Pride is one of the destructive sins and a reason that leads to ones downfall. Its prohibition is clearly found in the Quran and Sunnah. This article provides light and clarity into its dangers, all based on the divine scriptures.
Pride – A vice that leads to one’s downfall
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله رب العلمين ، و الصلاة و السلام على من اختص بخلق عظيم و على آله و صحبه اجمعين
اما بعد
A part of the evil traits, what the mashaaikh term as ‘Akhlaaq e Radheelah’, is pride. A detestable malady that is not only despised by Muslims, but in general by any human being. The Oxford Dictionary describes pride as an excessively high, opinion of one’s own worth or importance which gives rise to a feeling or attitude of superiority over others; inordinate self-esteem.
Understanding now what pride is, we turn to the Quraan Majeed and Hadeeth Shareef for more light on the matter.
In Surah Luqmaan, Hadhrat Luqmaan Al Hakeem gives advice to his son, mentioning some noble bequests.
The fifth bequest that Hadhrat Luqmaan gave to his son, Allah Ta’ala mentions in the Quraan:
وَلَا تُصَعِّرۡ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمۡشِ فِى الۡاَرۡضِ مَرَحًا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخۡتَالٍ فَخُوۡرٍۚ
And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster .
Explaining the first part of this Ayah, Ibn Katheer mentions in his Tafseer:
And turn not your face away from men with pride)means, ‘do not turn your face away from people when you speak to them or they speak to you, looking down on them in an arrogant fashion. Rather be gentle towards them and greet them with a cheerful face,’ as it says in the Hadith:
وَلَوْ أَنْ تَلْقَى أَخَاكَ وَوَجْهُكَ إِلَيْهِ مُنْبَسِطٌ، وَإِيَّاكَ وَإِسْبَالَ الْإِزَارِ فَإِنَّهَا مِنَ الْمَخِيلَةِ، وَالْمَخِيلَةُ لَا يُحِبُّهَا اللهُ
(…even if it is only by greeting your brother with a cheerful countenance. And beware of letting your lower garment trail below your ankles, for this is a kind of boasting, and Allah does not like boasting.)
This hadeeth mentions some points to get rid of Pride. If a person knows he has it in his heart, or sees the signs, then one of the best ways of removing this is to meet his Muslim brother with a smiling face. Treating him kindly, giving him the full salaam. Whoever it may be. For example, the person goes to the Masjid for Salaah, then he should greet everyone, young and old, rich and poor. The Hadeeth Shareef also mention to make sure that the clothing, in our times the pants or the kurta, should not trail below the ankles. This is a clear sign of pride. Rasulullah ﷺ mentions in another Hadeeth that the part of the garment that hangs below the ankles is in the fire ( of Jahannam). Every Muslim male should ensure that his garments are above the ankles.
Imam Ibn Katheer continues in his explanation of this ayah:
وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا
Nor walk in insolence through the earth
Means, ‘do not be boastful, arrogant, proud and stubborn. Do not do that, for Allah will hate you.’ So he said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ
(Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster.) meaning, one who shows off and admires himself, feeling that he is better than others. And Allah says:
وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَخْرِقَ الْأَرْضَ وَلَنْ تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولًا
And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance. Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height.
So why does man think that he can do it all? What causes man to swell up with pride, thinking that he is the owner and the master of everything and everyone? This is the trick of Shaitaan. Pride is such, that once a person has it, it leads him down a path to many other sins.
The evil impact of pride is that a person thinks so much of himself, constantly thinking he is better than everyone else. This stops him from taking benefit from anyone, as he is too proud. He is deprived of truth, truthfulness, true and beneficial knowledge, and he is deprived of many good actions, as all of these require humility.
And Allah Ta’ala says in the Quraan Majeed:
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ
(Truly, He does not like the proud.)
Allah Ta’ala does not like this evil trait, and it is upon every human being to understand this, to recognise his reality, and to get rid of this malady.
In the following narrations, Rasulullah ﷺ speaks on pride, explaining to us what it truly is and how dangerous it can be:
ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (R.A) narrates that the Messenger of Allāh said: “One
who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise.”
