A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
Arrogance.
Arrogance is a base character trait.
It leads to two destructive outcomes:
Rejecting and refusing the truth,
And looking down upon people,
And acting condescendingly toward them.
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, defined it as such,
When he said:
"Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down upon people."
Narrated by Muslim.
It stems
From a vile heart disease,
Which is self-admiration ('ujb).
For whoever admires himself
Sees that he has superiority over others,
So he looks down on them and considers them beneath him.
And this
Is the second part of the arrogance
Mentioned in the hadith:
"Looking down upon people,"
Meaning, holding them in contempt.
As for the first part,
"Rejecting the truth,"
Meaning, turning it away,
It is driven by the ego
And the desire to exalt it above submitting to
Any aspect of the truth
That might diminish its perceived greatness.
Just as Iblis rejected the command of Allah
To prostrate before Adam, peace be upon him.
Allah the Almighty said:
"And when We said
To the angels,
'Prostrate before Adam,'
So they prostrated, except for Iblis, who refused."
“And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.” (2:34)
His arrogance
Stemmed from his self-admiration
And his ego,
And his claim of superiority over Adam,
Peace be upon him,
When he said:
"He said, 'I am better than him;
You created me from fire
And created him from clay.'"
Thus, he combined the rejection of
The truthful command from Allah
With the contempt for Adam, peace be upon him.
And that is why
His consequence was expulsion from Paradise,
As the Almighty said:
"So descend from it,
For it is not for you to be arrogant therein.
So get out, indeed you
Are among the humiliated."
And for this reason, also,
Every arrogant person
Is forbidden from entering Paradise,
As stated in the beginning of the
Aforementioned hadith, where
The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Said at the start:
"No one shall enter Paradise
Who has in his heart
An atom's weight of arrogance."
Narrated by Muslim.
This is a severe warning
And a definitive threat
That compels every rational person
Possessing a sound heart
To beware of arrogance
With the utmost caution,
And to avoid it with the greatest vigilance.
A summary of the concepts of
The Ahl al-Sunnah.