In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Some people become proud when they can do something, when they have something, or when they accomplished something, forgetting how small they are in front of the Creator, Al-Aziz Al-Mutakabbir (The Almighty, The Supreme, The Majestic), forgetting they were once a thing unremembered.
Allah Almighty says,
هَلْ أَتَىٰ عَلَى ٱلْإِنسَـٰنِ حِينٌ مِّنَ ٱلدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُن شَيْـًٔا مَّذْكُورًا ﴿١﴾ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُ سَمِيعًۢا بَصِيرًا[Qur'an, Al-Insan 76:1-2]
Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned? (1) Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing. (2)
We should remind ourselves in everything we do only to Allah belong the absolute pride.
هُوَ ٱللَّـهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْمَلِكُ ٱلْقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُ ٱلْمُهَيْمِنُ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْجَبَّارُ ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّـهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ﴿٢٣[Qur'an, Al-Hashr 59:23]
He is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him. (23)
We should never be full of pride and arrogance, nor misuse our rights and privileges and look down upon others.
Allah Almighty absolutely hates arrogance and pride in His creation.
Allah Almighty says,
إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا ﴿٣٦ ...[Qur'an, An-Nisa 4:36]
... Surely God loves not the proud and boastful (36)
وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ ﴿١٨﴾ وَٱقْصِدْ فِى مَشْيِكَ وَٱغْضُضْ مِن صَوْتِكَ ۚ إِنَّ أَنكَرَ ٱلْأَصْوَٰتِ لَصَوْتُ ٱلْحَمِيرِ ﴿١٩[Qur'an, Luqman 31:18-19]
And do not turn your cheek away from people, and do not walk on the earth haughtily. Surely, Allah does not like anyone who is arrogant, proud; (18) And be moderate in your walk, and lower your voice. Surely, the ugliest of voices is the voice of the donkeys. (19)
وَيَوْمَ يُعْرَضُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلنَّارِ أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَـٰتِكُمْ فِى حَيَاتِكُمُ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱسْتَمْتَعْتُم بِهَا فَٱلْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ ٱلْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَفْسُقُونَ ﴿٢٠[Qur'an Al-Ahqaf 46:20]
And the day the disbelievers will be presented before the Fire, (it will be said to them,) “You have consumed your good things in your worldly life, and have enjoyed them. So, you will be punished today with the torment of humiliation for the arrogance you used to show on earth with no right (to do so), and for the sins you used to commit. (20)
ذَٰلِكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ ٱلْحَقِّ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَمْرَحُونَ ﴿٧٥﴾ ٱدْخُلُوٓا۟ أَبْوَٰبَ جَهَنَّمَ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۖ فَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ ﴿٧٦[Qur'an Ghafir 40:75-76]
It will be said to them,) “This is because you used to rejoice on the earth wrongfully, and because you used to show arrogance. (75) Enter the gates of Hell to live in it forever. So, how evil is the abode of the arrogant. (76)
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wassallam said that Allah, Exalted and High is He, says: ‘Pride is my Cloak, and Greatness My Robe; and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.’ [Muslim]
The disease of pride and arrogance deletes all traces of goodness and piety. Allah will put the proud to disgrace and ill-repute (dishonor) in the Hereafter.
One of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) said: "Indeed a servant commits a sin by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he enters the Fire." It was asked: How is that? So he replied: "The one who committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it, regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord - the Most High - due to it. He stands before Allah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness - which leads to the servant's happiness and success - to the extent that this sin becomes the cause for him entering Paradise. As for the doer of good, then he does not consider this good a favor from his Lord Upon him. Rather, he becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such and such, and such and such. So this further increases him in self adulation, pride and arrogance - such that this becomes the cause for his destruction."
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, "Paradise and Hell (Fire) quarreled in the presence of their Lord. Paradise said, 'O Lord! What is wrong with me that only the poor and humble people enter me?' Hell (Fire) said, 'I have been favored with the arrogant people.' So Allah said to Paradise, 'You are My Mercy,' and said to Hell, 'You are My Punishment which I inflict upon whom I wish, and I shall fill both of you. (The Prophet added, "As for Paradise, (it will be filled with good people) because Allah does not wrong any of His created things, and He creates for Hell (Fire) whomever He will, and they will be thrown into it, and it will say thrice, 'Is there any more,' till Allah (will put) His Foot over it and it will become full and its sides will come close to each other and it will say, 'Qat! Qat! Qat! (Enough! Enough! Enough!)." [Bukhari]
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, "Whosoever has in his heart, even a atom of pride he will not enter paradise.”
