12- C O N C E I T ( K I B R )

KEYWORDS:

Amr al-maruf: ordering to do good actions, i.e., commanding others to obey Allah's commandments.

Nahy al-anil al-munkar: commanding others that they should not violate Allah's commandments.

Jihad: struggle, fight.

The twelfth malady of the heart is conceit. Conceit is one's holding or deeming his/her self to be superior to others. Such a person feels good inside when he thinks himself to be superior to others. Self love (Ujb) is a feeling of superiority. In this case one does not think of himself as superior to a specific person or persons but in a generalized sense sees one's self and deeds as superior. Conceit is a very disagreeable trait and is prohibited (Haram). It is a sign of forgetting one's creator or Lord. Many religious men are inflicted with this disease. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "A person who has an atom's weight of conceit in his heart will not enter Paradise." The opposite of conceit is humility (Tawazu). It is a feeling of equality. A humble person holds himself equal with others. He does not hold himself to be either superior or inferior to others. Humility is a very valuable trait for a human being. In a hadith Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Good news for humble persons." A humble person does not think of himself as inferior to others. He is neither a base nor a lazy person. He earns his money by permissible (Halal) means and gives much to charity or as a gift to others. He establishes acquaintances with scholars or scientists. He also feels compassion toward poor people. In the following hadiths Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "A humble person who earns his money by permissible (Halal) means, who has an agreeable nature, who is very mild toward others, and who does not harm anyone else is a very beautiful person," and "A person who humbles himself for the sake of Allahu ta'ala will be raised to superior ranks by Allahu ta'ala." Treating a conceited person with equal conceited behavior is permissible (Jaiz). Allahu ta'ala is proud (Mutakabbir) toward His creatures. Allahu ta'ala has pride (Kibr). A person will earn rewards (Thawab) when he treats a conceited person with equal conceited behavior. Anyone who treats a conceited person humbly would be considered a self oppressing person. It is also permissible to be conceited toward those who deviated from the right path and toward the rich people. Responding with conceited behavior towards them is not for the purpose of showing one's superiority but for waking them up to reality. Being proud and haughty against the enemy during the war is very rewarding. This type of haughtiness is called "Huyala." When one is donating to charity, one should have a sort of conceit mixed with cheer and joy. His conceit is not directed toward the receiver but instead to despise the given property or money. It indicates that one is not a slave of property or money. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "The giving hand is superior to the receiving one." Being proud toward the hypocrites or those who behave ostentatiously is also permissible (Jaiz). It is permissible to be humble toward those who are below one's rank or position but one should be careful to avoid extremes. Extreme humility is called "Tamalluk". Extreme humility is only permissible toward one's spiritual master or toward an Islamic scholar. Extreme humility (Tamalluk) is not permissible toward anybody else. It is reported in one hadith, "Tamalluk is not a part of Islamic ethics."

Poem:

To a teacher and medical doctor,

Necessary to do "Tamalluk".

One is for inner soul, the other for outwardly,

They are servants for curing these diseases.

Among the various conceited behaviors, the worst kind is to be conceited toward Allahu ta'ala. Namrod had that character. He declared himself to be God. He threw the prophet into the fire because he was sent by Allahu ta'ala to counsel him. Pharaoh was another one of these fools. He declared his divinity in Egypt and said that he was the strong god of Egypt. Allahu ta'ala sent prophet Moses (Musa), peace be upon him, to advise him but he refused to believe and thereafter he was drowned by Allahu ta'ala in the Suez Sea. People who are similar in nature, i.e., who do not believe in the creator of the universe, are called atheists (Dahri). [People with similar atheistic characters appear in almost every century. For example, Mao and Stalin killed and tortured millions of people and destroyed religious men, Islamic scholars and books and inflicted terror and fear upon their nations. They carried out their desires by using force and after a while they were spoiled. They began to have delusions that they possessed the superior qualities possessed by the Creator and said so to others. They banned importing of Islamic literature into their country and banned reading them. They executed those who talked about religion or Allahu ta'ala. And finally, they could not protect themselves from the wrath of Allahu ta'ala and got destroyed and annihilated. They are remembered with damnation and disgust just like their historical peers who were also remembered with hatred. Some people who were brainwashed and poisoned with the harmful atheistic propaganda of Mao and Stalin assumed power in some Arab countries through trickery. These people have started to imitate these communist leaders and became cruel dictators and started to practice a regime which is harmful to Islam. They have not taken a lesson from history, i.e., how the lives of those tyrants ended with great tragedy. They neither think about the great disasters awaiting them in this world nor do they think about the punishments of the next world.]

