ARROGANCE:

Al-Kibr is rejecting the truth and looking down upon people/to belittle others"
[Muslim, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud].

The word or the name for pride in Arabic is 'kibr'. This is the inner quality of
pride. The name of the outward quality is 'takabbur' which means arrogance.
It is the worst attribute of a human being, and owing to this sin, Shaytan, Iblis
as he was known, was expelled from Paradise. An atom’s worth of kibr (pride
and arrogance) is a barrier to Paradise.

Humbleness is to know the value of oneself, to avoid pride, or disregarding

the truth and underestimating people. "Know the value of yourself, and do
not place it in the wrong place!"

Humbleness is that one should humble himself with his companions.

Frequently when the spirit of competition and envy is agitated between
companions and rivals, a person may feel superior over his companion, he
may be pleased by harming him, degrading his value and importance,
accusing him of defects or exaggerating his faults. Faults that may have
come to light when seeking advice, or correction. In reality this is what is
called jealousy.

Humbleness is to humble oneself to one who is below you. If you find

someone who is younger than you, or of less importance than you, you
should not despise him, because he might have a better heart than you, or
be less sinful, or closer to Allah than you. Even if you see a sinful person and
you are righteous, do not act in arrogance towards him, and thank Allah that
He saved you from the tribulation that He put him through. Remember that
there might be some riyaa' or vanity in your righteous deeds that may cause
them to be of no avail, and that this sinful person may be regretful and
fearful concerning his bad deeds, and this may be the cause of forgiveness of
his sins

One of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) said: "Indeed a servant commits a sin
by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he
enters the Fire." It was asked: How is that? So he replied: "The one who
committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it,
regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord - the Most High -
due to it. He stands before Allaah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered
in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of
obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness - which
leads to the servant's happiness and success - to the extent that this sin
becomes the cause for him entering Paradise. As for the doer of good, then
he does not consider this good a favour from his Lord Upon him. Rather, he
becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such
and such, and such and such . So this further increases him in self adulation,
pride and arrogance - such that this becomes the cause for his destruction."

Humbleness is that, when you are advised, if Shaytaan calls you to reject the
advice, you must negate him. Because the purpose of advice is that your
brother points out the defects that you have. As for he who Allah ta`ala has
protected, if he finds one who will advise him and show him his defects, he'll
overcome his nafs, accept from him, thank and make du`aa for him

The 'Amir of the Believers `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, raising the
the flag and lifting the motto, "May Allah have mercy on a person who
informed us of our defects."

What if a person does have edge over another person in measurable worldly
terms? How then can he not consider himself superior than the other person
in that respect? The point is sometimes made in half jest: it is difficult to be
humble when you are so great. Islam does not ask us to reject reality and
imagine we don’t have what we really do. Rather it asks us to take a deeper
look at the reality and not be misled by a superficial perception of it. And the
simple reality that escapes many is that our health, wealth, talents, and
power are not of our own creation. God gave those to us as a test and He can
take them back whenever He wills. Those who are conscious of this reality,
their blessings will produce gratitude in them; those who are blind to it will
develop pride and arrogance.

~ARROGANCE IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN AND SUNNAH~

* And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who
are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in
humiliation!" mumin/ghafir 40:60

* "And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence
through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster.'' (31:18)
* "Verily, Qarun (Korah) was of Musa's (Moses) people, but he behaved
arrogantly towards them. And We gave him of the treasures, that of which
the keys would have been a burden to a body of strong men. Remember
when his people said to him: `Do not exult (with riches, being ungrateful to
Allah). Verily, Allah likes not those who exult (with riches, being ungrateful to
Allah...(up to)... So We caused the earth to swallow him and his dwelling
place.'' (28:76-81)

* Abu Hurayrah quoted Allah's Messenger (saaw) warning about a

person's adoration of himself: "There are three destructive things: desires
that are followed, greediness that is obeyed, and a person's self-admiration
and conceit; and this is the worst of the three"

* Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: The Prophet said Allah will not look, on the
Day of Resurrection at the person who drags his garment (behind him) out of
conceit. On that Abu Bakr said, "O Allah's Apostle! One side of my Izar hangs
low if I do not take care of it." The Prophet said, 'You are not one of those who
do that out of conceit." Bukhari

* Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said, 'Allah will not look at the
person who drags his garment (behind him) out of conceit.'' Bukhari

* Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "The part of an Izar which hangs
below the ankles is in the Fire."Bukhari

* Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (or 'Abul Qasim) said, "While a man was
walking, clad in a two-piece garment and proud of himself with his hair well-
combed, suddenly Allah made him sink into the earth and he will go on
sinking into it till the Day of Resurrection. Bukhari

This Hadith warns us against self-praise and arrogance which may pervade
our hearts by fine clothes and physical beauty. Instead of adopting a proud
attitude, we should be sensible enough to thank Allah for these favours and
confess our servitude to Him.

