“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem.
Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi, wana’oothu Billaahi min shuroori an-fusinaa, wamin sayyi aati a’maalinaa. May- Yahdillahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may- yudlill falan tajidaa lahu waliyan murshida. Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh”
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This week’s khutba will be on pride and arrogance.
Pride is a disease that Allah and his messenger have warned us against with great seriousness. It is a characteristic related to Shaitan, as Allah says in the holy Qur’an: “And remember when we said to the Angels : prostrate yourselves before Adam and they prostrated except Iblis, he refused and was proud and was one of disbelievers.” (sura 2 verse 34)
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be unto him, says : “He will not enter paradise who has an atom weight of pride in his heart.” Then a man said “Oh Messenger of Allah! what of if a man love to wear good clothes and good shoes?”
The messenger of Allah said “Allah is beautiful and he loves beauty. Pride is to refuse the truth and to undermine people.”
So the Prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be unto him, has made us to understand that to look good is a characteristic loved by Allah but pride is a hidden characteristic that can only be seen through the action of a person and that will cause him to refuse the truth and look down upon people. So when Iblis (Satan) became proud, that made him offend his Lord by refusing to prostrate.
Arrogance can also cause a person to refuse to invoke Allah, as Allah says in the Qur’an: “And your Lord said :invoke me and ask me for anything. I will respond to your invocation verily ! those who scorn my worship they will surely enter hell in humiliation.” (sura 40 verse 60).
To be proud is also the cause of some people refusing to work with the sunnah of the prophet Mohammed, peace and blessings of Allah be onto him. Salamata ibn Akwa’ narrates that a man who was eating with the prophet used his left hand. When the prophet asked him to eat with his right hand the man said, “I can’t.” The prophet said, “Nothing has prevented you from using your right hand but pride.” The narrator said the man could not lift the hand to his mouth after that day, meaning that he had his right hand paralyzed.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Pride also prevents a person from learning about the religion. As said by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), this knowledge cannot be acquired by a shy or arrogant person. Arrogance is very dangerous in that it results to one’s heart being turned away from the truth, as stated by Allah in the holy Qur’an: “I shall turn away from my verses of the Qur’an those who behave arrogantly on the earth.” (sura 7 verse 146)
Sufyan ibn Uyaina says that he whose sin is through greed (lusts), he will be relieved by repentance, because Adam offended through greed and so he repented and he was forgiven. But he whose sin is through arrogance, he will be destroyed by being cursed, because Satan offended through arrogance and he was cursed.
Arrogance is a shield between the human being and Paradise, since it prevents the person from acquiring the characteristics of a believer. The proud person cannot love for his brother what he loves for himself and he can’t comport himself properly because of pride.
A proud person is always in possession of bad characteristics like hatred, jealousy and anger and he can’t control his temper. He will also not accept advice because he sees himself as better and feels bigger than everyone else. As a result every bad character is caused by arrogance.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is up every individual to try to cleanse himself of the dirt of pride. And to do that, one has to refer to his origin, to know from what he was created.
Created from the sand, he then went through the process of becoming sperm, clotted blood, then flesh. He was then designed in an image which was determined by Allah. Then he became a human being, provided with the senses of seeing, hearing, feeling and so on. Finally he will die, as if he had never existed. After death, the human being is transferred back to his origin. The sand. He will either be punished or enjoy bliss according to his deeds and by the mercy of Allah.
Why then should he be proud?
Allah says in the holy Quran : “Be cursed [disbelieving] man! How ungrateful he is, from what thing did he create him? From nutfah [male and female semen drops] he created him, and then set him in due proportion.” (sura 80 verses 17-19)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We see Allah’s anger against arrogant people in the following Hadith Qudsi: “Arrogance is my cloak, and Authority is my Garment. He who tries to undress me of one of them, I will throw him in the Hellfire.”
May Allah cleanse us from the dirt of pride and arrogance.
Ammaa ba’ad:
Innalláha wa malaaikata yusallúna alan nabi. Yá ay yuhal latheena ámanu sallú alayhi wasalli mú tas leema. Allahumma salli alá Muhammad, wa ala áli Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, wa alaa áli Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil ála meen, innaka hameedun majeed.”