Page 74 - The Basic Concepts in the Qur’an

difficult for them on account of their arrogance. The same thing happened to Salih who was
sent to the people of Thamud:
For they said: “What! a man! a solitary one from among ourselves! Shall we follow
such a one? Truly should we then be straying in our minds, and mad! Has the
Message been sent to him, of all people amongst us? He is indeed a liar, and an
insolent one!”
(Al-Qamar, 24-25)

In understanding how arrogance misleads men, Surat’ Al-Muddaththir enlightens us
greatly. It gives the example of a man who is given many favours by Allah, who listens to and
understands the words of Allah, but who disobeys Allah out of sheer arrogance. For this he
deserves to be punished by being consigned to Hell:
Leave to Me the creature whom I created bare and alone!—to whom I granted
resources in abundance, and sons to be by his side!-to whom I made (life) smooth and
comfortable! Yet is he greedy for Me to add yet more; By no means! For to Our Signs
he has been refractory! Soon I will afflict him with a mountain of calamities! For he
thought and he plotted. And woe to him! How he plotted! Yes, woe to him, how he
plotted! He looked around him, then he frowned and he scowled; then he turned
back and was haughty. Then he said “This is nothing but magic, derived from of old;
this is nothing but the word of a mortal!” Soon I will cast him into Hell-Fire! And what
will explain to you what Hell-Fire is? It permits nothing to endure, and spares no one!
It burns the skins of men!
(Al-Muddaththir, 11-29)

In another verse, the situation of an arrogant person in Hell is described as follows:
A voice will cry: “Seize him and drag him into the midst of the blazing fire! Then pour
over his head the penalty of boiling water, saying, `Taste this! Truly, you were mighty
and an honourable man. Surely this is what you used to doubt.’”
(Ad-Dukhan, 47-50)

Man is merely a servant of Allah. Keeping in mind his actual state before Allah will make
him appreciate deep in his heart the favours bestowed by Him. In this way, he realizes that he
does not possess anything, for they are Allah’s endowments. He finds real relief in being
grateful to Allah. If he starts to display arrogance on account of what has been granted to him,
before long he loses the pleasure he derives from that favour. Soon he witnesses the total loss of
the favour in question. The whole system is simply based on understanding one’s position
before Allah; Allah guides the one who realizes that he is His servant. Otherwise, he will incur
the wrath of his Lord, as the following verse relates:

“...those who disdain His service through arrogance - shall all be brought before
Him.”
(An-Nisa, 172)

But those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, shall be companions of
the Fire, to dwell therein forever.
(Al-Araf, 36)

On the contrary, those who are not arrogant, but moderate are true servants of Allah, and
will be rewarded with heaven:

True abode of the hereafter We shall give to those who intend neither high-
handedness nor mischief on earth: and the end is best for the righteous.
(Al-Qasas, 83)