* Abdullah bin Mas`ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet
(PBUH) said, "He who has, in his heart, an ant's weight of arrogance will not
enter Jannah.'' Someone said: "A man likes to wear beautiful clothes and
shoes?'' Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah is Beautiful, He loves beauty.
Arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the Truth and despising people.''
[Muslim]

The Hadith says that a man who has even an iota of pride in his heart will be
barred from entering Jannah. The Hadith word used for the smallest amount
means in Arabic either the smallest ant or the particle which is radiated by
sun-rays and seen through a wall-chink. Obviously, such a particle has almost
a non-existent amount, but even this much is disapproved by Allah. If pride
incites a man to deny the existence of Allah and His Revelation, he is sure to
be thrown into Hell. He also faces Divine displeasure and the danger of
infernal fire if mere consideration of riches, physical beauty, social and
intellectual prominence and family status makes him proud and self-
conceited and he looks down upon others, or persists in the denial of Truth. .
A good dress, however, is not counted the sign of pride UNLESS it is worn to
show off! For indeed Allah is beautiful in His Dhaat (Self), Sifaat (Attributes)
and Af’aal (Actions). He loves both outer and inner beauty. Outer beauty
includes cleanliness of the body, clothes and place; inner beauty is
beautifying the character. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) would
make the du’a: “O Allah! Guide me to having beautiful manners and
characteristics; no one can guide me to beautifying them except You. And
turn me away from all evil actions and characteristics; no one can turn them
away from me except You.” (An-Nasa’i, no. 861, authenticated by Al-Albani)

The Hadith points out two types of arrogance

1 – When a person does not accept the Truth out of arrogance (disbelievers),
Iblees who didnt bow down before Adam, Pharoah) OR

to reject the truth for example when it comes to you from the source you do
not like, when it comes to you from someone perhaps who is not as much
upon the right path as you think you are, and to look down upon other people
and to disgrace them, this is kibr. During an argument, a person may realize
that hes wrong, but then his pride keeps him from admitting it. No matter
how polite or "humble" that person may appear to be ordinarily, this test
shows the presence of arrogance in his heart. It is arrogance and ego that
keeps a person from saying "I am sorry."

2 – When a person admires himself for his beauty, knowledge or the fineness
of his food or clothing, so he feels proud and arrogant and feels superior to
people.

Such a person will despise, mock, and degrade others through both speech
and action.
* Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet
(PBUH) said, "There was a dispute between Hell and Jannah, and Hell said:
`The haughty and proud are in me.' The Jannah said: `In me are the weak
and the humble.' Thereupon Allah, the Exalted, judged between them saying:
`You the Jannah are My Mercy, and through you I shall show mercy to those
whom I wish.' (And addressing the Hell) He said: `You are My punishment to
punish whom I wish amongst My slaves, and each one of you will have its
fill.''' [Muslim].

* Narrated Haritha bin Wahb Al Khuzai (may Allah be pleased with him) I
heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, "May I
tell you of the people of Paradise? Every weak and poor obscure person
whom the people look down upon but if he takes an oath to do something, his
oath is fulfilled by Allah. And may I inform you of the people of the Hellfire?
They are all those violent, arrogant and stubborn people."Bukhari

* It was narrated from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb via his father and grandfather that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “On the Day of
Resurrection, the arrogant will be gathered like ants in the form of men.
Humiliation will overwhelm them from all sides. They will be driven to a
prison in Hell called Bawlas, with the hottest fire rising over them, and they
will be given to drink of the juice of the inhabitants of Hell, which is teenat al-
khabaal.”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2492

* "Eat, drink, dress, and give charity, but without extravagance or arrogance"
(Al-Bukhari). ...

* ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: By Allaah, if I wanted I could
wear the finest clothes among you, and eat the best food, and have the most
luxurious life. But I heard that Allaah will condemn people for some of their
actions and said (interpretation of the meaning):

“You received your good things in the life of the world, and you took your
pleasure therein. Now this Day you shall be recompensed with a torment of
humiliation, because you were arrogant in the land without a right, and
because you used to rebel against Allaah’s Command (disobey Allaah)” [al-
Ahqaaf 46:20]
~CURING ARROGANCE~

* true greatness and pride is only for Allah! Remember your worth:

Allah ta`ala said: "Perish man! How thankless he is! Of what did He create
him? Of a sperm-drop. He created him, and determined him, and then made
him the way easy for him. Then He makes him die, buries him, and then,
when He wills, raises him."

* Thank Allah for His favors and blessings

"Therefore remember Me, I will remember you, And be thankful to Me, and do
not be ungrateful to Me." [Qur'an 2:152]

"And He gives you all that you ask for. But if you count the favors of Allah,
never will you be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice
and ingratitude." [Qur'an 14:34]

“And know ye that your possession and your progeny are but a trial; and that
it is Allah with whom lies your highest reward”. (Al-Quran 8:28)

* be humble with the people; avoid despising, mocking, degrading the people
with speech and action

* accept the truth from whatever source it comes from and be sincere in
correcting yourself

* hide your good deeds (dont show them off as that may also lead to minor
shirk: ar riya)
* know that everything belongs to Him. and that He may take it back
anytime. We are nothing but His slaves

* be the first to say salaam!

salaam spreads love,humility and brotherhood. Muslim narrated from Abu

Hurayrah (RA) that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said: “You will not enter
Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one
another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love
one another? Spread salaam amongst yourselves.”

*Confidence becomes arrogance when one transgresses the bounds

according to shariah (Islamic law), even in such little things such as insulting
a Muslim to praise yourself. Confidence is firm but humble and gentle;
arrogance is firm but proud and rough.

* Acts of kindness /good manners are not proof of being humble (they merely
be done to be praised) but must be combined with sincere, good intentions
that please Allah, swt.

* Repent

Say: `O' my slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by

committing evil deeds and sins]! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily
Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Qur'an 39:
53)

and make dua (hadees) :“O Allah! Guide me to having beautiful manners and
characteristics; no one can guide me to beautifying them except You. And
turn me away from all evil actions and characteristics; no one can turn them
away from me except You.” (An-Nasa’i, no. 861, authenticated by Al-Albani)
ALLAH KNOWS BEST!