Many people also looked down on our Prophet Rasulullah, peace be upon him, and said, "Is this the Prophet that is sent by Allahu ta'ala?" The disbelievers of Mecca said, "It would have been better if this Qur'an has descended to one of the leaders of Mecca." This conceited behavior of disbelievers toward the great man of religion has taken place throughout the Islamic history. Such behavior by these powerless creatures, who were unaware even about the construction of their own bodies, was a declaration of war toward their Owner and Creator who is the most powerful in all respects. Once, the devil also behaved with conceit and said that he was created out of fire and Adam was created out of clay, therefore, he was superior when Allahu ta'ala ordered the angels to prostrate to Adam, peace be upon him, and thus the devil rebelled toward Allahu ta'ala. When the devil observed that the fire was giving light and was very sublime, it thought that it was superior to water and soil. In reality the real superiority is through humility, not through conceit. There will be soil in heaven and it will smell like musk. There is no fire in heaven. Fire is a means of punishment in hell. Fire in this world destroys whatever it touches but on the other hand soil is useful as a building material. Creatures live on the soil (earth). Treasures are buried under the soil. Ka'ba was built from the soil. Even though the light of fire ends the darkness of the night and brings light unto earth but the soil causes flowers and fruits to grow. Hadrat Muhammad, peace be upon him, the most superior of all created beings, resides in the earth.

In the following hadiths Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Allahu ta'ala communicates to us, being almighty (Kibriya), being superior and great (Azamat) are my attributes. I will throw those into hell without any mercy who try to share these attributes with Me," and "Anyone having an atom's weight of conceit 'Kibr' in his heart will not enter the heaven." When he was asked whether those who like to dress clean clothes and use clean shoes would be included in this category, he answered, "Allahu ta'ala is all Gracious (Jamil) and loves those who possess grace (Jamal)" or in other words, Allahu ta'ala loves graceful people. [People who cleanse themselves to avoid having an ugly and disgusting appearance or in order not to get a nickname for having an ugly appearance or in order to look good and beautiful are called "people having grace." The things that are necessary to support life barely are classified as "bare necessities". Using "bare necessities" in such a way to look lovely and beautiful is considered as having grace. For example, having a dress is a "necessity" of life. While everyone needs a dress to cover themselves, using the dress in such a fashion to look lovely constitutes as having grace. Ornamenting one's body, dress or the thing one uses in order to impress others or to obtain superiority over others is called "Zinat". "Zinat" are the things that are beyond the "bare necessities" (as described above) but necessary to protect one's body, health, honor or value. It is not permissible for a man to use "Zinat" under any circumstances. On the other hand, for women, it is not permissible to use "Zinat" amongst men who are strangers to them.]

