PRIDE AND ARROGANCE

INTRODUCTION

Allaah created humans as vicegerents on earth, their mission

is to explore, learn, and develop the earth's resources and fill

it with goodness and progress, while being mindful of the

Creator and respectful to His laws in the universe He created.

This is the essence of belief and worship in Islam as a practical

and spiritual system. Consequently, Allaah divided the skills to

achieve this mission among humans in varying measures, so

they would work in teams that complement each other.

Humans are required to discover their talents, find their calling

in life, then team up with others to work for doing good deeds

throughout their lifetime.

CONT…

Good Muslims are not supposed to be a vain, know-it-all

show off. They do not practice boasting and bragging.

Conceit, vanity, smugness, arrogance, pretentiousness,

snobbery, condescension, and self-importance haughtiness

are not among their characteristics, simply because they are

always mindful of Allaah.

We are permitted to off-set your blessings in gratitude to your

generous Lord, and as inspiration for others:

“But the bounty of your Lord; rehearse and proclaim!”

(Al-Dhuha : 11)

CONT…

Pride is not a sin, but it is arrogance (or false pride) that is

condemned. On the other hand, dignity is actually a precious

trait of Muslims, which makes them refuse to be put down or

humiliated, and strive to be the best at what they do for the

sake of Allaah and the good of themselves and their

community.

Hazrat Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (RA) said about the Muslims:

"We are a people whom Allaah has dignified with Islam."

CONT…

Muslims are actually instructed to rejoice and express their

happiness when they succeed or get good things: Say "In the

bounty of Allaah and in His mercy, in that let them rejoice, that

is better than the wealth they hoard.”

(Yoonus : 58)

“They rejoice in the bounty provided by Allah.”

(Aal e Imraan :170)

DEFINITIONS

PRIDE:

A reasonable or justifiable sense of one’s worth or importance

<finishing that survival course gave me a real sense of pride and

confidence in my abilities>

ARROGANCE:

An exaggerated sense of one’s importance that shows itself in the

making of excessive or unjustified claims <in his arrogance the

president of the club made all the arrangements for the annual

banquet without consulting the members>

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

PRIDE AND ARROGANCE

Pride is loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of

one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the

person exhibiting it is in a position of power. It is a high or

inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or

superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in

bearing, conduct etc.

Arrogance is offensive display of superiority or self-

importance; overbearing pride.

CONT…

Arrogance is when someone brags about oneself and then

thinks that no one can do better, and that they are the best and

don't think they could ever fail at anything.

Pride is doing something and feeling pleased with one’s self,

or feeling proud of someone else’s

Arrogance- the behavior of a person when they feel that they

are more important than other people, so that they are rude to

them or do not consider them.

CONT…

Pride is a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction that you get when

you have done something well. It's also the feeling of respect

you have for yourself.

Pride is more positive, when you have pride, you just respect

yourself. But, when you are arrogant, you think of yourself as

too important.

The difference would be that arrogance is an exaggerated

sense of self importance and pride is a reasonable sense of

one's importance or worth. In their negative sense, the two

words are synonyms, they mean the same thing.

CONT…

However, pride has a positive meaning: pleasure or

satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to

oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself. Arrogance,

however, has no positive meaning.

Arrogance is like false pride - thinking you are better than you

really are pride is what you feel about something good or

close to you - proud of your accomplishments without

bragging. Arrogance is about pleasure, evolving in the pride of

one’s achievement.

ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF

BALANCE AND EQUILIBRIUM

It requires its followers to always choose the middle road

between two extremes. This applies to worship, psychology,

and everyday life decisions.

Intention is the basis for judging a deed; and the place of

intention is the heart; and only Allaah can see into people's

hearts.

Before doing anything, we are supposed to identify our

intention for doing it, and check to see if it matches Allaah's

law. If there is no valid intention for a deed, then it should be

avoided.

CONT…

The Qur’an teaches that everything we have is from Allaah,

not from ourselves, and it is neither a privilege nor a

punishment, but a test.

The test of a gift is whether we will protect it and put it to

good use. The test of a trial is whether we will persevere and

go on doing good, or turn our backs on Allaah and go astray.

