Page 98 - Sincerity Described in the Qur'an

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SINCERITY DESCRIBED IN THE QUR’AN

it helps the people of misguidance to triumph over the people of
truth, and then, wholeheartedly and self-sacrificingly, join the
caravan of the people of truth, with a sense of his own utter
weakness and impotence. Finally, one must forget his own person,
abandon hypocrisy and pretension, and lay hold of sincerity." 30

Abandoning Arrogance

In this chapter, we discussed that which harms a
believer’s sincerity, and examined the inclinations of the soul
such as rivalry, ambition, and preferring oneself to others. All
of these traits of one’s lower-self are based upon a much
greater evil: Arrogance.
Arrogance is found in one who disdains to worship Allah,
by forgetting his weaknesses, despising others, and feeling
proud. However, man is a weak creature. He depends upon
Allah’s power to exist and sustain his existence. Allah is the
sole Power Who has created man from nothing, imparted
him with spirit, sheltered and fed him, caused him to
breathe, and bestowed countless other blessings upon him.
Allah is the Lord of the Universe. In spite of the clarity of this
truth, one who thinks of himself as a being independent of
Him, and believes his qualities and abilities to result from
himself, is evidently suffering from a grave self-delusion.
In fact, one has no right to be proud. The truth that Allah
could take back all blessings bestowed upon him when He
pleases is sufficient evidence. From time to time, we all
observe the harm caused by one who behaves proudly on
account of his or her physical beauty, knowledge, ability,
wealth or social status. We can also observe what becomes of
them when they suddenly lose these for any reason. If such