The Prophet ﷺ once said:

A young man came asking: "O Messenger of Allah! I want to go out and fight in Jihad and I have come to ask your advice." The Prophet ﷺ asked, "Do you have a mother?" He replied, "Yes." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Then stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet."

Jihad is the highest form of striving in Islam. To leave the battlefield and stay home is a decision that cuts against everything a warrior's heart desires. Yet the Prophet ﷺ commanded it - not as a weakness, but as a mercy and a priority that transcends even the greatest struggle.

The Prophet ﷺ once said:

"What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Gabriel asked. Allah's Messenger ﷺ replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you."

Ihsan is not a level above Islam. It is Islam perfected - when you strip away the performance and the fear of judgment, and worship Allah with the awareness that He is watching.

Most people pray when they are being watched and forget when they are alone. But the person of ihsan prays the same way at midnight in their room as they do in the mosque. Because for them, Allah's presence is constant.