Brothers and sisters! We should know that every criminal, every miser, every abuser, every boastful, arrogant and hateful person does what he does because of a diseased heart. In today’s khutba, I want to share some thoughts with you on just one of the many spiritual diseases of the heart, and that is the disease of arrogance. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) defined arrogance for us when he said, “Arrogance is to turn away from the truth when it is given to you and to look down on people.”
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali in his seminal work Ihya’ Ulumuddin, or Revival of the Religious Sciences and in another of his works called Bidayat ul-Hidaya, or The Beginning of Guidance has referred to the spiritual diseases of the heart. Arrogance, he says is a deep-rooted disease. It is when a person looks at himself with the eye of honor and self-glorification, while looking at others with the eye of lowliness and humiliation.
The arrogant person takes pride in praising himself and mostly talks in the first person “I did this, and I did that, and I am superior to so and so.” Expressing his superiority over Adam, what had Shaytan said to Allah (SWT)?
أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ
“I am far better than him, You created me from fire and created him from clay!” (al-A’raf, 7:12)
Arrogance means having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one’s own importance, merit, ability, and superiority. The arrogant person when in company of others believes himself to be above others. In discussions, he feels resentment when contradicted. When he is warned to do or not to do something, he haughtily rejects the advice, yet, when warning others, he does so aggressively. Anyone who sees himself as better than one of Allah’s creatures is arrogant.
Arrogance is the first step to many evils. No one likes an arrogant or boastful person. It is so easy to get carried away by whatever we may possess of wealth and the good things of life. It is so easy to credit ourselves with our achievements and feel proud of them, and then, as a matter of course, to look down upon others who have not been able to reach what we might have achieved. Besides that, arrogance is unjustified.
All the blessings we have—the known and the unknown; our very existence, our life, our body, our physical appearance, and all our abilities and accomplishments are from Allah (SWT). Allah says in Surat an-Nahl,
وَمَا بِكُمْ مِنْ نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.” (an-Nahl, 16:53).
What did we have when we came to this world? Nothing! What will we have when we leave this world— nothing, except two pieces of cloth to have our bodies wrapped with by somebody else? We have to keep reminding ourselves that we are the servants and slaves of Allah, and that we are totally dependent on Him for our existence. Allah says in Surat al-Insan,
هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًا
“Was there not a period of time when man was not a thing worth mentioning?” (al-Insan 76:1).
So what justification is there for man to be arrogant when there was a period of time when he did not even exist and there will be a period of time when he will cease to exist. In ayah 37 of Surat al-Isra’ Allah (SWT) shows the arrogant person his or her incapacity and lowliness.
وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَخْرِقَ الْأَرْضَ وَلَنْ تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولًا
And do not walk in the land arrogantly, for you cannot cut through the earth, nor will you reach the mountains in height (al-Isra’ 17:37).
Rather than being arrogant, we should realize that the virtuous person is one who is considered virtuous by Allah in the hereafter (al-Akhirah), i.e., the final abode, and that is something that is unseen and depends upon one’s state at the time of death. One’s belief therefore that one is better than others is pure ignorance. Rather we should not look at any other person without seeing that he is better than us, that his merit surpasses ours, and consider ourselves as nothing.
If we see a child, we should say to ourselves, “this child has not transgressed against Allah, and I have, so certainly he is better than me.” If we see an older person, we should say to ourselves, “This person is better than me; he has been worshipping Allah longer than I have.”
If we see a knowledgeable person, we should say to ourselves, “This person has been given what I have not been given, and has reached in rank what I have not reached; and he knows what I am ignorant of—so how could I be like him?” If we see an ignorant person, we should say to ourselves, “This person has transgressed against Allah (SWT) in ignorance, while I have done so knowingly. So, Allah’s evidence against me is greater, and what do I know about what my final state at death will be and what his final state will be?”
And if we see an unbeliever, we should say to ourselves, “I don’t know, maybe he will become a Muslim, and his life will be sealed with the best of deeds, and for his Islam, he will emerge free of sin. As for me, Allah could cause me to go astray, so that I become of the unbelievers, and my life could be sealed with the worst of deeds. So tomorrow this person might be one close to Allah, and I one distant from Allah.”
