What is the meaning of ihsan (excellence in worship) in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “Indeed, Allah has written ihsan (excellence in worship) upon everything”?

The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. This questioner says: In the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) , what is the meaning of ihsan (excellence in worship)?

The Shaykh:
Indeed, Allah, what?

The questioner:
Indeed, Allah has written ihsan (excellence in worship) upon everything, so what is the meaning of ihsan (excellence in worship)?

The Shaykh:
Ihsan (excellence in worship) originally means perfection, the perfection of a thing. Ihsan (excellence in worship) between Allah and His servant means to worship Him as if you see Him. If you do not see Him, then you believe that Allah sees you. If you do not reach the level of one who believes he sees Allah with his own eyes, then at least you believe that Allah sees you and watches over you, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. As for ihsan (excellence in worship) toward creation, it is done by being kind to them, doing good, and withholding harm, and so on. Ihsan (excellence in worship) between a person and animals is not to torment them, to give them their feed and water, not to burden them with what they cannot bear, not to milk their milk and deprive them of their young, and so on. One should be kind when slaughtering them and gentle with them during the slaughter. This is ihsan (excellence in worship) toward animals.