Wednesday, November 21, 2007

THE CONDEMNATION OF ARROGANCE

THE CONDEMNATION OF ARROGANCE

Arrogance and pride actually takes one away from benediction and benefit and takes one close to wastage and condemnation. It is enough for a person to block his own way to benediction and benefit with his pride which takes away his power of listening to good advice and arrogance does not let him take in good habits.

"Arrogance" means pride when a person considers others inferior and considers himself better than the rest.

Allah Ta'ala has condemned arrogance on so many occasions in the Holy Qur'an:
"And I shall turn from My Signs those who wish greatness in the earth unjustly." (Surah A'raf, verse 146)

He says in another verse, "He does not like those with pride."
In yet another verse, Allah Ta'ala says, "Undoubtedly, those who are too proud to worship Me, soon will enter the Hell despised." (Surah Mo'min, verse 60)

SAYINGS OF RASOOL ALLAH sallalaho alaihe wasallam

Deprived of Paradise

Hazrat Abdullah bin Mas'ood radiallaho ta'ala anhu narrates that Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam said, "A person who has arrogance in his heart equal to a grain of rye will not enter Paradise and a person who has faith in his heart equal to a grain of rye will not enter Hell" (Muslim Shareef)

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! Today, whatever worship we do, how tattered it may be, the intention behind it, in fact, is the desire to enter Paradise. Man keeps on wishing that he may do a task that pleases Allah Ta'ala, so that Allah Ta'ala blesses him with the good news of Paradise. However if a worshipper develops pride and arrogance about his worship, and begins to boast about it, shows off in front of people and wants to be treated better than others, and begins to treat others as beneath himself. Allah Ta'ala does not look at the worship of such a person. He condemns pride and arrogance, whether it is due to knowledge, wealth, worship or authority, and an arrogant person is not allowed to enter Paradise. We should save ourselves from all those things that block our path to Paradise.

Look inside yourself and if you find the slightest tinge of pride in your heart, wash it with tears of regret and regenerate a meek, humble and down to earth person in you so that Allah Ta'ala will be pleased with you and may He forgive all of us and may He enable us to stay away from arrogance and pride. Aameen

No Mercy For The Arrogant One

Hazrat Abu Hurairah radiallaho ta'ala anhu narrates, Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam said, "Allah Almighty will not speak to three people, neither will He purify them, nor will He shower His mercy on them on the day of judgement. They are an aged adulterer, a lying king, and an arrogant beggar" (Muslim Shareef)

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! If Allah Ta'ala will not shower His Mercy then there is no chance of survival and safety on the day of judgement. Every one will be keen and eager to have Allah Ta'ala's Mercy and that He talks to them but three unfortunate persons will be deprived of it. The first unfortunate sinner is an aged adulterer. Old age brings one closer to death and one should be more God fearing because he has reached such an age that people look at him with respect and trust him. If he breaks this trust and does not respect his age and indulges in a deadly sin like adultery, then how can Allah Ta'ala look at him with Mercy?
Similarly a king is trusted. People trust him and chose him as the head of the state. They trust him for safety and security of the whole country and also depend on him for their personal and social problems. If he breaks the trust of the people by being a liar and deceiving them, Allah Ta'ala will not forgive him on the day of judgement and he will not enter Paradise.

Then comes the third unfortunate person, who is poor and needy but threatens people with pride and forces them to give him some thing and his conduct is less like a beggar and more like a robber. Allah Ta'ala will not forgive him. The Look of Mercy from Allah Ta'ala and His words will give peace and contentment on the day of judgement but the three types of people mentioned in the above Hadith will be deprived of these things.

May Allah save us from being any one of these three persons and may He look at us with His Mercy and save us from the torments of the day of judgement. Aameen.

Worse Than a Dog and a Pig

Hazrat Umar Faruq radiallaho ta'ala anhu stood on the pulpit and said, "O you who believe! Adopt humility and meekness. I heard Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam saying, "One who adopts humility and meekness for the pleasure of Allah Ta'ala, Allah Ta'ala raises his stature to a glorious pedestal until the stage comes when he considers himself small but he has spiritual heights in the eyes of people. One who is arrogant, Allah Ta'ala degrades his stature to the lowest level and he loses respect in the eyes of people up to the point that he is considered worse than a dog and a pig."(Rawahul Baihiqee)

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! Honourable is not one who considers himself honourable. Exalted and honoured is one who is given these rewards by Allah Ta'ala. One who considers himself high and honoured, Allah Ta'ala destroys his pride by making him worse than a dog and a pig.

Just think! What is the status of a dog and a pig in the eyes of people? These animals are usually beaten with stones and they are usually kicked out of the houses and towns. An arrogant person repels others and no one likes him or loves him and they will receive the same fate. The finality of an arrogant person is a lesson bearing warning for others. Considering yourself grand and glorious does not dignify you rather it takes you away from people and friends. The far better way, the approved code of behaviour in Islam is that which shows down to earth humility, meekness and humbleness that enables you to merge yourself freely and easily amongst people for better mutual understanding and relationships based on love, respect and care.

