Pride, Arrogance, Boastfulness

[seekeroftruth]

This is the chronic disease. It is man’s consideration of himself with the eye of self-glorification and self-importance and his consideration of others with the eye of contempt. The result as regards the tongue is that he says, ‘I.. I..’; as accursed Iblis said, ‘I am better than he; Thou hast created me of fire, but him Thou hast created of clay’ (38:77). The fruit of it in society is self-exaltation and self-advancement and the endeavour to be foremost in discussions and resentment when what one says is contradicted. The arrogant man is he who, when he gives advice, mortifies, but, when he receives it, is rude. Every one who considers himself better than one of the creatures of God most high is arrogant. Indeed, you ought to realize that the good man is he who is good in God’s sight in the mansion of eternity; and that is something unknown to man, postponed to the End. Your belief that you are better than others is sheer ignorance. Rather you ought not to look at anyone without considering that he is better than you and superior to you. Thus, if you see a child, you say, ‘This person has never sinned against God, but I have sinned, and so he is better than I.’ And if you see an older person, you say, ‘This man was a servant of God before me, and is certainly better than I.’ If he is a scholar, you say, ‘This man has been given what I have not been given and reached what I did not reach, and knows what I am ignorant of; then how shall I be like him?’ And if he is ignorant, you say, ‘This man has sinned against God in ignorance, and I have sinned against Him knowingly, so God’s case against me is stronger, and I do not know what end He will give to me and what end to him.’ If he is an infidel, you say, ‘I do not know; perhaps he will become a Muslim and his life will end in doing good, and because of his acceptance of Islam something of his sins will be taken away, as a hair is taken from dough; but as for me - God is our refuge (God grant it does not happen) - perhaps God will lead me astray so that I become an infidel and my life ends in doing evil, and then tomorrow he will be among those brought near to God and I shall be among the punished.’

Arrogance will not leave your heart except when you know that the great man is he who is great in the sight of God most high. That is something which cannot be known until the end of life, and there is doubt about that (the end and whether it will be good or bad). So let fear of the end occupy you and keep you from making yourself out, despite the doubt about your end, to be aboved the servants of God most high. Your certitude and faith at present do not exclude the possibility of your changing in the future; for God is the disposer of hearts; He guides whom He will and leads astray whom He will.

Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, The Beginning of Guidance

[Saj]

Salaam

So true.

The first disobedience to Allah that we are aware of was a result of PRIDE. Shaytan refused to bow to Aadam (as) because of his arrogance and pride. He boasted - I am better than him because I am made from fire and he is made from earth.

This disease is everywhere and it is so so insidious that it really worries me and I see it around all the time. What are true intentions behind our words, actions, motivations and even the clothes we wear, or the things we buy? How many times do we feel superior to others in our hearts even if we do not verbalise it?

My husband heard a khutbah where the imam was saying that one shouldn't even be proud to be a Muslim, even though it is the best thing to be, because even that can be easily taken away from you. The times we are living in we should remember the hadith that says that towards the end of time a Muslim will go to sleep a Muslim and wake up a kafir and vice versa.

I find that this society (UK) really promotes pride. Recently we have had a whole emphasis of being PROUD to be British - we are PROUD of our police and ambulance crews etc. etc. Even "I am PROUD to be British and Muslim" (that one gets rammed down our throats quite a bit as well).

Feeling proud of oneself is taught at a very young age. There is a lot of emphasis on praising children when they achieve something and this is reflected back to them as their own PERSONAL achievement - that they made it happen by themselves with hardwork and obedience to the (official) rules. I am going to start potty training my toddler and its all about star charts and rewards and jumping with glee if she does a poo in the potty and praising her excessively - this is what the official books tell you and as a parent I must follow the parent manuals written by modern behaviourists right? Because otherwise my child might grow into an uncivilised monster who still wears nappies as an adult? The thing is despite the rant I am going to follow the manual because it is easier for me and it works (apparently).

But you see how the mindset being taught is. Children are taught to expect praise and attention when they do something good and to be proud of themselves. In Islam, we refer a good outcome first and foremost to Allah. The mindset is we are nothing and would be nothing and have no achievements if not for the blessings, grace and mercy of Allah, however hard we strive. In Islam, instead of becoming happy of what WE have achieved, the emphasis is on what ALLAH has allowed us to achieve - shukr alhamdulillah - we do not praise ourselves but thank and praise Allah who is the One worthy of all praise.