ARROGANCE - a social disease Arrogance is a social disease that makes people unpopular who carry it. Also, Allah does not like it and strongly warns against it. Nevertheless, many of us keep carrying it, regardless of consequences. What is arrogance? The Arabic word for arrogance or pride is takabbur or kibr, and the one who carries it, is called mutakabbur (arrogant or proud). Takabbur is defined as a feeling of being superior to others. Such a feeling could be because of race, colour, beauty, wealth, tribe, nationality, status, rank or position. The feeling drives a person to look down upon others, of lower rank. For such a person, the Holy Prophet said: ‘The one who carries even a grain of takabbur shall not enter Jannah.’ (Ibne Maja). There are three forms of takabbur. The first one is called atheism - denying the existence of Allah as did King Nimrod who ruled Mesopotamia (Iraq) during the period of Prophet Ibrahim, and Firaun, the ruler of Egypt, during the time of Prophet Musa. They declared themselves as the gods and forced people to worship them. Their wealth and power had made them so proud and arrogant that they rejected the message from those exalted Prophets. Nimrod challenged Prophet Ibrahim to bring his Allah’s army and fight with him, but could not withstand the power of Allah when he came with a large army to confront Prophet Ibrahim. Allah sent mosquitoes to kill Nimrod’s army. Each mosquito stung one soldier and they all fell dead within no time. One mosquito went into Nimrod’s brain through the nose and killed him. Similarly, Firaun, who thought himself all powerful, was drowned in River Nile while chasing Prophet Musa. The river parted and made way for Prophet Musa and his followers to cross over, whereas Firaun and his soldiers drowned while crossing the river which reunited at the command of Allah. His takabbur for being all powerful could not save him and his people. Iblees refused to prostrate to Hazrat Adam when Allah commanded him. He thought himself superior as he was created from fire whereas Adam was made from mud. His takabbur came in his way and Allah condemned him forever. Denying the existence of Allah, refusing to obey His commands, worshipping a deity other than Him or sharing someone with Him (shirk) are the major sins. ‘Allah may forgive other sins but He will not forgive shirk.’ (Surah al-Nisa, verse 116). As He alone is the Creator of all universe and the most powerful, the worldly powers, in any form, are all subservient to Him. He can give those powers and can take them back. The second form of takabbur is defiance to the Prophets of Allah and not accepting their message, as did several people. For their defiance, Allah drowned the people of Prophet Nuh (Noah) in the Great Deluge1. The people of Prophet Hud were killed in the Great Hurricane2. The defiants of Prophet Saleh were killed by a terrible voice from the skies3. The unbelievers during Prophet Shoaib’s time were caught by a terrible scream4 while sleeping and they all died. A fire5 kept hanging over the people of Prophet Younus, who refused to accept his message. For the Last Prophet6, the Quraish of Makkah said they would not follow a person who was raised as an orphan and was neither the leader of a tribe nor possessed any wealth. They argued why Allah did not send an angel to them for delivering His message and commands. Abu Lahab, one of the Holy Prophet’s uncles, and the leader of Banu Hashim tribe, went too far in defiance to Islam and the Holy Prophet. In his takabbur, he ridiculed and rejected the message when the Holy Prophet climbed on the Safa Hill and asked the people gathered there: ‘Would you believe me if I say that there is an army behind the hill, ready to attack you?’ Everyone said in unison: ‘Yes, we will, because you do not tell lies.’ The Holy Prophet then gave his message of tawheed (unity of Allah), to which Abu Lahab raged out: ‘May you perish! Did you call us here just to tell this?’ Saying this, he threw a stone at the Holy Prophet. The event evoked the wrath of Allah and the Holy Prophet received the following Surah of the Holy Quran (al-Lahab): ‘In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful, the power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not save him. He shall be roasted in fire; and his wife, the carrier of firewood, will have upon her neck a rope of palm-fiber.’ It did not take much time to Allah’s punishment. Soon after the Battle of Badr7, boils, filled with puss, appeared on Abu Lahab’s body. The boils reeked so badly that everyone, including his family, left him alone to die. No one was willing to even bury him because of the stench. Finally, a few Habshi slaves, pushed his body with sticks, threw it in a ditch and filled with earth. Neither his money nor his position, as being one of the four main leaders of the Quraish, helped him. The people of Makkah witnessed how miserably he died. One may assume that it happened because of the disease but the Prophet of Allah was already told about him through revelation. Abu Lahab and his wife Arwah lived next to Syeda Khadijah’s house. Abu Lahab’s wife, who was also known as Umme Jamil, was at the forefront in the enmity towards the Holy Prophet. She would bring small shrubs with thorns and leave them in front of Syeda Khadijah’s house8 on the way where the Holy Prophet used to pass by. The Holy Prophet would ignore it as he ignored Abu Lahab. But Allah did not tolerate her defiance, disobedience and takabbur. She died by getting strangled with a rope, as was said in the verse. Next to the denial of the existence of Allah (atheism) and shirk (polytheism), defiance to the Holy Prophets and rejecting their message and teachings is the second most dangerous form of takabbur. The Prophets delivered the divine message, not a personal one. Not accepting it, therefore, was defiance, not to the Prophets but to Allah. The third form of takabbur is to feel superior to others by virtue of having knowledge, position, wealth, a distinguished family background or any other sort of quality and, therefore, treating other fellow human beings of lower rank in an insolent and haughty manner. No Muslim can ever think of the first two forms of takabbur but people lean to the third form when personal possessions and position make them proud. An alim (a religious scholar) for instance, commits takabbur when he puts on airs for having superior knowledge than others. An abid (a devoted worshipper), may also commit takabbur by thinking himself too virtuous and expecting others to regard him as a pious person. A distinguished family background and position is another reason for takabbur. In our country for instance, the waderas, chaudharys, saeens, bureaucrats, military and civil brass think themselves a privileged class, much superior to others. They move around swollen with pride in their positions and possessions, looking down upon others. On the contrary, the companions of the Holy Prophet, who excelled in taqwa and knowledge or attained high public positions, never showed arrogance. Abu Zar Ghaffari, an early convert and a very close companion of the Holy Prophet, once during an argument with a Habshi, called him ‘Ibne Sauda’ - meaning the son of a Negro mother. When the Holy Prophet learned about it, he said: ‘No one is superior or inferior because of colour.’ Hearing this, Abu Zar Ghaffari rushed to that person and asked him to put his foot on his face for the words he said to him. Urwah bin Ibne Zubair narrated that: ‘Once, seeing Caliph Umar carrying a leather bag full of water on his shoulder, I commented that, being the Caliph, it was not appropriate for him to carry the water bag. Caliph Umar said: ‘When the delegations from the conquered lands come to pay me a visit, my nafs (self) feels good about it. In order to put my nafs at its right place, I am doing this job.’ Then I saw him delivering the water at the house of a poor and very old woman.’ The wealthy men of our society treat the poor in a very arrogant manner, espousing the notion that they are a lowly lot who could be hired and fired at their whim. They forget who has given them the wealth they are so proud of. The one who has given them the wealth has the power to take it back also. Several companions of the Holy Prophet such as the third caliph Uthman Ghani and Abdul Rahman bin Auf were very rich but they did not have a trace of takabbur in them. They always thought that the wealth they earned was not their own feat but a blessing of Allah. Giving respect to others is recommended by all religions and there is nothing wrong with it. However, when it is focused on one individual, it brings in takabbur. The subjects or the ones in lower ranks, stand in respect of a high official for instance, which ultimately swells him with takabbur. Such a practice was disliked by the Holy Prophet. Once he went to attend a meeting. Everyone there stood up in respect. After taking his seat, the Holy Prophet said: ‘From now on, no one would stand for me.’ (Bukhari). Ans bin Malik narrated that the companions of the Holy Prophet loved and respected him more than anything else in the world but would not stand in his respect. They knew the Holy Prophet did not like it. Can our leaders follow such an example? They love to see people subjugating before them. In our daily life, we come across people boasting and bragging about their wealth, property, possessions or jewelry to impress others. This can also lead to takabbur and one should be extremely careful not to fall into the trap. Allah does not like takabbur and therefore it evokes His displeasure. When Allah is not pleased, all the worldly possessions, status, rank etc., are not going to help a person in the final abode where he is going to live forever. Often proud people say: ‘We have nothing in common with other people. They forget that they have a great deal in common. A few years from now, two years or seventy years, they will become rotten corpses, then dust, then nothing at all. This is a sobering and humbling reality that leaves no room for pride. In this sense, there is total equality between them and others. Arrogance can lead some into make fun of others. Some people enjoy that even at the pain of others. They do not realize that Allah has created human beings as the best of creatures, respectable and loveable. It is only we who do not value this blessing of Allah, which is not only against social norms but against the teachings of Islam. Allah says in Surah al-Hujrat (verse 11): ‘O believers, do not make fun of others, they might be better than you before Allah.’ Takabbur is a sort of disease which can be cured by doing the following: Learn religious knowledge Religious knowledge can help a person recognize the fact that everything belongs to Allah and that possessions, in any form, are nothing but a trust and bounty from Him. He can take them back any time if He wishes. Therefore, he should not be proud of them. Mix with poor people One should mix with poor people, not avoid them. Interaction with them, knowing their problems and helping them brings in humbleness. Seek forgiveness Any time when you get angry and insult others, intentionally or unintentionally, immediately seek forgiveness even if the other person is younger than you. Greet others Take the first step to greet people. It is always an appreciable gesture and it does not make a person small in front of others. Don’t defend your weakness Listening about their weaknesses or bad habits, some people immediately flare up and start defending themselves. One should be patient and thankful to Allah that the other person knows only few of your bad things, not all! The more a person realizes his weaknesses, the more one should be conscious of them and try to eliminate them. Remember death every day Death reminds a person that nothing is permanent in this world. Whatever we accumulate and whatever position we achieve is going to be left behind. All we are going to carry with ourselves is our deeds, good or bad, on the basis of which we shall be rewarded by Allah. Never consider yourself superior Islam teaches us that no one is superior to another, that judgment will come from Allah alone, on the Day of Judgment. The person who appears to be nobody here may end up with eternal bliss in hereafter because of his goodness that only Allah knows. And the one who is full of pride and pomp may end up otherwise. When the Holy Prophet entered Makkah as the conqueror, his head was bowed with humbleness. ‘Allah does not like the arrogant.’ (Surah al-Nahal, verse 23). Therefore, we as ordinary mortals have no reason to nurture pride of any kind in ourselves. ‘There is nothing more hateful than pride.’ Said Hazrat Ali al-Murtaza. _____________________________________________________ 1. to 6. For more details on the stories of Prophets, see writer’s book - Prominent Prophets & Mothers of Believers. 7. The Battle of Badr was the first battle of Islam that was fought in 2 Hijra at a place called Badr. Badr is the name of a valley located about seventy kilometers away from Madinah. Muslims won this battle. 8. After marriage with Syeda Khadijah, the Holy Prophet shifted to her house.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Oct 2013 10:52:30 +0000
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