عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ ((بَيْنَمَا رَجُلٌ شَابٌّ يَمْشِي فِي حُلَّةٍ يَتَبَخْتَرُ فِيهَا مُسْبِلًا إِزَارَهُ إِذْ بَلَعَتْهُ الْأَرْضُ فَهُوَ يَتَجَلْجَلُ فِيهَا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ))
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Once, a young man was walking arrogantly, wearing a garment, and he had let his lower garment hang below his ankles. Suddenly, the earth swallowed him up, and he will continue to sink into it until the Day of Resurrection.
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … Arrogance and pride—the understanding of their true meaning has become complicated for both the elite and the common people. Below, we will present some excerpts in the light of various ahadith. We request the readers to try to comprehend which type of arrogance is condemned and which type of beauty and elegance is beloved to Allah Ta'ala:
At the beginning of the discussion, we request the readers to reflect upon the following matters, examine themselves, and also keep in view the Sunnahs of the Chief of the First and the Last, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
1. Most men feel ashamed to keep their trousers or pants above the ankles. Why? Whereas it is forbidden (haram) for a man to cover his ankles with his trousers or lower garment (tehband).
2. Many people consider growing a beard to be … … and regard shaving as a sign of beauty, whereas the Ummah is unanimous that shaving the beard is haram.
3. Some people feel ashamed to meet or sit with people of lower status, the poor, and the destitute, or at the very least, it is certain that people of lower status are not met with in a good manner.
4. Some people feel ashamed to act upon certain Sunnahs of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, for example, cleaning the utensil after eating, picking up and eating a fallen morsel, whereas acting upon the purified Sunnah is the greatest honor.
5. Some people feel ashamed to do any menial work in front of others, such as fetching water, carrying flour, cleaning, etc.
6. If, due to clear disobedience, some people are given admonition in front of the general public, they feel that their dignity has been affected and their status has not been considered.
7. Some wealthy people feel ashamed to wear simple clothing.
After reflecting on these points, study the following excerpt.
Read Hadith number (10385) and its benefits carefully and ponder why Qarun was seized by the punishment of Allah.
It is narrated from Qasim bin Muhammad, rahimahullah, who says: Abdullah bin Hanzalah, radi Allahu anhu, holds the opinion that Abdullah bin Salam, radi Allahu anhu, once carried a bundle of firewood through the market. Someone (objecting to him) said: Has Allah Ta'ala not made you free from this need? He replied: Of course, but my intention is to remove arrogance from myself through this, because I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, say: ((Lā yadkhulu al-jannah man kāna fī qalbihi mithqālu ḥabbatin min khardalin min kibr.)) … Such a person will not enter Paradise who has even a mustard seed's weight of arrogance in his heart. (Hakim: 3/416, Sahihah: 3257)
For a person to consider himself superior to others and others inferior to himself on the basis of wealth, riches, beauty, status, government, power, knowledge, virtue, lineage, leadership, or respect and honor, and to stubbornly reject the truth, and to refrain from acting upon some Sunnahs due to these worldly attributes—this is called arrogance.
It is narrated from our master Abu Hurairah, radi Allahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: ((Qāla Allahu ‘azza wa jall: al-kibriyā’u ridā’ī wal-‘izzatu izārī faman nāza‘anī wāḥidan minhumā ulqīhi fī al-nār.)) … Allah Ta'ala said: Pride (and greatness) is My cloak and honor (and might) is My lower garment; whoever tries to snatch any one of these two from Me, I will throw him into the Fire. (Sahih Muslim)
Attributes such as dominance and power, pride and greatness, and majesty and grandeur belong only to Allah Ta'ala. Whatever strength, greatness, or status a person possesses is a gift from Allah Ta'ala. Therefore, such a person should, as a form of gratitude, obey Allah Ta'ala and stop boasting about his own greatness and grandeur, and refrain from turning away from the Shari‘ah. Otherwise, his end will be the fire of Hell. In this hadith, there is a severe warning for those who take pride in their strength, lineage, position, and wealth, and adopt an arrogant attitude before people.
