Humility When Praised

Observing humility in all walks of life is a necessity. Our respected asatiza always mention, “The more humility there is in a person, the more his progress will be.” This progress is not just in examinations but in life as a whole. A person who understands his reality will always be loved by Allah Ta’ala and those whom he associates with.

There are many things that we can show humility in today but to achieve this humbleness, a person needs to be down to earth about who he really is. As a person grows more religious, people will tend to call him Hazrat, Maulana, Hafiz Saab, Molvisaab and the list is endless. These titles may hold no such reality but people will still use it in order to perhaps exaggerate a person’s status. The reality is that it should not be said in the first place.

Once a man was exaggerating his praise for another person and when Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam heard this, he said, “You have broken the man’s back.” This is not to be taken in its literal but rather, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam is emphasising upon the fact of how destructive such praise can be. The post beneath this one shows how self delusional man can be and how he excites himself with ideas of self righteousness. Thus, if a person says to another, “Hazrat!” he may become deluded and consider himself to be pious.

This is not to say we should not use titles such as “Hazrat”. This is totally fine if the person who this title is being attributed to does not feel any pride and is deserved of it.

Moving on. Humility is a trait which is important to create within ourselves. Despite the fact that others may call a person by elevated names, a person should always have the ability within himself to look down towards his heart and understand the contents which are within there. Every person knows how filthy his heart is and how in need of purification he is. Allah Ta’ala says, “Allah does not love those who are proud.” In another verse, Allah Ta’ala reveals to mankind what their reality is, He says, “Does man not consider that We created him from a mere drop of sperm then at once he became an open challenger?”

Allah Ta’ala here is highlighting the reality of man that he was created from a filthy drop of semen yet he feels proud over himself. When the happiness of being praised enters our hearts, we should immediately turn our attention towards this verse.

Once the governor of Basra passed by Hazrat Malik ibn Dinar rahmatullahi alayh. The governor’s appearance was that of a proud person; his garments were below his ankles and he was walking arrogantly. Hazrat Malik said, “Do not walk in this manner!” The governor’s attendants were enraged but he replied, “Leave him! Perhaps he does not recognise who I am.” Hazrat Malik replied, “Who can be more recognising of you than me?! As for your beginning, you were a dirty drop! As for your end, it is a dirty corpse! And in between these two stages, you carry filth within you.” The governor lowered his head and walked away. This is the reality of man.

Once, Hazrat Huzayfa radiallahu anhu led the people in prayer. After the prayer, he said, “Pray behind another Imam because a thought occurred in my mind that there is nobody in my people better than me!”

A person should always think about his origin and from what he was created. Humility should be present in our speech, walking and social conduct. It should not be the case that we want to wear the brightest glowing hijab so that people can notice us and deem us pious; and it should not be the case that we want to wear the flashiest juba in order to turn heads for the same reason. Rather we should be humble with our eyes lowered and our body submissive towards Allah Ta’ala. When a person beautifies our characteristics by excessive praise, then we should remind ourselves of our sins which are not known by the people. The titles of Hazrat, Maulana etc are for those who are obedient and obedience is only shown by the deeds of a true believer. Therefore if a person is not obedient, he should look towards his disobedience in a way which reminds him of his true significance. In realising this, humility will insha Allah enter his heart.

May Allah Ta’ala adorn me with humility, a trait which is much needed and may He give it to all those who suffer from this ailment as I do. Ameen.