Every work and act of Allahu ta'ala is beautiful. He also loves persons with beautiful morals and character. This hadith informs us that conceited people, like those other sinners, will not enter heaven without punishment. The destination for those who cannot enter heaven will be hell because there is no place other than these two in the hereafter. Anyone who has an atom's weight of belief will not reside in hell forever and will enter heaven ultimately. Anyone who has committed a grave sin without repentance for it will suffer his due punishment first if he cannot attain any intercession and then will be let into heaven. Anyone who enters heaven once will never be thrown out of it. In the following hadiths, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Any believer (Mumin) who was not a conceited person, who was not a deceiver, and who did not violate others' rights will enter heaven without questioning." and "A believer (Mumin) who violates others' rights is a blemished and defected believer." One may borrow money in order to meet the necessities of life, but one must pay it back as soon as one has the means. The above hadith cautions against violating others' rights. These rights comprise the money one borrows without needing it or not paying it back after having the means or borrowing through illegitimate prohibited means or the money promised to be paid to the wife (Mahr money) but is not paid back yet and obligation of teaching the religious knowledge to others which one did not carry out yet. Rasulullah, peace be upon him, before his death called his son-in-law Hadrat Ali, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, and told him, "Oh Ali! I owe money to such and such Jewish person. Pay him back!" He had borrowed some barley from him earlier. His last request to Hadrat Ali, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, was that he should pay him back. Hadrat Abdullah bin Salam, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, who was one of the leading Jewish scholars of that time, recognized the prophethood of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, by just speaking to him once and thus became Muslim. One day, he was seen carrying wood on his back. People, in the community, who saw him this way asked him why he was carrying wood on his back while he was rich and had so much money. He said he was doing in order to save his soul from conceit. If a rich man carries his own goods in order to avoid paying money to a porter, that would be lowliness (Tazallul). But if he does it in order to follow the Sunnat of our Prophet, peace be upon him, and in order to avoid carrying out the desires of his soul, it is a good action which brings rewards (Thawab). In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "During the Day of Gathering (Qiyamat), Allahu ta'ala will not speak to three classes of people and will punish them very severely, these are: a fornicating old man, a lying head of state and a conceited poor man." Abu Ubayda bin Jarrah, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, the commander of the Muslim army in Damascus, along with others around him went out to welcome Caliph Hadrat Umar. Hadrat Umar, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, and his slave were riding the camel at alternating time intervals. The time arrived for his slave to ride the camel when they were about to enter Damascus. Hadrat Umar, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, came down from the camel and let his slave ride the camel. He held the strings of the camel and walked. While he was passing by a small stream, he took off his special shoes (Mash) and soaked his feet in the water. Commander Hadrat Ubayda, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, seeing him doing all of these said to him, "Oh Caliph! Why are you acting this way? All the people of Damascus, especially the Byzantinians are gathered here to see the leader of the Muslims. They are looking at you. They will not approve or like the way you are behaving." Hadrat Umar, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, replied, "Oh Aba Ubayda! Your expressions are very harmful for these people. These people will think from your sayings that a man gains honor by riding a camel (vehicle) or by dressing in ornamented dresses. They will not understand that a man gathers honor by being a Muslim and by worshiping. We were lowly people. [We were slaves at the hand of the Persian kings.] Allahu ta'ala honored us by making us Muslims. If we seek superiorities other than those which Allahu ta'ala gave us, Allahu ta'ala will make us lowly again, lowlier than everything else." Superiority (Izzat) is with Islam. Anyone who follows the ethics of Islam will be superior. Anyone who dislikes these rules and looks for superiorities in other things will be lowly. Another order of Islam is humility. Anyone who behaves humbly will be superior and will rise above others. Anyone who has pride (Takabbur), and haughtiness will be lowly.

In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "On the Day of Gathering (Qiyamat), the people who were conceited in the world would be raised from their graves like small ants, lowly and disgraced. They will be small like an ant but they will be in the form of a human being. Everyone will look down upon them as lowly creatures. They will be thrown into the "Bolis" canyon of hell which is the deepest canyon of hell and which has the severest punishment of all. This canyon is called "Bolis" because the people who are thrown there will lose all their hope for ever getting out. They will be lost within the fire. When they ask for water, they will be served with the pus of the residents of hell." Abu Hurayra, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, the governor of the city of Madina, was carrying wood on his back. Muhammad bin Ziyad, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, recognized him and said to the people around him, "Open the way for the governor!". The young people there were puzzled by the humility of the governor. In the following hadiths Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "There was a conceited person among the previous communities (ummats) of the prophets who would walk around with his long dress touching the ground. His behavior offended Allahu ta'ala. He ordered the earth to swallow him." and "Riding a donkey, dressing wool clothes and milking a cow shows that the performer of these actions is not a conceited person."

