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The other day I ran into an old school mate of mine, since we were both heading down Front Street towards the Docks we decided to walk together. My what a long journey that was for me! ..... my old buddy just talked about himself and how wonderful he and his family were.

He talked and talked and his arrogance was so blatant. He told me he was the best on his job and at his place of worship, how he is responsible for this and that and blah, blah.

I was happy when I turned into the Supermart to escape! Arrogance is not a good attribute.

Almighty Allah says in the Glorious Qur'an "It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness, to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; (Al Qur'an 2:177) meaning that it is not how you pray or the religious antics you display, but the true content of your character and most importantly it is your heart that makes one righteous.

Devoid of righteousness

Most people are devoid of righteousness because of their abject arrogance. Like Satan when he refused to follow God's command and he was driven out of Paradise.

Many of us think too over the top of ourselves. Arrogance is one of the most dangerous inner diseases of the heart.

Those inner diseases reside in the hearts but their destructive effects are reflected in the behaviour and conduct of the sick person who can be prevented from entering paradise on the Day of Judgment.

In the authentic hadith reported by Imams Muslim and At-Tirmithi the prophet (pbuh) said, "One will not enter Paradise, if one has an atom's weight of arrogance in his/her heart."

This hadith is evidence that arrogance is one of the major sins because it prevents the arrogant from entering Paradise on the Day of Judgment.

It is also evidence that arrogance is from the diseases of the heart, and evidence that degrees of arrogance exist.

The heart can be filled with arrogance or can have only up to a small atom's weight of arrogance.

The prophet (pbuh) described the ills of arrogance for us in an authentic hadith reported by Imams Muslim and At-Tirmithi, "One will not enter Paradise, if one has an atom's weight of arrogance in his/her heart." a man then asked, "One may love his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?!"

The prophet replied, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty, arrogance is: rejecting the truth and looking down on people."

Arrogance against Allah

The most severe arrogance is being arrogant against Allah (swt.) and rejecting submission and worshipping Him. Allah (S.W.T.) says in surat Ghafer, (Verse 60), what can be translated as, "Verily! Those who disdain My worship (because of arrogance), they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!"

Forbidden also is arrogance against God's messengers and rejecting their message and not following them solely because they are human.

This is the case of many non-believers about whom Allah (S.W.T.) says in the Qur'an in surat Al-Mu'minoon, (Verse 47), what can be translated as, "They said: "Shall we believe in two men like ourselves." And in surat Ibrahim.

(Verse 10) can be translated as, "They said to their messengers: "You are no more than human beings like us."

And the tribe of Quraish also said, when it rejected and looked down on the prophet Muhammad (pbuh because he was an orphan and poor, as Allah (S.W.T.) told us in surat Az-Zukhruf, (Verse 31), what can be translated as, "And they say: "Why is not this Qur'an sent down to some great man of the two towns (Makka and Ta'if)."

But Allah is not concerned with our place in society, whether it is lowly or lofty, but His concern is the condition of heart.

The lesson of Iblees

Allah (swt) tells us the story of Iblees (Satan when he was an angel) so that we may learn lessons from it. When Allah ordered Iblees to prostrate to Adam and he rejected this because of his arrogance and envy towards Adam, claiming that he was better than him.

Allah said in surat Al-A'raaf, Verse (12), what can be translated as, "...I am better than him (Adam), you created me from fire, and you created him from clay."

After we have heard all these verses and a hadith about the dangers of arrogance and how bad the consequences are, we should be forewarned and stay away from arrogance and its bad effects and its characteristics.

So we teach ourselves to follow the truth when we know it, and humble ourselves in front of others. Imam Muslim reported that the prophet (S.A.W.) said, "....And no one has humbled himself for the sake of Allah, but Allah has elevated him."[[In-content Ad]]

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