God Almighty sent Muhammad, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace, to all people as a guide, a bringer of good tidings, a warner, a caller to God, and a radiant lamp. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, came to command every virtue and forbid every vice. In a hadith, it is stated, “I was sent to perfect good morals.”
One of the great morals that Islam calls for and upon which Muslims are raised is the virtue of humility.
Humility is a great virtue that distances its possessor from arrogance, brings them closer to people’s hearts, and endears them to them.
The human soul, by its very nature, hates and is repelled by arrogant people, while loving and befriending humble people.
In the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, Islam calls for humility, urges it, and encourages it. It forbids arrogance and denounces its possessor. God Almighty said, through Luqman: “And do not turn your cheek [in contempt] toward people and do not walk through the earth exultantly. Indeed, God does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful.” [Luqman: 18]
And God Almighty said in Surat An-Nisa: “Indeed, God does not like anyone self-deluded and boastful.” [An-Nisa: 36]
In an authentic hadith, the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “No one humbles himself before God except that God raises him up.”
When we contemplate the biographies of the righteous predecessors, we find hundreds, even thousands, of examples of the extreme humility of the predecessors and the sublime character of their morals. It is enough for you to contemplate the biographies of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs to find this clear.
In contrast, Islam forbids arrogance, warns against it, denounces its adherents, and declares that they will be deprived of Paradise. In a hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: “No one who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.”
And in the Book of Allah: “And do not walk upon the earth exultantly. Indeed, you will never tear the earth [apart], and you will never reach the mountains in height.” [Al-Isra’: 37]
Reflect on yourself, my brother, and reflect: if we embodied the virtue of humility in every small and big aspect of our lives, how beautiful our daily lives would be and how stable and happy our social relationships would be.
I ask God to guide us to all good morals and to keep us away from all bad ones. As the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “O God, guide us to the best of morals, for none guides to the best of them but You. Protect us from bad morals, for none protects from bad ones but You.” May God’s blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, his pure family, and his companions.
