2 – Iḥsān (excellence) is of two kinds.
a) The obligatory form: this is justice and fairness, the discharge of all binding rights, and the fulfillment of one’s duties—toward Allah through worship and obedience, and toward His creatures by giving every claimant his due.
b) The recommended form: this is to extend benefit and render assistance to people according to one’s capacity and means.

Kindness also varies with the condition of those receiving it, their closeness to a person, and the extent of their needs. When iḥsān reaches the place that truly calls for it, its impact is profound and its benefit immense.

Among the greatest benefits and most splendid fruits of iḥsān is that a person treats well the very one who has wronged him in word or deed. Such noble conduct brings a reward from Allah, praise among people, wins the offender’s love, removes his hatred and rancor, and grants the doer victory over the soul that clamors for revenge. The value and far-reaching effects of this cannot be fully grasped except by the One who said:
“Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then the one between you and whom there was enmity will become as though he were a devoted friend. Yet none attains this except those who are patient, and none attains it except one blessed with a tremendous share.” ⦗Q 41:34–35⦘

Whoever makes iḥsān his habit, Allah will deal with him in kind: “Is the reward for excellence anything but excellence?” ⦗Q 55:60⦘; and He said, “For those who excel there will be the finest reward and even more besides.” ⦗Q 10:26⦘

3 – Among the manifestations of iḥsān is excellence when killing or slaughtering, should necessity require either.

4 – This entails not slaughtering or sacrificing with a blunt instrument that would torment the animal; rather, the tool must be sharp, or it should be sharpened at the moment of slaughter. In this lies ease for the animal through the rapid departure of its soul, for Imam Ahmad related