Conceit is caused by the following seven reasons: knowledge or religious knowledge, performing good deeds or worships, lineage, beauty, strength, property and ranks. Existence of these attributes with ignorants causes conceit in them.

Although knowledge causes conceit, its medicine is also knowledge. It is very difficult to obtain remedy for knowledge which causes conceit. Knowledge is a very valuable thing. A person who possesses knowledge thinks of himself as superior and honorable. It is more correct to say that his knowledge is not real knowledge but is in fact, ignorance. Real knowledge teaches one his weaknesses and shortcomings as well as the superiorities and greatness of Allahu ta'ala. It increases one's fear toward Allahu ta'ala and humility toward His creatures and causes him to respect the rights of others. Learning and teaching this type of knowledge is obligatory and is called "Ilm al-nafi". It causes one to perform worships only for the sake of Allahu ta'ala. The remedy for knowledge which causes conceit is to know the following two items: The first one is to know that the superiority of knowledge is relative. That is, it depends on the pure intention of the person who possesses the knowledge. One should not learn in order to become religious leaders ("Imam" or "mufti") or in order to achieve fame as a religious person. The second one is to know that one should learn in order to practice according to that knowledge and in order to teach others and one should perform these only for the sake of Allahu ta'ala. The sheer knowledge which does not accompany practice (Amal) or sincerity (Ikhlas) is harmful. In a hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "The possessor of the knowledge who learns not for the sake of Allahu ta'ala will be forced to sit on the fire in the hell." Learning in order to obtain property, ranks and fame is in this category. Learning in order to obtain worldly possessions or to be more precise, learning religious knowledge in order to advance one's worldly possessions is like eating excrements with a golden spoon. Such a person is a religious thief. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Those who Learn religious knowledge in order to gain worldly possessions will not smell the scent of the heaven." It is permissible (Jaiz) and even necessary to learn scientific knowledge in order to gain worldly possessions. Another hadith communicates about two types of scholars: "There will be two types of scholars in my community (Ummat). The first one will be useful to human beings through their knowledge. They will not expect any benefit for their teaching. Fishes in seas, animals on earth and birds in skies will pray for these types of persons. Alternately, the person whose knowledge is not beneficial to others and uses his knowledge in order to gain worldly possessions will be forced to wear a halter made of fire in the hell." The Qur'an informs us that all the creatures in the skies and on the earth praise Allahu ta'ala. The scholars mentioned in the hadith, "Scholars are inheritors of the prophets," are the ones who follow the examples of Rasulullah, peace be upon him. The scholar (Alim) who practices in accordance with Islam is like a source of light which illuminates its environment. The following hadiths are famous: "In the Day of Gathering 'Qiyamat', a religious scholar will be thrown into hell. People who were in hell and who knew this person will gather around him and ask him why he was punished this way while he was the one on earth who communicated the orders of Allahu ta'ala to others. He will answer by saying, Yes! I would tell you that it is a sin and don't do it but I would do it myself, and I would not do while I would tell you to do it. That is why I am suffering this punishment now," and "While I was taken to skies during the night of ascendance (Miraj), I saw some human beings. They were being punished by having their lips clipped with scissors made of fire. I asked Gabriel about them. He said they were the holy preachers who advised others to do what they would not do themselves," and "Soldiers of hell will punish the sinning memorizers (Hafizs) of holy books before they will punish idol-worshippers. Because, the sin which is carried out knowingly is much worse than the one which is done unknowingly." The companions of the Prophet were very profound scholars therefore, they were as afraid of small sins as they were of grave sins. The memorizers (Hafizs) mentioned in this hadith might very well be memorizers of the Old Testament because sinner Muslims will not suffer heavier punishment than disbelievers or they will be the ones of the followers (Ummat) of our Prophet, peace be upon him, but they will be the ones who slighted orders of Islam, e.g., by not paying attention to permissibles (Halal) and prohibited actions (Haram), and thus become disbelievers. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Scholars are trusted representatives of the prophets as long as they do not intermingle with government officials and do not run after collecting worldly goods. When they start to collect worldly goods and start to intermingle with government officials, they are considered to be violating the trust of the prophets." A trusted person is expected to protect the goods which are entrusted to him. Similarly, religious scholars should be protecting the religious knowledge from corruption. Once, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, was visiting the "Ka'ba". He was asked who was the worst person. He answered, "Do not ask the worst ones! Ask about the good ones. The evil scholars (alims) are the worst of all human beings." Because, they knowingly commit sins. Jesus (Isa), peace be upon him, once said, "Evil scholars are like a piece of rock which blocks the waterway. Water cannot penetrate through the rock. Therefore, the rock stops the running of the water." An evil religious scholar resembles to a sewer system. From a distance it looks like a reinforced concrete system but it is filled with sewage. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "During the Day of Gathering (Qiyamat), the worst punishments will be applied to religious scholars who did not practice in accordance with their knowledge." For this reason, hypocrites (Munafiq), in other words, those disbelievers who fake as being Muslims, will go to the deepest part of hell. Because, they remained as disbelievers knowingly and through stubbornness. A person who learns religious knowledge obtains either eternal salvation or falls into eternal disaster. In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "Some people who will be punished in hell will generate very bad smell. Others around them will suffer more from the bad smell than from the fire. When asked about the reason for their bad smell, they will answer by saying that they were religious scholars but they did not practice in accordance with their knowledge." Abuddarda, may Allahu ta'ala be well pleased with him, once said, "If a person holding any kind of a religious rank does not practice in accordance with his knowledge, he couldn't be called a scholar (Alim)." The devil had knowledge about all religions but did not practice in accordance with that knowledge. Let's assume that a person is left alone in a desert and has ten swords and other weapons in his possession. Furthermore let's assume that he is a very brave person with knowledge of how to use these weapons. If he does not use the weapons against an attacking lion, what good are the weapons? None at all, is it? Similarly, learning the answers of one hundred thousand religious questions does not do any good to a person unless he puts this knowledge into practice. Also, if a sick person knows how to remedy his sickness but does not apply his knowledge toward obtaining that remedy, he does not benefit from his sheer knowledge.