A person asked: “And (what if) a man likes his clothes and shoes to be
beautiful?” He ﷺ replied: “Allāh is beautiful and He loves beauty. Pride
means to renounce truth and belittle people.” (Muslim)
Allah is beautiful means that Allah is perfect in his being and attributes. In this hadeeth, we learn that Allah Ta’ala dislikes pride, no matter how minuscule it might be. The Hadeeth mentions that a person won’t enter paradise, meaning that a person won’t enter paradise initially, and will first have to be cleaned of his pride in the Fire. Only then will he be able to enter Jannah. This is no small ordeal, as even a second in Jahannam will feel worse than all the pain we ever experienced in this world.
It is mentioned in another narration:
Abū Hurayrah (R.A) narrates that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: “A person
was once walking in a beautiful set of clothes, proud of himself, his hair
well groomed and arrogant in his step when Allāh suddenly caused the
earth to swallow him. He will continue sinking into the earth until the day
of Qiyāmah.” (Bukhārī, Muslim)
This hadeeth clearly proves how destructive pride is.
May Allah Ta’ala save us. Ameen
Understanding the reality of man and adorning oneself with humility:
Mans reality is such, that he is weak from beginning to end. My beloved Sheikh, Hadhrat Haafidh Qaasim Paruk Sahib mentions regarding this topic, that the condition of man is that he is from an impure juice, his beginning is primitive. As a child, he is weak and relies upon his parents for everything. Even when he is soiled, he just sits with it, not realising his reality. Then he becomes older. His senses improve, but how much does he not eat, yet he defecates most of it. Even the most delicious and glorious of foods, once eaten, turn into the same thing. All of this due to the suhbah (company) of man. That is his reality.
My beloved ustaadh, Moulana Moosa Kajee Sahib would mention in class, that why does insaan have so much pride. If he wants to know his reality, he must just go into the bathroom.
In reality, insaan is nothing. Once he accepts this reality, he will adorn himself with the beautiful quality of humility. Pride is something that, when it adorns a person, it makes him ugly and turns people away. But humility is something that, when a person wears its cloak, it beautifies him and draws people towards him. It is upon each and every person to understand this reality, lower himself for the sake of Allah, and live a life of humility. This is treading in the path of Rasulullah ﷺ. Our beloved Nabi ﷺ had every reason to be filled with pride. The greatest creation of Allah, the greatest human being. Even the trees and rocks would greet him. Yet Rasulullah ﷺ chose to adorn himself with humility, and that made Him all the more beautiful.
Man needs to understand, that to lower himself, to be humble, to adorn himself with the cloak of humility, does not degrade him in any way, but increases a person in their beauty. It is through humility, that a person rises in piety, in the sight of Allah. And once this happens, automatically his status will rise in the eyes of the people. This should not be the objective, but it is the natural outcome.
A person should always keep in mind the hadeeth:
مَا تَوَاضَعَ أَحَدٌ لِلَّهِ إِلاَّ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ
‘No one humbles himself for the sake of Allah but that Allah raises his status.’
[Sahih Muslim]
This narration proves the point that he who holds fast onto humility, humbling himself, making it a part of his character. Then surely Allah will grant that person a lofty rank. He’ll understand his reality, he understands that he is nothing, but through this beautiful quality of Humilty, Allah will make him great in the eyes of the people. They will see this humility and will automatically be drawn towards him.
This aspect of humility is especially important among Ulama and those studying this pristine Deen.
My beloved ustaadh, Hadhrat Mufti Yacoob Vally Sahib would often give us this advice,’ As an Aalim, always remain humble. Lower yourself in front of your ustaadhs and senior Ulema. This will allow you to take immense benefit from them and you’ll take their Duas.’ As an Aalim or student of deen, benefitting from our seniors is and taking their duas is imperative to our success.
May Allah Ta’ala instil the quality of humility in our hearts, making it apart of us, and may Allah Ta’ala save us from pride, and from whatever it brings. Ameen.