There are numerous examples in the Qur’an detailing these

two types of tests which we are all subject to at every stage of

our life.

CONT…

Islam recognizes the dynamics of human nature, and doesn't

expect humans to turn into sinless pure angels, or else live

with a guilt complex for failing to attain the impossible.

Rather, it offers people tools for limitless self-growth and

improvement, and allows for imperfections and human

weaknesses. And so, motivation, reward, and desire for

recognition are not labeled as sins because they are essential

elements for individuals to achieve progress.

Islam rewards and encourages knowledge, innovation,

excellence, success, as well as the high-flyers and achievers

who produce them.

THE DISEASE OF PRIDE

Disease of pride and arrogance deletes all traces of goodness

and piety. This is the worst vice in causing havoc to Deen and

a regrettable disease to have for the followers of this perfect

and exalted religion.

It launches a direct attack on beliefs and principles. If ignored

and overlooked for sometime it becomes fatal and incurable,

and gives rise to other spiritual maladies and vices, which are

no less than four in number, as, mentioned below:

1. Being deprived of truth and truthfulness. The heart becomes

blind to the verse dealing with knowledge about Allah. It is a

very grievous vice in which the mind of a man becomes dull

and impervious to the understanding of Deen.

CONT…

Allah has said in the Holy Quran:

“I shall turn away from My revelations those who show pride

in the world wrongfully.”

(7.146)

Allah has said in another place in the Qur’an:

“And in this way Allah does put a seal on every arrogant

disdainful heart.”

(40.35)

CONT…

2. The wrath and punishment of Allah fall on the jealous

person. Allah has said:

“Certainly He does not love the proud ones.” (16:23)

It is narrated that Hazrat Moosa (AS) asked Allaah Almighty:

“O my Lord! Who is the most deserving of your wrath and

displeasure?” Allah Almighty told him:

“ It is he whose heart is filled with pride and his tongue is

filthy (i.e. Abusive), his eyes are devoid of shame, his hands

are miserly and he is of bad conduct and character”.

CONT…

3. Allah Almighty will put the proud to disgrace and ill-repute

(dishonour) in the Hereafter. Hazrat Haatim Asamm (RA)

has said:

“Do not die in a state of pride, greed and arrogance.”

Allah does not cause the proud fellow to meet his death unless

he is disgraced and dishonoured by his own family, relatives

and servants.

Similarly the greedy doesn,t meet his death unless he becomes

destitute for a morsel of food and a drop of water. In the same

way, the arrogant person does not meet his own death unless

being polluted with his own excrement and urine.

CONT…

4. The proud renders himself liable to Hell in the Hereafter.

It occurs in a Hadith Qudsi: “Pride is My cloak and grandeur

is my trousers. If anyone disputes with Me in any one of these,

I shall admit him into the Hell-fire.” In the other words, pride

and grandeur are two exclusive attributes of Allaah, which no

one is allowed to apply and ascribe towards himself.

It is imperative to refrain from such a dangerous and deadly

calamity which leads to loss of knowledge of Allah, inability to

understand the commands of Allaah, His displeasure, disgrace

in this world and the Hereafter and painful torment therein. No

wise person can be neglectful in the matter of such a harmful

and destructive calamity.

CONT…

Pride as a sin is incorrectly considered to be insignificant and minute in comparison to other major sins, by a vast majority of the people. It may be that compared to the major sins like murder and associating partner with Allah, it is slightly inferior.

But, that is only because of the magnitude of those particular sins that pride is considered a lesser sin. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whosoever has in his heart, even a atom of pride he will not enter paradise.”

In observing the above Hadeeth, it is of utmost importance that we get rid of this spiritual malady, if we hold any illusion or hope of entering paradise.

ARROGANCE IS OF SEVERAL

TYPES

Arrogance is of several types, including the following:

1) When a person does not accept the truth and produces false

arguments against it, as we have mentioned in the hadeeth of

‘Abdullaah Ibn e Mas’ood,

“Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on

people.”

2) When a person admires himself for his beauty or handsome-

ness, or the fineness of his food or clothing, so he feels proud

and arrogant and feels superior to people.

