 'l-muhsinîna,
"Indeed those who practice taqwâ (moral restraint) and sabr (perseverance), God does not set at naught the reward of those who do good actions."
In other words, ihsân is a combination of taqwâ and sabr. Sabr means "to remain steadfast in the face of difficulties"; taqwâ means "to hold one's own in the face of temptations." The former helps people to overcome their tendency to shun danger and hardship, the latter helps people to overcome their inclination toward the glamorous and the alluring. The two are complementary opposites and together sum up all the trials and tribulations Joseph goes through successfully, the reason why he so eminently deserves the title of muhsin.
And the brothers lack ihsân, too. In fact they possess the quality of zulm, "iniquity," which is an exact antithesis of ihsân, as evidenced by the following. When the brothers suggest to Joseph, whom they call muhsin (78), that he detain one of them in place of Benjamin, he replies (79):
innâ idhan la mina 'l-zâlimîna,
"In that case we shall prove to be iniquitous."
And, in an ironical situation, they condemn themselves out of their mouths. Upon being asked how a thief should be punished, they reply that he should be made the slave of the person whose property he has stolen, and then add (75):
kadhâlika najzî 'l-zâlimîna,
"This is how we punish the iniquitous."
The full article can be found at:
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Q_Studies/Mirjoseph.html
Although Jacob certainly possesses the third quality, ihsân, as far as the story is concerned, it is Joseph who possesses it in the highest degree, and the adjective muhsin is used in the sûra with explicit or implicit reference to Joseph only. This is appropriate because ihsân is an active virtue and it is Joseph, not Jacob, who bears the brunt of the action in the story and so has to display this quality in practice. A concise definition of ihsân is provided in vs. 90:
innahu man yattaqi wa yasbir fa inna 'llâha lâ yud`iu ajra 'l-muhsinîna,
"Indeed those who practice taqwâ (moral restraint) and sabr (perseverance), God does not set at naught the reward of those who do good actions."
In other words, ihsân is a combination of taqwâ and sabr. Sabr means "to remain steadfast in the face of difficulties"; taqwâ means "to hold one's own in the face of temptations." The former helps people to overcome their tendency to shun danger and hardship, the latter helps people to overcome their inclination toward the glamorous and the alluring. The two are complementary opposites and together sum up all the trials and tribulations Joseph goes through successfully, the reason why he so eminently deserves the title of muhsin.
And the brothers lack ihsân, too. In fact they possess the quality of zulm, "iniquity," which is an exact antithesis of ihsân, as evidenced by the following. When the brothers suggest to Joseph, whom they call muhsin (78), that he detain one of them in place of Benjamin, he replies (79):
innâ idhan la mina 'l-zâlimîna,
"In that case we shall prove to be iniquitous."
And, in an ironical situation, they condemn themselves out of their mouths. Upon being asked how a thief should be punished, they reply that he should be made the slave of the person whose property he has stolen, and then add (75):
kadhâlika najzî 'l-zâlimîna,
"This is how we punish the iniquitous."
The full article can be found at:
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Q_Studies/Mirjoseph.html
posted by Asim at 7:50 AM
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