Sitting prostrate astride a camel in humble gratitude
and chanting Allah’s praise rode into Makkah
Muhammad (SAW) at the conquest of this holy
city in the 8th year after Hijra. Instead of settling
scores with those who had hurt and wronged him
grossly, the conqueror (SAW) proclaimed amnesty
for all, even to his deadliest enemies. Arch
enemy of Islam, Abu Sufyan’s house was declared
a refuge for those who sought protection of their
lives. Display of this kind of modesty is unique in
the annals of human history.
The first commandment that the Almighty gave
at the time of man’s creation was to caution him
against vain pride. When in sheer defiance of Allah’s
command Satan (Iblees) arrogantly refused
to bow before Adam, he was instantly sacked from
his exalted station, and became accursed forever.
All glory, indeed, belongs to Allah, the Supreme
and Infallible Creator and Sustainer of this magnificent
universe and the life hereafter.
Human power, wealth, status, grace and prestige
are short-lived and destined to decay, decline and
perish sooner or later. None can remain youthful,
happy, healthy and powerful forever. Several glorious
civilizations raised over the millennia have
become extinct, with little or no vestige of their
existence. It is therefore imprudent to indulge in
morbid pride, arrogance and vainglory over things
and qualities that are doomed to perish over this
mortal planet of ours
 |
| Arrogance vs confidence |
A certain measure of healthy pride and self-assuredness is a desirable trait of human personality.
There is nothing wrong, socially or morally, in
conducting oneself with courage, pluck and confidence.
It is, in fact, the extreme form of pride and
haughtiness known as ‘arrogance’, which must be
guarded against. In every society there are people
filled with vain faith in their abilities to reach
the highest peaks in their careers or professions.
Impervious and insensate to the feelings and emotions
of their subordinates, they tend to behave
as if they have been specially built to shape their
destiny according to their own whims and wishes.
Such individuals may attain some visible worldly
success, but true respect and honour is beyond
their destiny. A person intoxicated by overweening
pride tends to develop a sickening sense of
self- importance. He / she would be found lacking
in poise and serenity, and may potentially react
negatively to situations demanding cool composure
and sound maturity
An offspring of ignorance and immaturity, arrogance
shows itself starkly in lack of humility and
wisdom. Modesty, one of the cardinal attributes of
the sagacious and gentle, requires a person to sacrifice
a bit of his / her false ego, but its dividends
are immense. Still waters run deep, and beauty often
shows itself best in tatters. It is cheap to blow
one’s trumpets and sing self-encomium when silence
itself could be the best advertiser. Someone
has rightly said: “It is a great ability to hide one’s
ability.” A mature and modest person acknowledges
his / her limitations, acts in humility, and
has the capacity to forbear differences with others
Arrogance is a grave malady of mind. Unless
cured, it eats away gradually man’s essence of nobility
and the spirit goodness. Its victim remains
consumed with a false sense of superiority. He /
she loses touch with the realities of life, and leads
a life of self-conceit and delusion. Being a captive
of his / her own vanity, he/she has little courage
to rid him / her of a perpetual state of self-misery
and persecution.
Arrogance —An Invisible Foe
Aslam Bazmi
All prophets of humanity, sages and people of
great learning are celebrated and revered for their
pristine humility and modest manners. Instead
of holding others in contempt and ridicule, their
tolerant and affectionate attitude towards the entire
mankind as the clan of Allah won them true
respect of the society at large. The Holy Quran
singles out ‘arrogance’ as one of the chief vices of
human character, expressing Allah’s dislike of the
arrogant in the following words:
And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men nor
walk in insolence through the earth; for Allah
loves not any arrogant boaster”.
(XXXI: 18)
Lo ! Allah loves not such as are proud and boastful.
(IV: 36)
Allah loves not all-prideful boasters.
(LVII: 23)
One of the sayings of the Holy Prophet (SAW)
approves of paying back an arrogant in the same
coin. The underlying message is to discourage arrogance
rather than, through approval and emulation,
let it seep into the fabric of the society as an
acceptable norm of behaviour.
Several victories of small and ill-equipped armies
against heavy odds, and the fall of great empires
throughout human history are a clear testimony
that glory ultimately belongs to the modest.
The plain and ill-armed Muslims overpowered
the hordes of Persians and Romans. Deeply impressed
by the strength of their faith and humility,
the defeated Romans wrote to Hercules:
At night you will find them prayerful; during the
day, you will find them fasting. They keep their
promises, order good deeds, suppress evil, and
maintain complete equality among themselves.
