AHSAN TAQWÎM - اَحْسَنِ تَقْو۪يمٍۘ

Etimology & Literal Meaning: Derived from the Arabic roots h-s-n (ح-س-ن), meaning beauty, excellence and perfection, and q-w-m (ق-و-م ), meaning to set upright, measure and give shape. It literally signifies the best pattern, the most beautiful proportion, the finest mold or stature.

As an Islamic Term: Derived directly from Surah at-Tîn (95:4):

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ

“We have indeed created man in ahsan taqwîm.”

This term refers to:

General Creation: The creation of every being by Allah in the most perfect, balanced and suitable form, equipped with the precise attributes, faculties and capacity which it is worthy of possessing.

Human Creation: The sublime and comprehensive fashioning of human beings as the most distinguished art of the Khâliq. Man is created with elevated potential, comprehensive ma’nawî faculties and an unmatched capacity to reflect all the names of Allah (Asmâ al-Husnâ) and to fulfill the ultimate trust (amânah).

Ahsan-ı Taqwîm signifies not merely physical symmetry or external beauty belonging to man’s physical creation in the form of a human being, but the elevated rank of a true human being reached when his potential is unfolded through îmân, ‘ubûdiyyah and ma‘rifatullah. Through fulfiling these duties, man rises to become the supreme place of manifestation of the names of Allah in the universe.

An excerpt from the Risale-i Nur that elucidates this subject:

Among the species of living beings, man is the neediest for the varieties of rizq. Janâb-i Haqq created man in the form of a comprehensive mirror to all His Names, a miracle of Qoudrah possessing the equipment to weigh and recognise the stored treasuries of all His Rahmah and a khalîfah of the earth endowed with the instruments to weigh up the subtleties of His art and the manifestations of all His Names. He therefore gave man an infinite need and made him needy for the infinite varieties of material and ma’nawî rizq. The means of raising man to Ahsan Taqwîm — which is the highest position according to such comprehensiveness — is shukr. If man does not offer shukr, he falls into asfal sâfilîn and perpetrates a grave dhulm.

Twenty-Eighth Letter Fifth Matter which is the Fifth Risale Risale on Shukr

For further explanation, please refer to the Twenty-Third Word, the Eleventh Word and the Thirtieth Word.