Never ever let the thought enter your heart that, "I am something". This pronoun "I" when joined with pride, is a sign that your heart has caught an infection of arrogance. And such a diseased heart will take you towards destruction and will ruin your worldly life and the life hereafter. Never invite such catastrophe into your lives. May Allah Ta'ala save us from diseases of the soul and may He make us meek, humble and gentle. Aameen.

Arrogant One is Bound for the Fires of Hell

Hazrat Harisa bin Wahab radiallaho ta'ala anhu narrates, that he heard Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam saying, "Should I not tell you about dwellers of Hell?"(Then he told us himself) "Every person who is rude and harsh in speech and is arrogant."

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! Allah Ta'ala has created Hell and Heaven. He has told us about the people who will go to heaven and He has mentioned those who will go to Hell. Dealing with people is also a test, a trial for us. There are certain people who consider themselves superior to others due to knowledge, wealth or social status, and then they are so soaked in pride, so arrogant, that they consider it their right to speak to others in a harsh and rude manner. Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam has said that such people are bound for hell. If any one of us is guilty of this crime, it is essential to refrain from it, and seek sincere repentance so that we can gain the pleasure of Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam. May Allah Ta'ala save us from harshness in speech and may He enable us to be polite, sympathetic and soft in speech so that no one's heart get hurts. Aameen

Pride is only for Allah

Hazrat Abu Hurairah radiallaho ta'ala anhu narrates a Hadith e Qudsi, Allah Ta'ala says, "Pride (of Absolute Power) and Glory is my shawl, and Magnificence is my covering. Any person, who argues with me on these two attributes, I will put him into Hell. And I will not worry about them at all." (Muslim, Abu Daud, Ibn Majah)

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! Allah Ta'ala describes His Absolute Power as his shawl. We are all aware how furious we would be if someone tried to take our shawl from us. Remember, if we study the whole Qur'an we realise that not only is Allah Ta'ala exalted, His remembrance and His word is also exalted. How mistaken man is. Receiving a little worldly wealth, getting a little bit of power and authority, or earning a little bit of faith makes a person think that he is great and exalted. He starts to show arrogance and pride. Humans should know that this is only the status and right of Allah Ta'ala who is free from all faults and defects. Beware, save yourselves from bad qualities like pride and arrogance otherwise we will be fuel for the fire of hell. Only Allah Ta'ala has absolute power and glory and no one else. May Allah save us from pride and arrogance and makes us humble and modest. Aameen.

It is reported that once Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam put his blessed saliva on the palm of his hand and said, "Allah Ta'ala says, O man it is strange that you are proud ,where as I created you with water like this and when I completed your creation, you are wandering on the earth waywardly wearing extravagant clothes, where as you have to go into the same earth. You collect money and store it and when death is near you start asking for permission to spend it in charity but there is no time left now to give charity. (Maqashifatul Quloob)

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! At the time of death, a person starts hating those very things that made him proud and arrogant during his life. He was proud because of wealth, now he wants to give that wealth away to gain peace. He wishes that he had given the wealth away in charity before death and had not shown pride so that he could be at peace at that time. Just think! What right does a man have to be proud when he was created from an impure clot. May Allah Ta'ala grant us all respect and peace and save us from all evils. Aameen.

Special punishment for three persons

Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam says, "A neck with two ears, two eyes and the power of speech will rise from hell and it will say that it has been appointed over three people, every disobedient and arrogant person, one who associates partners with Allah Ta'ala, and one who makes pictures."

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! The mere thought of hell makes the heart tremble and it is more frightening if it is a specific punishment for specific people. Amongst those things mentioned above, arrogance and making pictures is very common in Muslims today. May Allah Ta'ala forgive and protect us. The true Muslims of past were humble, meek and polite but nowadays these characteristics are very rare in Muslims, mostly people are arrogant and proud. We still have time to ask for forgiveness from Allah Ta'ala. We still we have time to reform ourselves. Allah Ta'ala is Rehman and Raheem. He will certainly forgive us. May Allah Ta'ala save us from all those deeds which are forbidden and disliked by Him. Aameen.

Arrogant People as Small as Ants

On the day of judgement, arrogant people will be brought in such a state that their faces will be like humans but their size will reduced to the size of ants. They will be dragged to the prison house of hell, which is called "Boolus" and means desperation. They will be burnt in a fire called "Naar ul Anyaar." They will be given the pus of the people of Hell to drink.

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! The king of the worlds has explained to us the fate of those that are proud and arrogant. We are lucky that Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam has told us about all those things that will lead to rejection and degradation in the hereafter. The person that walks on the earth with his head held up with pride, one who thinks of himself as better than others, walks on the earth with arrogance and firmness will find himself the size of an ant on the day of judgement. He will be trapped in a degrading punishment because Allah Ta'ala despises arrogance and pride. The proud and arrogant people will realise who the Greatest and Supreme One is on the day of judgement.

My Beloved Prophet sallalaho alaihe wasallam's beloved devotees! If we were guilty of pride or arrogance in the past, repent today and make sure that this disease never enters our mind or body again. Allah Ta'ala is the Benevolent One and loves the repentance of his slaves. He accepts it and looks at them with Kindness and Mercy. May Allah Ta'ala save us from such attitudes and may He keep us on the path of obedience to Him and his Rasool Allah sallalaho alaihe wasallam. Aameen.

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