The vanquished Christians were amazed to see the
Caliph of Islam, Hazrat Omar, when he arrived to
take control of Jerusalem in 637 AD. Throughout
the journey, the caliph and his servant shared a
single camel, turn by turn. When they approached
the destination, it was the servant’s turn to be on
the camel’s back, and Omar, the great, was leading
the camel on foot.
What is Wrong with Arrogance?
Arrogance is rooted in conscious or unconscious
belief in one’s being superior to others in some respect—
wealth, power, status, physical or mental
capacity, personal charm, intellect or scholarship
and even piety. Such misplaced faith in one’s supremacy
misses to take into account the fact that
all our acquisitions and achievements are subject
to the pleasure and mercy of our Creator. It is
not within our mortal power to retain them forever.
Moreover, possessing something in greater
proportion does not necessarily establish one’s
ascendancy over others. In certain physical qualities
like strength, vision, sensory faculties, speed,
physique, endurance and virility man stands poorly
matched with many a beast, bird and insect.
Besides being vulnerable to all kinds of perils
and hazards, we all must ultimately die and perish.
Arrogant people are apt to treat with indifference
other human beings, with lesser abilities and
resources. Arrogance also blindfolds mind’s eye,
thus distancing a boaster even from his Creator
and Nourisher, and making him / her ingrate soul.
Imperiousness has often produced tyrants and
despotic rulers at war with the peace and prosperity
of not only their own nations but also the
world at large. Arrogance robs man of the sterling
qualities of moral courage, broad thinking, modesty
and compassion. Extreme arrogance has often
incurred the wrath of the Omnipotent. History
is a repository of myriads of examples showing
the ruination of hoity- toity kings, chieftains and
overlords.
Misplaced confidence in one’s abilities and tall
claims about one’s ‘perceived’ talents and superiority
speak low of a person’s level of maturity.It sounds shallow to parade one’s supremacy and
behave in a self-conceited and boastful manner.
Self-conceit denies us the opportunity to own up
our failings, make up our deficiencies and carry
out self-analysis for personal improvement. In the
words of David Hume, “When people are most
sure and arrogant, they are commonly most mistaken.”
There is no harm in learning from any
being on earth. To quote Chinese sage, Lao Tse,
“The Sea receives the homage of a hundred rivers
and turbulent mountain-streams because it keeps
below them”. People of modest nature have no
pretensions about their scholarship, and they feel
happy to learn from their juniors. To them, as William
James puts it, “to give up pretensions is as
blessed a relief as to get them gratified.”
Love for power and authority, although legitimate,
should not colour a person’s behaviour. It does not
sit well on the shoulders of a leader or manager to
say to his subordinates, “I have decades of experience
in this field. Are you trying to teach me?”
Learning is a life-long process. A modest person,
while in a position of authority, is not unduly concerned
about his own importance and status. He
cares to set a good example of mutual respect and
regard, free from obnoxious authority. The people
he leads feel honoured and exhilarated by the
power exercised over them. Such an organization
becomes a happy and highly productive body and
everyone enjoys being a part of it.
Modesty springs from the nobility of one’s character.
It is a treasure lying in the depths of a mighty
ocean. It is nurtured through education, sagacity
and the true fear of God. And intellectually shallow
person often tends to be egocentric. He/she
is overly conscious of and assertive about his/
her status. Exceedingly power-conscious, he/she
disregards the principles of corporate life. ‘Arrogance
clamp’, to use Edward de Bono’s phrase,
blocks communication, thus inhibiting the inflow
and improvement of ideas. Such an individual
sticks to his opinions and disdains minor jobs
while being unequal to major ones.
How to Overcome Arrogance?
- Get to Know the Price of Arrogance: An arrogant
person is least likable. His presence becomes
a source of discomfort for his colleagues,
companions and subordinates who tend to avoid
discussing with him matters of organisational interest.
An arrogant leader or manager has myopic
vision and suffers from many a complex. Through
his snobbish and arrogant attitude, he deprives
himself of very vital inputs bearing on the success
of his mission. Fake humility— when one does
not have means to pamper one’s vanity— is even
more conspicuous and ridiculous. Once unseated
from a place of authority, an arrogant person is
quickly reduced to his / her size, and there would
be many to gloat over his misfortune. The pain
of such degradation is extremely excruciating. We
should think of our humble origins. The Quran repeatedly
reminds man of his procreation through
a stinky drop, and urges him to ponder on the
grandeur and vastness of the universe. This will
shed his mental cobweb and impart his thinking
a positive direction. In fact, it takes considerable
knowledge and meditation just to realize the extent
of one’s ignorance and wean oneself of arrogance
thriving on it. In retrospect, to a person with
the flickering flame of life, all human endeavours
in self-gratification will seem futile— what Pascal
called, “licking the earth”.
