Pride & Arrogance

History has shown that pride has led to the downfall of many. It was pride that wasted so many years of Ibadat of Iblees and made him an enemy of Allah(swt). These days pride is also one of the reasons that society faces so many problems. People are so full of themselves that they fail to see what wrongs they are committing. A husband would be too proud to apologize to the wife or the wife would be too proud to do the same, children are too proud to bend a little and listen to parents, the parents think that they would be insulted if they listened to the children. Its a vicious cycle that hasnt left anyone. 
Why dont people look at the consequences of all this sense of false pride...a divorce, break up of relations between parents and children etc. People think that apologizing would lower them BUT they fail to understand that only someone with a big heart and great honor would forgive the other and instead of blaming would apologize. Saying sorry doesnt lower you instead it lifts you up because forgiveness is the tradition of great people like the Prophets(a.s) and Ahlul Bayt(s.a). If they can forgive and forget why not you? Are you above them?

Pride is one of the most condemned sins in Islam. Four verses of the Qur’an clearly state that Hell is the abode of proud persons. The Holy Prophet has said: “Allah says, greatness is My prerogative, and whoever tries to share it with me (becomes proud) I will put him in Hell”.

Some narrations:

1. Always stay away from pride (arrogance). I have often seen that Allah insults and disgraces one who is arrogant. Arrogance results in failure, disappointment, insult and disrepute.
2. Allah does not like such proud people who walk arrogantly; the earth and the sky curses such people.(Wasael – 2, p. 472)
3. An arrogant man is an enemy of good people.(Wasael – 2, p. 330)
4. Arrogance and pride results in madness and foolishness. Otherwise what is the cause of a man’s arrogance? He should remember his beginning and end. In the beginning he was a drop of ‘najis’ sperm and in the end he is going to die. After this what reason does he have for arrogance?(Mustadrak – 2, p. 330)
5. It is said in the tradition that there is an excreta in one’s stomach so that his pride gets destroyed. One who carries such dirt in ones stomach, why should he be proud?(Furu-e-Kafi-3, p 70)
6. Allah, the Wise, has said:  فَالَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالآخِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مُّـنْكِرَةٌ وَّ هُمْ مُسْـتَكْبِرُونَ  “As to those who believe not in the Hereafter, their hearts refuse to know, and they are arrogant.” Noble Qur’an, Suratul Nahl (16) Verse 22
7. The Noble Prophet (sa) said: لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ کاَنَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقاَلَُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ کِبْرٍ. “One, whose heart contains pride, (even if it is) in the measure of a mustard-seed, shall not enter Paradise.” Jamea al-Saaadat, Volume 1, Page 346

These narrations signify how much pride and arrogance are hated in Islam. Its not wrong to be proud of one's achievements and feel good about oneself, the problem lies when this reaches a level when a person deems himself above all and refuses to bow down. As the saying goes, those who dont bend break!

The question arises that how to get rid of this pride. some of the ways this could be done are:

1. Take the initiative of saying salaam to other people be they young or old. This will remove any sense of false pride present in the heart.
2. Go pray in the mosque and you will see that its not whether someone is rich or poor that they get to stand near the imam. Rather everyone is the same.
3. A similar lesson can be learned by thinking about Hajj, it doesnt matter how much money you have. A beggar and a millionaire would have the same level.
4. Visit the graveyard and look at the dead, think about how everyone will end up in the same dirt no matter what position they held in this world. In the end piety will determine everything.
5. Read Quran, narrations and ponder over them. think about ayats like this and then ask yourself what makes you so proud: Perish man! How unthankful he is! Of what did He create him? Of a sperm drop. He created him, and proportioned him, then the way eased for him, then makes him to die, and buries him; then, when He wills, He raises him. (80:17-22)

Think about all this before it takes over your heart and destroys your eeman!


References:
http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/felicities/4.htm
http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-reflection-2/8.htm
http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-reflection-2/8.htm#_ftn51
http://www.al-islam.org/anecdotes-reflection-2/8.htm#_ftn52
http://www.al-islam.org/short/wasiyatnama/31.htm
http://www.al-islam.org/inner-voice-rizvi/37.htm

Blinded by Greed

I thought i should write about the so called *seven deadly sins*. I have already written about Anger and thought should write about Greed now. One of the reasons that i am writing about Greed is the way society is becoming. If you look at people you would be able to see that one of the reasons of constant impatience, anxiety, selfishness, murders etc is Greed. We become so involved in trying to quench our thirst for our desires that we forget the main reason we have been brought in this world. These days its always about material things, people have simply forgotten that relations, religion etc matter more. What would you do with a lot of money or material things if you were left alone? Is a big mansion with all the luxuries any good if you were to live alone in it? Would delicious gourmet food matter if you were sitting at the table alone? why dont we think about these things when we trample on people to fulfill our Greed. Please think about it! I will post some references from Islamic material so that the issue could be better understood.

The Holy Prophet(pbuh) has said: “Allah says, ‘The poor are my dependants, the rich my agents; if my agents will not give to my dependents their due I shall put them in Hell and I shall not care 

Greed is everlasting slavery.Nahj al-balaghah, Hikam,No. 103 

Imam Sadiq (AS), as stated in Misbahush-Shari'ah, said: "This world is like a portrait: its head is arrogance, its eye is greed, its ear is covetousness, its tongue is pretence, its hand is desire, its leg is conceit, its heart is negligence, its being is perishing and its destiny is decline. Whoever loves it, it gives him arrogance, whoever approves of it, it grants him greed, whoever demands it, it drives him to covetousness, whoever praises it, it clothes him with pretence, whoever wants it, it offers him conceit, whoever trusts it, it neglects him, whoever admires its properties, it ruins him, and whoever accumulates it and does not spend it, it turns him down to its dwelling place, the Fire"

Greed makes us a slave and takes us away from our spiritual journey. One lecturer said that even if you dont admit that you are greedy think about this:

When you have crisp new notes(money) and old notes and someone asks you for a change etc....you would always give them old notes. What is this? Is their a difference in the value of the old and new notes? If not then why this attachment to a piece of paper?

When ever you are about to give charity, why do you give old clothes? Would you be able to give some clothes you like or of the same standard as you wear?

Its exactly this attachment and greed that Islam wants us to move away from. Zakat, Khums, other ways of charity are some of the ways we can get rid of this disease. Lets all pray for Allah(swt) to remove greed from us...Ameen.


Ref: www.al-islam.org