The Virtue of Avoiding Rebellion and Arrogance
Allah Almighty dislikes every act that involves disobedience to Him, violation of His commands, and is displeased with it. Rather, Allah loves the fulfillment of His commands, humility, and meekness. In contrast, arrogance and pride, which lead to disobedience to Allah, are greatly disliked. This is because greatness is an attribute of Allah, as He is the Owner of all dominion. The kingship of the universe belongs to Him. If any of His creation becomes arrogant and shows pride, it invites the wrath of Allah. May Allah protect us from His wrath. Ameen!
Luqman (peace be upon him) advised his son: Do not walk arrogantly on the earth, for Allah does not like the proud and boastful who think wrongly that Allah loves them because He has given them these blessings. The worldly blessings are also given by Allah to His disbelieving servants. As it is stated:
﴿وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ﴾
And do not turn your face away from people in arrogance, nor walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful.
Allah Almighty described the qualities of His servants in the Quran:
﴿تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فَسَادًا ۚ وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾
“We will surely assign to the righteous their place of highest honor,
Who avoid the major sins and immoralities, and when they are angry, they forgive,
And those who have responded to their lord and established prayer and whose affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves, and from what We have provided them, they spend.
And those who, when tyranny strikes them, they defend themselves.”
And in Surah An-Nisa, it is stated:
﴿وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا﴾
“Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good, and to relatives, orphans, the needy, the near neighbor, the neighbor farther away, the companion at your side, the traveler, and those whom your right hands possess. Indeed, Allah does not like those who are self-deluding and boastful.”
These are some divine verses condemning arrogance and pride and highlighting the virtue of humility and meekness. Now, observe some hadiths about the virtue of humility and meekness and the condemnation of arrogance and pride. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
” وما تواضع أحد لله إلا رفعه الله“
“And whoever humbles himself for the sake of Allah, Allah will raise him in status.”
عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: ”احتجت النار والجنة ، فقالت هذه: يدخلني الجبارون والمتكبرون، وقالت هذه: يدخلني الضعفاء والمساكين، فقال الله عزوجل لهذه: أنت عذابي أعذب بك من أشاء ، وقال لهذه: أنت رحمتي أرحم بك من أشاء ، ولكل واحدة منكما ملؤها“.
Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There was a dispute between Paradise and Hell. Hell said: I have arrogant and proud people inside me, and Paradise said: I have weak and poor people inside me. Then Allah judged between them, saying to Hell: You are My punishment; through you, I will punish whomever I wish. And to Paradise: You are My mercy; through you, I will have mercy on whomever I wish. Filling both of you is My responsibility.”
حارثة بن وهب رضى الله عنه قال: سمعت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: ” ألا أخبرك بأهل الجنة؟ كل ضعيف متضعف ، لو أقسم على الله لأبره، ألا أخبركم بأهل النار؟ كل عتل جواظ مستكبر“.
Narrated Haritha bin Wahb (may Allah be pleased with him), I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “Shall I not inform you about the people of Paradise? (Then he answered himself) Every weak person, who is considered weak, if he swears by Allah, Allah fulfills it for him. Shall I not inform you about the people of Hell? (Then he answered) Every harsh-tempered, arrogant, stingy (or boastful) person.”
عن سلمة بن الأكوع رضى الله عنه أن رجلا أكل عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بشماله: فقال: ” كل بيمينك“. قال: ”لا أستطيع“. قال: ”لا استطعت“. ما منعه إلا الكبر ، قال: فما رفعها إلى فيه.
Narrated Salamah bin Akwa (may Allah be pleased with him), a man ate with his left hand in the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him), who said: “Eat with your right hand.” The man said: “I do not have the strength.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Then you do not have the strength.” He was only prevented by arrogance from obeying the Prophet’s command, and then he could not raise his hand to his mouth.
Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
” بينما رجل يتبختر يمشي فى برديه قد أعجبته نفسه ، فخسف الله به الأرض ، فهو يتجلجل فيها إلى يوم القيامة“.
Once a man was walking arrogantly wearing two garments, and his ego had made him self-conceited and proud, so Allah caused him to sink into the earth, and he will continue sinking into the earth until the Day of Judgment.”
A servant named Qara saw Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) wearing old clothes and said: “Shall I not bring you soft cloth made in Khorasan (for you to wear), and when I see you in that garment, my eyes will find peace and comfort?” Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “Show me that cloth.” When it was brought, he touched it and asked: “Is this silk?” I said: “No, it is cotton.” Then Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: “I fear that if I wear this, I might become arrogant and boastful, and Allah does not like every arrogant and boastful person.”
This means that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) was so pious and fond of humility that he refrained from wearing good clothes out of fear that by wearing expensive clothes, he might look down on others and develop arrogance and pride in his heart. Therefore, he refused.
Abu Wahb Al-Marwazi said: “I asked Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) about arrogance? He replied: Arrogance is that you consider people insignificant. Then I asked about self-conceit and pride? He replied: Self-conceit is that you desire that what you have, no one else should have. And among the praying people, I do not know anything worse than this.”
In summary: Arrogance is a characteristic and attribute of Allah, but if someone expresses arrogance, it is as if he is knowingly or unknowingly trying to share in Allah’s attribute. Allah does not like partnership in His attributes, whereas He greatly loves humility and meekness. May Allah grant us the ability to live a life of humility and meekness. Ameen!
