Today's Reflection - (Ayah 34, Surah Al -Baqarah)
ููุฅูุฐู ููููููุง ููููู ูููุงุฆูููุฉู ุงุณูุฌูุฏููุง ููุขุฏูู ู ููุณูุฌูุฏููุง ุฅููููุง ุฅูุจููููุณู ุฃูุจูููฐ ููุงุณูุชูููุจูุฑู ููููุงูู ู ููู ุงููููุงููุฑูููู
And We said to the angels, โBow down to Adam.โ They bowed down, except for Satan. He refused, was arrogant, and was one of the disbelievers.
(Quran 2:34)
Satan here is the Iblis who was amongst the race of Jinn. Before he became one of the cursed after sinning , he was among the most knowledgeable and devoted worshipers of Allah (SWT). What was the first sin? It was this sin of Iblis. The sin of arrogance. This disobedience of not bowing down to Adam (A.S) upon hearing Allah (SWT) command came from the roots of arrogance and pride.
So what is in it for us , the progeny of Adam (A.S) ? Adam (A.S) was honored with the power of knowledge which even the angels weren't given. As a form of respect the angels were commanded to bow down to Adam, not for the reason of worship. But the most devoted and loyal worshipers of Allah got the fate of being cast out of Paradise. The lesson we draw from this ayah therefore is that , no matter how pious or righteous we think we are, it takes only a moment for our hearts to turn astray. We must always beseech Allah for his help in keeping us steadfast through the Dua's such as
"ููุง ู ููููููุจู ุงูููููููุจู ุซูุจููุชู ููููุจูู ุนูููู ุฏูููููู"
"O turner of hearts, keep my heart firm upon Your religion."
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allah be pleased with him) said, that the messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to profusely say this dua.
Arrogance is defined with two characteristics , firstly denial of the Haqq (truth) and secondly looking down upon others. There are number of Hadith's that mention about the sin of arrogance.
Abdullah ibn Masโud reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, โNo one who has the weight of a seed of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.โ Someone said, โBut a man loves to have beautiful clothes and shoes.โ The Prophet said, โVerily, Allah is beautiful and he loves beauty. Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.โ
In another narration, the Prophet said, โNo human being will enter Paradise if there is as much as the weight of a mustard seed of arrogance in his heart.โ Source: Musnad Ahฬฃmad 6526
It is interesting to note how Allah says he disbelieved. How can he disbelieve while he has seen the Heavens with his eyes and communicated with Allah SWT and is part of a dimension we as humans are not aware of. But Allah says his arrogance led him to disbelief. Often in today's world people let their success get to their head and this in turn makes them deluded and this trait builds up until they even refuse the truth and prefer falsehood. See how Satan was amongst the most successful worshippers and yet that success got to his head. He in turn questioned the AllMighty about the legitimacy of human creation and even went on to argue how he was created from fire, while we humans are just clay or mud. Can you imagine going from the list of Allah's most favourite to most hated. May Allah protect us from such sins and slips. Ameen
Often we experience arrogance within our personal or professional relationships. It is barely possible to expect a pleasant gesture, a sign of love or appreciation, or an encouraging word from them. They have an excessive fear of making mistakes. For this reason, they seek to ingratiate themselves with others for which reason they keep every moment under control and are careful to behave in a determined manner at all times. Hence the amount of Tawakkul decreases as well, they believe all affairs if well planned will be under their control, where as they fail to realise no matter how much we plan, Allah plans and there is only so much we can control.
In the Qurโan Allah has stated that arrogance is a great failing:
Do not strut arrogantly about the Earth. You will certainly never split the earth apart nor will you ever rival the mountains in height. (Surat Al-Israโ: 37)
We learn from the examples of the nations such as Aad, Thamud and Pharoah and so many more, of how their arrogance led them to their own destruction. Prophet Nuh (A.S) preached Islam over 950 years of time period but only few followed his message. They denied prophethood of Nuh due to arrogance and Allah finally destroyed them in large floods. Prophet Lut (A.S) was sent as a messenger to one of Prophet Ibrahim's (A.S) neighboring communities. These people, as the Qur'an tells us, practiced a perversion unknown to the world up till then, namely sodomy. When Lut (A.S) told them to give up this perversion and brought them Allah's warning, they denied him, refused his prophethood, and carried on with their perversion with much arrogance. In the end, these people were destroyed by a dreadful disaster.
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