Humility

I begin in the name of the Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful

In this post, I shall be talking to you about a specific spiritual illness, which alone, is responsible for damaging ones imaan. Just as cancer destroys the human body, similarly this spiritual disease acts in the same way. It attacks ones imaan, making it weaker and weaker, until God forbid, it proves fatal for the individuals imaan. Hence, I present to you this topic, so that I may practice upon what is said, as well as create an awareness of the dangers of such a disease.

It is narrated in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Ibn Mas'ud (ra) that the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasaalam said: (to the nearest meaning) :

'He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise'

Yet, despite such a warning from the most blessed of beings, one would be astonished to know the amount of pride and arrogance we have massed into our hearts. Ask yourselves, have you or rather, can you eradicate every atom of pride from your hearts, that would make you worthy of Paradise?

However, the matter becomes worse when one does not acknowledge the pride that remains within them. One way to determine this, is to look at our actions and behaviour with other people. If we happen to be constantly backbiting, pointing out the misfortune of others and critising others without creating the slightest bit of reform in ourselves, then we should know that we have become proud beings. The reason for this is that by talking about the weakness and flaw of another person, we are indirectly saying that we are superior over them even though we may not say this in clear words.

This can be considered as the worst form of judgement ever, as it is only Allah (swt) who knows the status of each of His servants. A woman who covers her hair may consider herself superior over another woman who does not cover her hair, or a man who dresses in the sunnah-way may consider himself superior over another man who does not. However, who knows? the latter may be better than the former.

In conclusion, when we do a good deed e.g. pray our daily salaah, naturally there will be a feeling of satisfaction and of joy that we were able to fulfil such a task. However, do not transform such a feeling into pride and think yourself to be better than another fellow muslim who for e.g. does not pray their daily salaah. After we have done a good deed, we should thank Allah (swt) that He gave us the ability to do so, instantly, every feeling of pride will leave, Inshallah.

I end by making a supplication to the Almighty that, Oh Allah, we beg you to eliminate any form of pride within our character and to instill in us such humility, that allows us entry into Paradise. Ameen.