Discover the meaning of the term Al-ḥsn (حسن) in Islamic vocabulary.
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Updated on 11 April 2026 at 1:05 AM
📖 6 min readIt is a thing's being congenial to nature, such as joy; a thing's being an attribute of perfection, such as knowledge; and a thing's being an object of praise, such as acts of worship.
It is also what is an object of praise in this world and of reward in the hereafter.
With damma on the first letter and sukun on the second (hasun), and likewise qubh (ugliness): two verbal nouns applied to three meanings: the first, a thing's being congenial to nature or repugnant to it; the second, its being an attribute of perfection or an attribute of deficiency; the third, a thing's being an object of praise in this world and of reward in the hereafter, or an object of blame in this world and of punishment in the hereafter; the two are opposed by contrariety. From this are known the hasan and the qabih, which are the forms of the resemblance adjective. Then the commanded (al-ma'mur bi-hi), which is hasan and qabih in the sense of hasan and qubh, is of two kinds: one is the commanded whose goodness lies in itself, such that the commanded is good in the very nature for which it was instituted; the second is the commanded that is good for other than itself, such that the source of its goodness is that other, and the commanded itself has no share in its goodness; each of the two has three categories, and one makes the analogy for the commanded that is qabih. The detail is in the books of usul al-fiqh.
In language: a thing's being such that the soul accepts it and nature inclines to it for the enjoyment it yields. In the Sharia: the acceptance of a thing and contentment with it. Al-hasan: the accepted and the approved, or what the Sharia has not forbidden, or whose doer we are commanded to praise; and al-qabih is that whose doer we are commanded to blame. Al-hasana: what carries praise in this world and reward in the hereafter. Hasn al-iqtida': judging with only the least amount of its kind; seizure from the debtor is permissible, and its opposite is husn al-qada'. (Mizan al-Usul, p. 46; Ahkam al-Fusul, p. 50; Sharh Hudud Ibn 'Arfa, 398; Anis al-Fuqaha, p. 102; Lubb al-Usul / Jami' al-Jawami', p. 23; al-Hudud al-Aniqa, p. 77; al-Ta'rifat, p. 117).
'Hasuna': it was beautiful; he is hasan (beautiful), she is hasana'. (Plural, masculine and feminine): hisan. In the noble Quran: 'Whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, those are with the ones Allah has blessed, of the prophets, the truthful, the witnesses and the righteous; and excellent are those as companions' (al-Nisa, 69).
It denotes everything delightful and desired; it is of three kinds: approved by the intellect, approved by inclination, approved by sense. It has been said: hasan is a thing's being congenial to nature, such as joy; a thing's being an attribute of perfection, such as knowledge; and a thing's being an object of praise, such as worship. Hasan in respect of a meaning in itself: what is adorned with beauty by a meaning fixed in its own essence, such as faith in Allah and His attributes. Hasan in respect of a meaning in other than itself: what is adorned with beauty by a meaning fixed in other than itself, such as jihad; for it is not beautiful in itself, being the laying waste of Allah's lands and the punishment of His servants; it is beautiful only for what it contains of exalting the word of Allah and destroying His enemies (al-Ta'rifat, 91-92). Al-hasana: everything of a pleasing bounty that comes to a man in his soul and body; al-sayyi'a is its opposite. The difference between hasana, hasan and husna: hasan is said of realities and events, likewise hasana when it is an attribute; husna is said only of events, not of realities. Hasan is most used in common speech for what is approved by sight, and the most frequent in the Quran is hasan, while husna is for what is approved by insight
It is a thing's being congenial to nature, such as joy; a thing's being an attribute of perfection, such as knowledge; and a thing's being an object of praise, such as acts of worship; qubh (ugliness) is its opposite.
﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًۭا وَذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينِ وَقُولُوا۟ لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًۭا وَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُوا۟ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا مِّنكُمْ وَأَنتُم مُّعْرِضُونَ﴾
« And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], "Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakah." Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing. »
Surah البقرة : 83
﴿مَّن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يُقْرِضُ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًۭا فَيُضَـٰعِفَهُۥ لَهُۥٓ أَضْعَافًۭا كَثِيرَةًۭ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَقْبِضُ وَيَبْصُۜطُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ﴾
« Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned. »
Surah البقرة : 245
﴿زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ وَٱلْبَنِينَ وَٱلْقَنَـٰطِيرِ ٱلْمُقَنطَرَةِ مِنَ ٱلذَّهَبِ وَٱلْفِضَّةِ وَٱلْخَيْلِ ٱلْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ وَٱلْحَرْثِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلْمَـَٔابِ﴾
« Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return. »
Surah آل عمران : 14
﴿فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍۢ وَأَنۢبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًۭا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا ۖ كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا ٱلْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًۭا ۖ قَالَ يَـٰمَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَـٰذَا ۖ قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾
« So her Lord accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah. Every time Zechariah entered upon her in the prayer chamber, he found with her provision. He said, "O Mary, from where is this [coming] to you?" She said, "It is from Allah. Indeed, Allah provides for whom He wills without account." »
Surah آل عمران : 37
﴿فَـَٔاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثَوَابَ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَحُسْنَ ثَوَابِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾
« So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the good reward of the Hereafter. And Allah loves the doers of good. »
Surah آل عمران : 148
﴿فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّى لَآ أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَـٰمِلٍۢ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ ۖ بَعْضُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍۢ ۖ فَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا۟ وَأُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِمْ وَأُوذُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِى وَقَـٰتَلُوا۟ وَقُتِلُوا۟ لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ثَوَابًۭا مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلثَّوَابِ﴾
« And their Lord responded to them, "Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed - I will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allah, and Allah has with Him the best reward." »
Surah آل عمران : 195
This term appears in 51 verses of the Quran.