Human beings are endowed with resolve and resilience. These twin forces carry us through pain, failure, and adversity. Resolve keeps us moving; resilience helps us rise when we fall. Most of us yearn and pledge to be better, yet we often stumble. Still, that very cycle reveals a spiritual truth: our journey is not about flawless achievement but about living with Iḥsān,  excellence for the sake of Allah. To understand this, we must distinguish between the paralysis of perfectionism and the liberation of Iḥsān. 

The Paralysis of Perfectionism

Perfectionism is driven by ego. It builds impossible standards, measuring worth by unattainable ideals. At its root lies fear; fear of failure, rejection, and judgment. The perfectionist over plans, procrastinates, overworks, and still feels dissatisfied. The result is exhaustion without peace.

The Liberation of Iḥsān

Iḥsān flows from faith, not fear. It means seeking Allah’s pleasure, not human approval. The Prophet^(sa) defined iḥsān as worshipping Allah

as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, know that He sees you.

This awareness transforms our work: we strive for excellence in intention and action, knowing that only Allah is perfect. 

Allah commands in the Quran 2:196

“Wa aḥsinū; inna Allāha yuḥibbu al-muḥsinīn”

And do good; indeed, Allah loves those who do good.  He calls us to Iḥsān, not perfection. Similarly, in 16:91 Allah reminds us:

“Inna Allāha ya’muru bil-‘adli wal-iḥsān”

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct.

Iḥsān honors human limitation. It values sincere effort, beauty in the process, and completion over obsession. A small deed done with pure intention may outweigh a flawless act performed for show because Allah measures sincerity, not polish. Finding Peace in Striving: Perfectionism feeds restlessness; Iḥsān nurtures peace. Where one asks, “What will people think?” the other asks, “Am I doing this for Allah?” Iḥsān teaches that brokenness is not a flaw to hide but a doorway to divine mercy. It replaces anxiety with surrender, and endless revision with contentment in effort.

The Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

“God does not desire that you become perfect by your own strength. He desires that you recognize your weakness and seek strength from Him — this is the essence of Islam.” He reminded us that God looks at the heart; pure intention can elevate even the humblest acts.”

The Complementary Movement

Our journey moves in two directions: repentance and mercy. We turn back to Allah, and He turns to us with forgiveness.

The Quran in 39:54 addresses the heart of the argument about divine mercy:

“Qul yā ʿibādiya alladhīna asrafū ʿalā anfusihim lā taqnaṭū min raḥmatillāh, inna Allāha yaghfiru adh-dhunūba jamīʿā, innahu huwa al-ghafūru ar-raḥīm.”

Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

This verse affirms that our brokenness is met with infinite mercy, not condemnation

The Promised Messiah (as) likened divine mercy to an ocean and repentance to the vessel that receives it.

In 9:104 Allah reaffirms:

“Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants…?”

Here lies the beauty of Iḥsān: Allah meets our sincere striving with grace, not with the demand for flawlessness. 

As we set our reformative goals of self-improvement, let us step forward with resolve and resilience ; not chasing perfection, but embodying iḥsān: worshipping Allah with awareness, making our lives salat centric, striving sincerely, embracing our limits, and finding peace in the pursuit of excellence. Good, better best. This is what truly liberates. 

The essence is as the Quran says: 66:9

Rabbanā atmim lanā nūranā waghfir lanā, innaka ʿalā kulli shay’in qadeer

Our Lord, perfect our light for us and forgive us; surely, Thou hast power over all things.

The never-ceasing desire for perfection on the part of believers in Paradise as expressed in the words, ‘Our Lord perfect our light for us,’ shows that life in Paradise will not be one of inaction. On the contrary, spiritual advance in Paradise will know no end, for as the believers will attain excellence, characteristic of a certain stage, they will not stop at that, but seeing in front of it a higher stage of excellence and finding that the stage at which they had arrived was not the highest stage will proceed further, and so on without endfor only Allah is perfect.