A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
The hidden form of arrogance.
A person may become afflicted with a degree of arrogance without even realizing it.
It may manifest in the guise of high ambition.
Yet its reality is a sense of superiority over others through one's purported ambition.
And boasting about it.
And showing disapproval toward those who do not hold one in high regard.
And turning one’s cheek away from people in disdain.
It may also appear in the form of claiming zeal for the sake of Allah the Almighty.
Yet its reality is zeal for the sake of one's own self.
The difference between the two is:
That zeal for the sake of Allah,
Is stirred by the glorification of Allah the Almighty and the glorification of His command.
It is to protect one’s heart for Allah by honoring His rights, glory be to Him.
This is the state of a servant whose heart has been illuminated by the light of Allah’s sovereignty.
And whose heart has been filled with it.
To the extent that he becomes angry for the sake of the light of that sovereignty.
Just as was the state of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
For it is narrated from ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, never sought retribution for himself,
Unless a sanctity of Allah was violated,
In which case he would seek retribution for the sake of Allah.
Agreed upon.
Thus, it is a zeal that originates from the tranquil soul (al-nafs al-mutma’innah),
Which is stirred by the glorification of the rights of Allah the Almighty.
Whereas zeal for the sake of the self,
Is stirred by the glorification of the self.
And anger over the loss of its personal interests.
It is a heat that surges from the soul due to the loss of its own share.
And it originates from the soul that prompts to evil (al-nafs al-ammarah bi-l-su’),
Which is stirred by the perception of a lost personal interest.