Arrogance will not be removed from our heart until we realize that the truly great person is he who is great in the sight of Allah, and that this depends on one’s final state, which is uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, our fear of a bad end should preoccupy us and keep us from being arrogant towards Allah’s servants.
The fact of our present certainty and faith (yaqeen and iman) does not lessen the possibility of change in the future. Indeed, Allah is the changer of hearts. That is why it is very important to keep making dua to Allah as taught to us by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The dua is:
يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِى عَلَى دِينِكَ
“Oh turner of the hearts, keep my heart firm on your religion”
Imam al-Mawlud, writing in his work Matharat al-Qulub, literally, Purification of the Hearts, speaks about fakhr, which is the disgusting practice of boasting. This practice becomes all the more hateful when one brags about what one has not done or exerted any effort toward, like bragging about one’s ancestry. The pre-Islamic Arabs used to shout out, “I am the son of so and so!” claiming that their pedigree somehow was a mark of their status and privilege.
Even till this day there are people who live with this superiority complex. No one likes a boaster, one who walks with a swagger, and one who cannot be in the company of people without speaking about himself or drawing attention to what he has done. Allah (SWT) Himself reveals His dislike of bragging. We see this in Surat Luqman when Luqman giving advice to his young son says,
وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ
“Do not turn your face from people out of haughtiness and do not walk with pride on the earth: for, behold, Allah does not love arrogant and boastful people.” (Luqman, 31:18)
And Surat an-Nahl tells us,
إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ
“He does not love those who are given to arrogance.” (an-Nahl, 16:23)
And Allah (SWT) reminds us in Surat al-A’raf,
سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ آَيَاتِيَ الَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ
“I will turn away from My Signs all those who are arrogant in the earth without any right.” (al-A’raf, 7:146)
This means that Allah recompenses the arrogant ones by turning them away from understanding His Book, His prophets, and His signs placed all around them as well as in their own selves. Their hearts and eyes are blindfolded by Allah, so that they cannot see guidance even if it stares them in the face.
كَذَٰلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ
“That is how Allah seals up the heart of every arrogant tyrant.” (Ghafir, 40:35)
Arrogance is such a serious disease that the Prophet (SAW) said regarding it.
لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ
“No one who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart will enter paradise.”
Brothers and sisters! If arrogance moves us away from Allah, humility brings us back to Allah. If pride can cause us to slip, then humility is the way back to Allah. May Allah make us among the humble ones; ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! The first step towards curing any disease is the awareness that one is ill. Once we detect even a minute amount of arrogance in our hearts, we must act quickly, because it’s a disease that can spread rapidly, and blacken our hearts, and block our paths to guidance.
We should remember our humble origins. Every human being is created from a drop of semen. One of the righteous predecessors said, “A man carries waste matter between his two sides. What is the source of arrogance for creatures who carry filth within themselves?” Such reminders should suppress any arrogance.
Also, in studying the personalities of the companions of the Prophet (SAW), one learns of incredibly great people who were extraordinarily humble. Humility by nature leads to gratitude, for when one is humble before Allah, only then does one see the vast mercy Allah bestows upon His creation.
The way to avoid arrogance is to remember Allah as much as we can till it becomes a habit to instantly thank Him for any good that comes our way. Thankfulness to Allah creates humility in us and makes us aware that we would not have had all the good things of life if Allah had not willed them for us, nor can we retain them if He decides to take them away from us.
No matter how big our house is; how recent our car is, how substantial our bank balance is, the graves of each one of us are of the same size. So let us be humble, and stay humble, for glad tidings are only for the humble ones.
فَإِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَلَهُ أَسْلِمُوا وَبَشِّرِ الْمُخْبِتِينَ
“Your god is one God, so submit to Him. And, give good news to the humble of heart.” (al-Hajj, 22:34).
May Allah (SWT) make us humble, and protect us from the disease of arrogance and all other spiritual diseases of the heart; Allahumma ameen.