- Learn from Others’ Examples : It is the drooping
branches that bear the bulk of fruit. Allah is
always on the side of the modest and humble. One
can unmistakably judge from the tales of doom of
many a fallen hero in human history that human
brilliance whenever contaminated with overweening
pride has met with doom. This is equally true
of all fields of life. It has been Allah’s way to forewarn
nations through His prophets and scriptures
against the acts of defiance. It was not until the
nations of Nuh, ‘Ad, Hud, Thamud and Lut rose in
open rebellion and arrogance against His messengers
that Allah wiped them out. It was again sheer
arrogance that caused the annihilation of Pharaoh
Ramses II of Egypt and Abraha of Yemen along
with their mighty forces. In the recent history, the
humiliation and defeat of the USA in Vietnam and
the Soviet Union in Afghanistan furnish resounding
testimony to the fact that arrogant use of brute
force cannot alter the way of Allah Who is always
on the side of the humble and persevering.
- Cultivate the Spirit of Empathy :It always helps
to put oneself in the place of those whom one
treats with disdain and arrogance. Human beings
universally aspire to be treated with respect and
kindness. Arrogant people, when they themselves
have to face rude and insolent behaviour, feel extremely
cut up and their wounds invariably take
very long to heal. It is wise, therefore, to think
before bossing others around in a haughty manner.
- Show Tolerance :Humans differ vastly from
one another in terms of talents, endowments, abilities
and capacities for achievements. If someone
is gifted with an exceptional quality vis-a- vis his
colleagues or subordinates, then it should be a
matter of being grateful to Allah Almighty rather
than being vainly proud. It is He Who bestows on
us different gifts and abilities. To be worthy of our
special charms and accomplishments, we should
show tolerance and understanding to those who
lack in those gifts. This will engender a congenial
environment of collective benefit and harmony
where weeds of arrogance have little chance to
grow.
- Be Courteous, in GeneralKeeping people
standing in submission, treating them rudely and
withholding small courtesies to those who are low
in social or economic status is attended with the
risk of pampering arrogance. True courtesy consists
in humility and showing concern and consideration
to others, regardless of their standing in
the society. It is a sign of nobility to be kind and
courteous to people in general including janitors,
peons, gardeners, sweepers etc. Inner peace, joy
and serenity are the gifts accompanying a genuine
spirit of courtesy and kindness. Courtesy though
costs nothing, but its dividends are always enormous.
Researchers have identified ‘courteous behaviour’
as one of the powerful transformational
force, which produces no backlash, has no downside,
and no element of sorrow and despair. High
thresholds of rude and arrogant attitude cause
surges both in adrenaline and cortisol. Decent and
courteous demeanour, on the other hand, along
with feelings of love and tenderness stimulate the
parasympathetic nervous system, thereby increasing
calmness and reducing the levels of cortisol in
human body. It greatly helps to curb arrogance by
showing empathy; feeling regretful for an act of
rudeness; making amends for arrogant behaviour;
and constantly seeking Allah’s refuge against the
Satanic impulses of vain pride and haughtiness.
- Tame your False Ego and be Forgiving :Much
grief in life is the handiwork of ‘ego’. From false
ego spawn the tadpoles of envy and arrogance. It is
humility and gratefulness that keep our talents and
abilities in a constant state of expansion. Those
who attribute their inspirations and achievements
to their ego are woefully mistaken. Looking inside
ourselves and letting Allah help us will rid us of
many cobwebs knit by false ego.
Conclusion
Arrogance is a form of revolt against divine order.
An attitude of modesty goes well in all situations.
It is dignified to be humble and patient. Lack of
maturity shows itself in the acts of foolish pride
and boastfulness. An arrogant person is easily
vulnerable to public humiliation. If the goods are
fine, they sell well; one doesn’t have to undertake
a promotional campaign in order to increase their
sale. It does not become a civilized person to behave
in a shallow and boastful manner. Allah confers
true honour and His grace only on the humble
and patient. Man tends to become arrogant with
increase in power and status. We should seek
to save ourselves from the demon of arrogance,
which is quick to steal on us without our being
conscious of it.
- By Aslam Bazmi
Read More »
This man is quite tough for people to answer. A person watching his videos over YouTube will may get offended and you can see the number of people abusing in comments.But is it a criteria to judge whether he is wrong or right? Certainly not.He has pointed out mistakes of men from almost each and every sect made in Islam.
He did not study Islam in any particular Madrassah but Dr. Israr Ahmad, Dr. Javed Ahmad Ghamdi, Zubair Ali zai, Maulana Ishaq madani are the men with whom he spent some time for learning and he considers all of them to be his teachers. But since he is a not a blind follower (Muqallid) so he judges everyone's sayings according to Quran and Sunnah.
