Virtues of the Righteous
Reproachable qualities
Reproachable qualities
Chapter 1
Envy and hatred: the essence of envy and hatred and their consequences
The essence of envy (hasad) lies in dissatisfaction that Almighty Allah has bestowed certain blessings on someone else, and in the desire that that person should be deprived of this blessing. As for hatred (hiqd), at its core lie enmity, malice and the rupture of relations with others.
An envious person is one who is unjust and cruel and does have consideration for others or leave them in peace. The chosen Prophet of Allah stated that all sins have three fundamental qualities, “Three causes are the basis of any sin, fear and avoid them. Eschew arrogance: indeed it was this that impelled Iblis to disobey the will of the Lord and refuse to bow down to Adam . Guard against strong desire: indeed, it was this that enticed Adam to taste the fruit of the forbidden tree in Paradise. Beware of envy: indeed, one of the sons of Adam, Cain (Kabil) killed his brother Abel (Habil) out of envy.”
It is known that Almighty Allah sent a revelation to the Prophet Suleiman, the son of the Prophet David (Dawud): “Never blaspheme My pious slaves and never envy any of My slaves”. The statement of a certain righteous man is also known, «When Almighty Allah wants to incite a ruthless enemy against a slave, He sends an envious person who will show him no mercy.»
Envy kills religion, destroying its effect on the human heart, for it engenders darkness and a pall within it. The Messenger of Allah said, “Indeed, the ills of former societies have befallen you: envy and hatred. They shave off, not hair, but religion.” Thus, one of the `arifun [1] (who knew Allah) said: «The prayers of three categories of people will not be accepted by the Almighty: those who consume that which is forbidden, those who often slander others and those who are consumed by hatred or envy.» The wisdom of the Creator’s rejection of their prayers lies in that they show their displeasure with the inheritance that Almighty Allah has predetermined for His slaves.
How to deal with the envious
The companions of the Prophet explained for us the essence of an envious person, explaining that this is one whom it is impossible to satisfy with anything. Thus, the companion Mu`awiyah noted, “It is possible to gain the goodwill of any person, except of one who is envious, because he will be satisfied only with a person’s loss of the blessings with which Almighty Allah has endowed him.” They have also conveyed the following lines belonging to Imam ash Shafi`i:
“There is hope that all enmity may be suppressed, Except that which emanates from the envious.”
Wise people have advised us not to trouble ourselves in endeavouring to achieve a good relationship with the envious, because this is impossible. They said, “Do not tire yourself in trying to gain the goodwill of an envious person, because he will never accept your good attitude towards him. And if you want to be secure from his harm, try to hide your affairs from him: do not show him your joy and your blessings.»
Chapter 2
Arrogance
The source of arrogance
A person’s love for himself is a natural feeling that encourages self admiration and self satisfaction. Out of self admiration there arises arrogance, conceit and disdain in relation to other slaves of Allah. As a result, a person begins to look on others with contempt and disdain, shows them no consideration of others, violates their rights, shows no respect, does not comply with agreements, does not keep promises; in general, such a person acts most unjustly towards others.
Arrogance was satan’s ruination
Satan (Iblis) became an outcast because of his pride and excessive self admiration. Iblis became proud and considered that he was better than Adam , as he was created from fire. If a servant of Allah expresses his displeasure with theological scholars and righteous people in a similar manner, this is a primary indication that Almighty Allah made this person to be among the deprived and humiliated. Such a person denies himself the grace of others; this means that he will not receive any help or support from anyone.
Such slaves of the Almighty usually say, «There is not a single righteous man or scholar left amongst us whom we would follow for his knowledge.» The true reason for such an appraisal is that such a person sees his own reflection in others: the one who said, «Only a person who is flawed will consider others to be flawed» was right.
Healing from arrogance
The feeling of pride originates in excessive love of oneself (`ujb). In the noble Quran, Almighty Allah mentioned the pride of the human heart, followed by the cure for it. Thus, the most effective cure for self admiration is to constantly remind oneself of your weakness and powerlessness.
Almighty Allah says in the Quran (meaning): “And do not walk pompously on the earth [2], verily, you cannot cleave the earth nor attain its mountain heights” (Sura Al Isra, ayat 37). This ayat forbids a person from walking proudly and arrogantly. By the words “you cannot cleave the earth” is meant that a person is not able to split the earth into pieces by his own power. The words «you cannot attain its mountain heights» speak of the arrogance that a person permits himself. They are a mockery of those who are proud, as well as the reason why arrogance is prohibited. Thus, pride is absolute stupidity.
Through pride and arrogance a person will never do good. Indeed, pride is one of the ten qualities that Almighty Allah forbade in His Book (Sura AlIsra). And it is also said that a haughty gait comes from arrogance. A hadith of the Prophet says, «Whoever acts arrogantly and with haughtiness in his soul and pride in his walk, will meet Almighty Allah angry with him on the Day of Judgment.»
Chapter 3
Ambition
The essence of ambition
By its nature, the nafs which commands a person to do evil is characterized by a love of power and high status. Thus, a person’s ego strives for superiority over others and desires that all creatures feel a need for him and should carry out all his orders. At the same time, the nafs wants to be absolutely independent of everyone and everything. But this is already a claim to divinity and to equivalence with the Creator. Therefore, if you do not put a stop to the desires of your nafs, he will be like a mad dog that bites everyone in its path.
Healing from ambition
Know that people like us need to be constantly in a state of humility: to perceive others as better than ourselves, to constantly be in need of the protection of the Creator, to seek refuge in the Almighty and be submissive to Him and to fulfill the duties of a slave (`ubudiya) before the Creator.
We must maintain the boundaries established by Sharia (Divine Law) and follow the highly respected Sunna of the Prophet, try to possess the right intention when doing good deeds, persevere in cleansing our inner world, strive to improve behavior, be aware of our shortcomings, feel the power sins have over oneself, as well as to shun popularity and veneration by others by all means. Thus, the Messenger of Allah said: “There is already ample evil for a person when others point to them because of their religion or worldly life. The only one excepted is one whom Almighty Allah has saved.”
Our master Imam Ibn Mashish said, “Protect your heart from excessive love for worldly wealth, women, ambition and perverse passions. Be content with what Almighty Allah has endowed you.
And do not let your nafs ever deceive you with its cunning and make you think that your love and striving for high status arise from a love of religion and a desire to exalt the word of Almighty Allah. The matter of religion is the work of Almighty Allah. Only He will sustain and exalt it, because the All Powerful Lord took upon Himself the obligation to preserve it. The Almighty said (meaning), “They want to extinguish the light of Allah with words of their lips, that is, to refute and destroy His Sharia and arguments.
However, Allah will certainly reveal and preserve His light the Sharia no matter how hateful it may be to the non believers” (Sura At Tawba, ayat 32). This means that, through their words, abusive, unjust people want to destroy Sharia (the law of Allah) as well as His arguments which demonstrate the Almightiness of the Lord. However, Almighty Allah will certainly preserve the light (nur) of the wise Sharia, no matter how much nonbelievers oppose it.
- Arif (plural `arifun) is a righteous person who has achieved a high degree in the knowledge of Almighty Allah. Ed.
- Haughty overly proud, arrogant, self conceited.
VIRTUES OF THE RIGHTEOUS SHEIKH AHMAD-HAJI AFANDI MUFTI DAGESTAN
