Nature of Pride and Arrogance — Ustaadh Abu Rayhaana Yahya

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم: Whoever Allaah wants good for, He grants him knowledge of the religion.

Definition of Eemaan (faith): Eemaan comprises of statements and actions, it increases and decreases. The actions are of the heart and the limbs. It increases with obedience to Allaah and decreases with disobedience to Allaah.

Another definition is: Statements of the tongue, beliefs of heart, and actions of limbs. It increases with obedience of ar-Rahman and decreases with obedience of ash-Shaytaan.

A proof that actions are a part of Eemaan is the verse:

•“And Allaah would never make your faith to be lost.” [Sūrah Baqarah, 143]

The “faith” this verse is referring to is the prayer. Those who oppose Ahlus Sunnah in this belief (that actions are part of Eemaan) are the Murji’ah.

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The famous Hadīth of Nu’mān bin Basheer رضي الله عنه mentions that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:

“Indeed, there is a morsel of flesh in the body which if it is sound, the whole body is sound and which if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.”

Shaykh ‘Uthaymeen رحمه الله mentioned in his explanation of this Hadith that no heart will be of benefit to Allaah except a sound heart:

•“The Day whereon neither wealth nor children will benefit. Except him who brings to Allah a sound heart.” [Sūrah ash-Shu’arā, 88+89]

Imaam as-Sa’adī رحمه الله: The sound heart is the one free from shirk and sins.

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Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzan حفظه الله تعالى: The heart is the master of body so if the master becomes rectified and upright, the flock likewise becomes rectified and upright. If the master becomes corrupted, then the flock likewise becomes corrupted.

And so it is upon the Muslim to ask Allaah for rectification of his heart. If the heart becomes rectified, all of his affairs become rectified. And if his heart becomes corrupted, all of his affairs will likewise become corrupted. From the supplications authentically collected from Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم in this regard:

يا مصرف القلوب صرف قلبي على طاعتك

O turner of the hearts, turn my heart towards your obedience.

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As well as supplication, one should take other means to rectify the heart such as worship and staying away from sins.

Sins cause corruption and detriment to the heart. From the effects of sins upon the heart:

1.Hadīth in Ibn Mājah has mentioned that if the believer commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he repents, desists and seeks forgiveness, his heart will be polished and cleaned from this. If he increases, the black dot will increase.

2.Allaah has informed us that the hearts can become harder than rocks:

•Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness. [Sūrah al-Baqarah, 74]

3.Well known lines of poetry by Ibn al-Mubarak:

رأيـتُ الذنـوبَ تميتُ القلوب
ويــتــبِـعُهـا الذلَّ إدمـانُهـا

وتـركُ الذنـوب حياةُ القلوبِ
وخــيــرٌ لنــفـسـكَ عـصـيـانُهـا

I observed that sins kill the heart and addiction to them brings about disgrace. Abandonment of sins brings life to the hearts and so better for yourself is to turn away from them.

4.Allaah has informed us that the heart is the place where the intellect resides:

•“Have they not travelled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind.” [Sūrah Hajj, 46]

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Sins and disobedience have a detrimental effect on the hearts. They vary in severity, the greatest of them to associate partners with Allaah:

•“Joining others in worship with Allaah is a great oppression indeed.” [Sūrah Luqmān, 13]

•"Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with him in worship, but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He pleases." [Sūrah an-Nisā, 48]

•“Verily, whosoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, then Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and the Fire will be his abode. And for the wrong-doers, there are no helpers.” [Sūrah al-Mā’idah, 72]

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A sin which is from the major sins of the heart is al-Kibr (pride and arrogance).

Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan حفظه الله تعالى: Indeed, arrogance is an inward characteristic of heart; its consequences and effects become apparent on the behaviour and conduct of a person.

And it is from those sinful, lowly, dispraiseworthy characteristics that Allaah hates. Allaah made as its recompense, expulsion from His Mercy. It is frequently mentioned and rebuked within the Quraan; alongside those who possess it such as Iblees, Qaarun and Firawn.

Arrogance is from the afflictions of heart, it is an extremely dangerous disease and few are those who escape it. The first sin that Allaah was disobeyed with was arrogance:

So arrogance was originated by Iblees and characteristic of haughty disbelievers and not befitting of a believer.

•Allaah said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" Shaytaan said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay."
•Allaah said, "Descend from Paradise, for it is not for you to be arrogant therein. So get out; indeed, you are of the debased.” [Sūrah al-A’rāf, 12+13]

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Sufyān Ibn ‘Uyaynah رحمه الله: Whoever’s disobedience was in relation to desire, then hope for him repentance. For indeed Ādam عليها لسلام disobeyed in relation to desire and so was forgiven when he repented. If the disobedience is in relation to arrogance, fear for him in being cursed (being distant from the mercy of Allaah). Iblees was disobedient out of arrogance and therefore he was cursed by Allaah.

Al-Kibr was defined by the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم:

•“He who has in his heart as much as a mustard seed of pride will not enter Paradise.”
•So a man said: “Indeed a man from us likes to have his garment and shoes looking nice.”
•So the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم responded: “Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride/arrogance is rejecting the truth and belittling or disparaging the people.”

The scholars explained rejecting the truth to be leaving that which Allaah has commanded through arrogance. And belittling people to see oneself as better than the people.

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Kibr can prevent a person from many affairs:

1.From accepting the truth when it comes to them. In return, a person may be afflicted with deviation in their heart:

•“So when they turned away (from the Path of Allah), Allah turned their hearts away (from the Right Path).” [Sūrah al-Mumtahana, 5]

It is feared their hearts will be sealed and they will not be able to accept the truth after that as a due punishment to them:

•“And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time.” [Sūrah al-An’ām, 141]

•“I shall turn away from My Āyāt those who behave arrogantly on the earth, without a right, and (even) if they see all the Ayat they will not believe in them.

2.It may prevent a person from beneficial knowledge. It was narrated from Mujāhid رحمه الله:

•Knowledge will not be gained from the one who is too shy to ask, nor from the one who is arrogant.

3.Arrogance can prevent a person from following the Sunnah:

•The Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم told a man who ate with his left hand in his presence “eat with your right hand.” The man replied: “I am not able.” And so the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned that he was not prevented from eating with right hand except due to pride and arrogance.

4.It can prevent a person from calling upon Allaah:

•“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me, I shall respond to you. Indeed those who are arrogant towards My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!’" [Sūrah Ghāfir, 59]

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From those 3 that Allaah will not speak to on the Day of Recompense is the عائل مستكبر (impoverished yet arrogant individual). He is from the poverty stricken people, has nothing to be arrogant about, but is so anyway.

How can one not fear this destructive sin for themselves? Especially with the threat of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم that the one who has even a mustard seed of pride will not enter paradise.

The believer should be far removed from this lowly and destructive trait of arrogance, haughtiness and pride. Rather, the believer should be humble with Allaah and with the creation. As it is said:

كل من فوق التراب تراب

Each person who is above the dirt is himself dirt. Meaning, the origin is dirt to it, they shall return.

May Allaah save us from these destructive traits and guide us to his pleasure in this life and grant us Jannatul Firdaws in the Aakhirah.