In one hadith, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, said, "In the time period close to Doomsday, most worshipers will be ignorant of their religion and majority of men who possess an authoritative position in religion will be sinners (Fasiks). " The sinner religious man referred to in this hadith will be mixing with government officials in order to obtain materialistic gains. According to Sufyan al-Sawr, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, there is a special valley in hell which is made of fire. This valley will be reserved only for the punishment of hypocrites who memorize the Qur'an but also mix with the government officials. Again, Sufyan, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, stated the following: he was very advanced in the knowledge of interpreting the Qur'an. He was able to interpret a verse in thirty-three different ways. Then, he went to a reception given by the ruler (Sultan) of the time and lost all his knowledge because of the effects of the food he consumed at that reception. Muhammad bin Salama, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, says that the state of a memorizer of Qur'an who waits by the door of the people who are in charge of government affairs in order to obtain some material gain is worse than a fly which sits on a piece of dirt.

The hadith, "The person who has been given knowledge by Allahu ta'ala but does not transmit the knowledge to others will be punished severely during the day of Judgement by a halter made of fire" was quoted earlier. Religious men who do not teach the knowledge to qualified persons are the ones referred to by this hadith. The fifth verse, "Do not give your possessions to dissolute persons" of the chapter of "Nisa" of the Qur'an prohibits one to teach knowledge to base and lowly hypocrites.

The following hadith, "Islam will spread everywhere. Muslim businessmen will travel freely by ships at big seas to other countries for commerce. Muslim warriors riding their horses will go to the other countries. Later on, some memorizers (Hafiz) of the Qur'an will appear and will boast by saying, 'Is there anyone who can recite the Qur'an better than me?' or 'Is there anyone who knows more than me?' They will be the firewood of hell," points out that their recitation of the Qur'an with hypocrisy and their boasting will lead them to hell.