It is narrated from our master Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, radi Allahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: ((Inna Allāha jamīlun yuḥibbu al-jamāl, al-kibru baṭar al-ḥaqq wa ghamṭ al-nās.)) … (Wearing good clothes and good shoes is praiseworthy because) Allah Ta'ala Himself is beautiful and loves beauty, but arrogance is to reject the truth and to look down upon people. (Muslim)
The meaning of arrogance described in this hadith becomes somewhat easier to understand from the narration of our master Salamah bin Akwa‘, radi Allahu anhu. He narrates that a man ate with his left hand in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said to him: ((Kul biyamīnik.)) That is: Eat with your right hand. He replied: I am not able to do so. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: (If you are not able,) then may you never be able to. In reality, only arrogance prevented him from accepting your statement. The narrator says that after that, the man could not raise his right hand to his mouth. (Muslim) This is arrogance and its consequence: he was deprived for his whole life from eating and drinking with his right hand.
We should attribute our abilities and talents to Allah Ta'ala, fulfill their requirements, express gratitude to Allah Ta'ala, and, filled with humility and modesty, respect the servants and creation of Allah.
Our master Abdullah bin Salam, radi Allahu anhu, used the best method to crush the feelings of pride, arrogance, and boasting. In fact, our master Abu Hurairah, radi Allahu anhu, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: ((Mā istakbara man akala ma‘ahu khādimuhu wa rakiba al-ḥimāra bil-aswāq, wa i‘taqala al-shāh faḥalabahā.)) … That person is not arrogant who eats with his servant, rides a donkey in the markets, and ties the leg of a goat and milks it. (al-Sahihah: 2218, narrated by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad: 550, and al-Daylami: 4/33)
The meaning of this hadith is that whoever feels ashamed to do such acts should sense the danger of arrogance in his conscience.
It is narrated from our master Mu‘adh bin Anas al-Juhani, radi Allahu anhu, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: ((Man taraka an yalbasa ṣāliḥ al-thiyāb wa huwa yaqdiru ‘alayh tawāḍu‘an lillāhi tabāraka wa ta‘ālā, da‘āhu Allāhu tabāraka wa ta‘ālā ‘alā ru’ūs al-khalā’iq ḥattā yukhayyirahu Allāhu ta‘ālā fī ḥulal al-īmān ayyathunna shā’a.)) … Whoever, out of humility for Allah, does not wear good clothes even though he is able to, Allah Ta'ala will call him before all of creation and give him the choice to wear whichever garment of faith he wishes. (Musnad Ahmad: 15704)
To understand the meaning of this blessed hadith, a real and deep relationship with Allah Ta'ala is required.
The Noble Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, himself used to comb his hair and also ordered that the hair be well arranged, but he also instructed that a person should not comb every day. The same applies to clothing.
The objective of the Shari‘ah is that a Muslim should not be such that he neglects bathing and grooming his hair for weeks and ultimately becomes a detestable person who does not understand his own status, nor should he be such that he focuses on his outward appearance every day and at all times, because constant prosperity, comfort, and luxury also corrupt a person's temperament, and he becomes afflicted with pride and arrogance, and begins to despise those who are less clean or live a simple life, or at the very least, he cannot appreciate the importance and benefits of simplicity.
Our master Ibn ‘Umar, radi Allahu anhu, narrates that the Noble Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, said: ((Man labisa thawb shuhrah fī al-dunyā albasahu Allāhu thawb madhallah yawma al-qiyāmah.)) … Whoever wears a garment of fame in this world, Allah Ta'ala will clothe him with a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection. (Abu Dawud: 4029, 4030; Ibn Majah: 3607)
By "garment of fame" is meant that a person desires that his clothing be distinctive in color, design, embroidery, etc., so that people look at him, and then he falls into self-admiration and conceit. See the end of such a person: he sought fame through this garment, and Allah Ta'ala will clothe him on the Day of Resurrection with a garment that will bring him humiliation.
The one who is honored in the sight of Allah Ta'ala is the one who has the most taqwa (piety) and God-consciousness, as Allah Ta'ala has said: {یٰٓاَیُّہَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقْنٰکُمْ مِّنْ ذَکَرٍ وَّاُنْثٰی وَجَعَلْنٰکُمْ شُعُوْبًا وَّقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوْا اِنَّ اَکْرَمَکُمْ عِنْدَ اللّٰہِ اَتْقٰیکُمْ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَلِیْمٌ خَبِیْرٌ۔} … O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most God-fearing of you. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Surah al-Hujurat: 13)