CONT…

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whilst a man was

walking, dragging his garment with pride, with his hair nicely

combed, Allaah caused the earth to swallow him and he will

go on sinking in it until the Day of Resurrection.” (Bukhaari)

Pride is an inner bad moral that makes the afflicted with it see

himself "above" the others due to the perfect qualities and

attributes that he "believes" to have. This is a very dangerous

flaw that afflicts so many people, even some ascetics, scholars,

and worshipers of Allaah.

CONT…

Surely it is so dangerous because the Prophet stated that he

who has in his heart the weight of an atom of pride will not

enter Paradise.

Pride deprives the prideful person from Paradise because it

prevents him from acquiring the qualities of the believers, for he

cannot like for the believers that which he likes for himself, nor

can he be humble, or avoid animosity, envy, or wrath, or restrain

his anger, or accept good advice, or refrain from despising and

backbiting people.

CONT…

Among the worst forms of pride is that which prevents man

from benefiting from knowledge, accepting the truth and

complying with it. However, a prideful person may have some

knowledge, but his prideful soul does not let him comply with

the truth. Allaah Almighty says:

“They denied them those (Aayaat) wrongfully and arrogantly

though their own selves were convinced thereof”. (27: 14)

And also: “They said: Shall we believe in two men like

ourselves?” (23: 47)

And also: “You are no more than human beings like us!”

(14: 10)

THE DEGREES OF PRIDE

Scholars and worshipers of Allaah are of three degrees:

1st degree is that pride is inculcated in the heart of any of them,

so he sees himself better than the others, but he tries to rectify

himself and act humbly.

2nd degree is that any prideful person among them shows pride

and arrogance in public sittings through such acts as proving

how he is more excellent than his counterparts and devaluating

whoever does not show him respect.

3rd degree is that he shows pride and arrogance through words

he may show how proud he is of himself, his accomplishments,

his lineage, etc., aiming to show how he is better and more

significant than the others or than a certain person.

SOME QUALITIES OF A

PRIDEFUL PERSON:

1) He likes that people should stand up for him, whether on his

coming or while he is sitting.

2) He does not walk except with someone walking behind him.

3) He does not visit anyone because he feels that he is better

than people (and thus it is they who should pay him visits.)

4) He does not like that anyone should sit or walk beside him.

5) He refuses to carry even his own belongings under any

circumstances.

6 )He does not help his wife in any of the house affairs,

contradicting what the Prophet used to do.

HOW CAN ONE IDENTIFY

CONCEIT?

Modesty is a great virtue. The famous Islamic scholar, Imam

Ghazaali, defined conceit as the feeling that you are better than

any other creation of Allaah. The cure is to compare yourself

to those above you and better than you and strive to improve

yourself continuously.

Simply, the more you really know yourself and know Allaah,

the less you are a victim of arrogance, because you start

realizing your actual status and position in this world, and

know that the universe does not revolve around you or your

dreams and disappointments.

BREEDING GROUNDS FOR

PRIDE AND ARROGANCE

To manage pride, we must be aware of the conditions where

pride can grow and thrive:

Times of Success

Repeated success can make one proud. After all, everything is

going well and it seems that you can do no wrong. Over time,

pride can get the better of you by making you complacent.

This is especially so if good times or times of ease follow your

success.

But bad times follow good times as surely as day follows

night. As tempting as it is, we cannot assume that things will

always go well. Such an attitude can cause us to be unprepared

to manage a sudden change in fortune.

CONT…

Positions of Power and Responsibility

To rule is to serve. But, it is easy to forget this when you hold

a position of power and responsibility. Power can corrupt and

pride can get the better of you.

Over the time, you might think that you are entitled to certain

privileges because things would collapse without you. Instead

of putting the interests of others first, you may end up putting

your own interests first.

But the higher you climb, the more drastic your fall can be.

After all, when you have reached the top, the only way left is

down.

CONCLUSION

Everything in this world is impermanent and fleeting. Nothing

lasts forever and fortunes change constantly.

Whatever we feel proud about will one day change as all

things change. What then is the basis for our pride!

While it is good and healthy to feel pride in our achievements,

we should not let it get the better of us.

We should not let our pride go to extremes. Instead, it pays to

be moderate when it comes to feeling pride.

The nature helps the modest to prosper but brings down the

proud and the arrogant person.