Sitting With The Poor And Less Fortunate People — Removes The Ego And Pride From Your Heart:
Arrogance is a blameworthy characteristic which is the Feature of Iblees and his cohorts in this world — those on whose hearts Allah has placed a seal.
The First one who showed Arrogance towards Allah and His creation was the accursed Iblees, when Allah Commanded him to prostrate to Adam and he refused and was arrogant, and said, “I am better than him (Adam), You created me From Fire, and him You created From clay.”
Allah(swt) says: “And surely, We created you (your Father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being); then We told the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam’, and they prostrated themselves, except Iblees (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrated themselves.
(Allah) said: ‘What prevented you (O Iblees) that you did not prostrate yourself, when I commanded you?’ Iblees said: ‘I am better than him (Adam), You created me From Fire, and him You created From clay’”.(Al-A’raaf 7:11-12)
To consider oneself the purest and deserving of honour and respect and to make a show of one’s sanctity is also a kind of haughtiness.
The verse of Surah an-Najm prohibits such behaviour.“...Therefore do not attribute purity to your souls; He knows him best who guards (against evil).” (53:32).
The Prophet (saw) says: “Allah will not speak to Three kinds of people on the Day of Qiyama; and they will not be looked upon kindly by Him; and there is a severe punishment For them:
An Aged adulterer, a Tyrant ruler and a Proud beggar.”
A man enquired From Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq(May Allah be pleased with him): “What is the lower level of disbelief?” Imam said, “It is pride.”
Imam al-Baqir (May Allah be pleased with him) says: “Stateliness and superiority, and the expression of a pride are like two exclusive garments of Allah (swt). (No one can share it with Him). Hence if anyone dares to acquire these qualities he will be thrown headlong into hell by Allah.”
“Pride and superiority are like two exclusive garments of Allah. So one who acts proud has made war on Allah.”
A proud person is mentioned as having made war on Allah (swt) because such a person loses all awareness of the reality that he is an insignificant creature whose very existence and all that he possesses is only because of Allah (swt)’s Favour on him.
He regards himself as someone very special, in Full control of his life, which no other power can influence. His arrogance can reach a stage where he can even claim divinity in open defiance of the Almighty, as it happened with Fir’on.
While a man can develop qualities like mercy, kindness etc. which are also divine qualities, and developing these qualities will in Fact help a person to gain nearness to Allah (swt), but man, a creature of Allah (swt) has no right whatsoever to associate pride and superiority with himself. These are exclusive for Allah (swt).
Allah(swt) says in the Qur’an: “And to Him belongs greatness in the heavens and the earth, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (Surah Jathiyah 45:37).
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (May Allah be pleased with him) says:“There is a special section For the arrogant people in the hell. It is called Saqr. Saqr complained to Allah (swt) For the intensity of its heat and sought permission to breathe. It breathed and scorched hell.”
The importance and significance of humility as a human characteristic can be judged by the Fact that the Allah has commanded His Messenger (saw) to practice humility: “And make yourself gentle to the Believers.” (Surah al-Hijr 15:88).
And He praised His servants who have imbibed this quality in the following words. “And the servants of the Beneficent God are they who walk on the earth in humbleness…” (Surah al-Furqan 25:63).
It was narrated From Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (saw) said: “If the servant of one of you brings his Food and he does not want to make him sit and eat with him, then let him offer him a morsel or two, because he has prepared it and served it.”(Al-Bukhari, 2418 and 5144)
So the point is that — if a person wants that Pride and Arrogance do not enter his personality, then he should be Thankful For the Blessings given by Allah(swt)that is — he should use these Blessings according to the Will and Command of his Lord.
May Allah(swt) make us His Grateful Servants. (Ameen).
JazakAllah (May Allah Reward You [with] Goodness)For Reading.