In another hadith, it was pointed out, "Anyone who claims to be a scholar indeed is an ignorant." Persons who present themselves to be knowledgeable about everything, for example, by answering every question or giving an interpretation of everything they see are actually displaying their ignorance. He who states that he does not know the answer but will study and then answer the question is an advanced scholar. When they asked Rasulullah, peace be upon him, what is the most valuable place on earth, he answered, "I don't know, if my Lord informs me, I will tell you." Then, he asked this to Archangel Gabriel and received a similar answer from him. Then, Gabriel asked Allahu ta'ala and received the answer, "Masjids-Muslim houses of worship." When 198th verse of the chapter of "A'raf" of the Qur'an which says, "Command forgiveness and performing good deeds" was descended, Rasulullah, peace be upon him, asked Gabriel to interpret its meaning. Gabriel said, "Let me learn from my Lord" and left. When he returned he said that Allahu ta'ala commanded by saying, "Get close to those who run away from you! Give generously to one who does not give you! Forgive those who oppress you!" When Sha'bi, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, was asked a question he answered by saying he didn't know the answer. The questioner told him that, since he is the religious authority (Mufti) of Iraq, it was inappropriate for him to say he does not know the answer. Sha'bi, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, replied him, "Even archangels have said they didn't know. His answering the same way would be perfectly appropriate." Imam Abu Yusuf, may Allahu ta'ala be pleased with him, answered one question by saying, he doesn't know the answer. People then said that he is paid from the government treasury for answering questions but he doesn't know the answers. He answered them by saying that he gets paid for the things he knows and that if he were to get paid for the things he doesn't know, the whole budget of the government treasury wouldn't be enough. Establishing friendships with ignorants who do not follow their souls would be better than establishing friendships with religious persons who are slaves of their souls. A religious person's being conceited because of his holding a religious post is the utmost sign of his ignorance because having knowledge leads one into being a humble and modest person and protects one from being haughty and conceited.

It is forbidden to be conceited or haughty. Pride (Kibr) is an attribute of Allahu ta'ala. Being proud (Kibriya) or the attribute of pride is appropriate for Allahu ta'ala. When a human being holds the view that his soul is lowly his value will increase in the sight of Allahu ta'ala. Conversly, a person who thinks himself worthy and superior will not have any value in the sight of Allahu ta'ala. Any scholar who does not know the harm of being conceited and haughty should not be considered a real scholar. Gaining more knowledge increases one's fear of Allahu ta'ala and one cannot dare to commit sin. For this reason, all prophets were humble persons. They were very much afraid of Allahu ta'ala. They did not possess vices like conceit and self love (Ujb). One should not treat youngsters and sinners (fasiks and fajirs) with conceit. Alternatively, it is necessary to treat conceited persons with equal conceit. A scholar, upon seeing an ignorant should say to himself that he commits sin because of his ignorance but I am committing sin despite my knowledge or upon seeing another scholar should say to himself that he knows more than me and practices according to his knowledge with sincerity (Ikhlas) but I don't do like him or I am not like him, or upon seeing an older person than himself should say to himself that he performed more worships than me, or upon seeing youngsters should say to himself that those youngsters have less sin than me, or upon seeing his friends who are at his age should say to himself that I do not know what they are doing but I know my own sin therefore, it is necessary to scorn those who are known as sinners (Himself) or upon seeing those who deviated from the right path or a disbeliever, he should say to himself that it is not known to anyone how one's life will end thus, I should ponder about how my life will end up. Therefore he should not treat those with conceit either but he should not love them. Especially persons who deviated from the right path and disbelievers are enemies of Sunnat of our Prophet, peace be upon him. They try to put out the light emanating from the Sunnat of our Prophet, and try to spread fabricated actions (Bidat) in religion along with corruption. Also, they try to discredit "Ahl as-sunnat scholars" as well as try to give wrong meanings to hadiths of our Prophet and verses of the Holy Qur'an and thus try to demolish Islam insidiously.

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