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wassallam said: ‘He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise.’ A person (amongst his hearers) said: ‘O Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wassallam, Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine.’ He (the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam remarked: ‘Verily, Allah is Graceful and He loves Grace. Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people.’ [Sunan of Abu-Dawood]
Narrated by Jabir ibn Atik, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said: ‘There is jealousy which Allah loves and jealousy which Allah hates. That which Allah loves is jealousy regarding a matter of doubt, and that which Allah hates is jealousy regarding something which is not doubtful. There is pride which Allah hates and pride which Allah loves. That which Allah loves is a man's pride when fighting (in the Cause of Allah) and when giving sadaqah; and that which Allah hates is pride shown by oppression or by boasting."
It is of utmost importance that we get rid of this spiritual malady, if we hold any hope of entering Paradise.
Humility is the absence of pride. We are taught to think pride is a good thing. But pride functions only when comparing others to yourself. Don’t base your self-worth on how you stack up to others. Instead, focus on yourself and how you can improve.
In their quest to be humble, people often confuse humility with false modesty. I think we’ve all been guilty of this at one time or another. When we are recognized for a great accomplishment, we act as though what we did really wasn’t that important or that big of a deal. For example, we spend many hours meticulously putting together an excellent presentation for work, and when people praise us we say, “Oh, it was just something I threw together.” We have a tendency to devalue what we’ve done under the pretense of humility. In fact, people often take on the guise of false humility for the sake of receiving more praise and adulation from others. You want people to think “Wow, he said he just threw that together! Imagine what he could do if he had spent hours on it.” When you do something well, don’t toot your own horn excessively, but truthfully acknowledge what you accomplished.
How to Practice Humility
1) Recite Ayatul Kursi after each prayer and reflect on the meanings.
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡحَىُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ لَا تَأۡخُذُهُ ۥ سِنَةٌ۬ وَلَا نَوۡمٌ۬ۚ لَّهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِۦۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهِۦۤ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُ ۥ حِفۡظُهُمَاۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِىُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ
Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. (255) [Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:255]
This verse is meant for us to feel we are are nothing. So we will act like someone who is nothing, remove our pride and arrogance and submit to Allah's Will. Your feelings or your sense of worth is meaningless. Look at where Iblis ended up because he wanted to follow his own sense against Allah's Will.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said, "Whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after every prescribed prayer, nothing prevents him from entering Paradise except death." (An-Nasa'i)
2) Give credit where credit is due. The prideful person will take as much credit for a success as he possibly can. The humble person seeks to shine the light on all the other people who contributed to the success. No man rises on the strength of his bootstraps alone. Innate talent, a supportive family member, friend, teacher or coach always contribute somewhere down the line. Ultimately, Allah Alone gives success and nothing happens without His Will.
3) Don’t name/experience drop. Have you ever been in a conversation with a person who felt it necessary to interject how he has travelled the world, got a 4.0 in college, dines with some great person, or knows a famous person, is involved in various humanitarian or charitable organizations, at points in the conversation where such tidbits of information didn’t belong? These people are basically trying let others know how great they are. Their exaggerated sense of self-importance leads them to demand the lion’s share of attention. These people are clearly insecure; they do not think they can win the interest of others without frontloading all of their attention grabbers. A humble person can hold back on sharing his strengths. He understands that others have equally important and interesting stories to share, and his turn will come.
4) Do what’s expected, but don’t make a big deal about it.
Perform service and charity anonymously. Prideful people want everyone to know when they do a charitable act. They drop the amount of money they donated to a cause into conversation, they post pictures of their service to Facebook, and they never miss a chance to remind someone they served of their generosity towards them. They are obviously doing service for the wrong reason: to stoke their ego and gain acclamation. Real charity is not self-seeking and is done for the benefit of others, seeking solely to please Allah, for the sake of Allah. Next time you do something nice, try keeping it completely to yourself. It’s a tough test of your humility.
5) Stop one-upping people. These are people who must constantly one-up others during conversation. Whatever someone says, the one-upper must do him one better. Resist the urge to take part in these kind of contests. You usually end up humiliating yourself anyway. If you notice someone who wants to engage in this show of one-upmanship, be the better person and let him have his moment of glory.
May Allah protect us from pride and arrogance and make us among those who are grateful and humble. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakum Allahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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