Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf Mangera – Curing Arrogance
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Bismillah al Rahman al Rahim
Al Hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah Al Hamdulillah, Kofi on the uban.
Mubarak and fie Baraka Nadi como your headboard of Buena La
Jolla, La Jolla, who are among our or Salatu was Salam ALA. So you
will have even Mustafa SallAllahu Derrida Are they your honor, a
leaky or Sofie or Baraka was seldom at the Sleeman Kathira on
Eli Iommi, Dean Amma Barrett
there are two subjects we're going to cover again today. In short, in
brief Inshallah, the first one is obstinacy and pomposity.
I know they sound very pompous terms, but they're very simple
concepts that
many people will be challenged with.
As I mentioned, that in this series, we're trying to pick out
very individual, not so frequently spoken about topics and trying to
get some thought provoking discussion out of it. So that
Insha Allah, the more this kind of stuff is discussed, the more we
can actually hone in on those types of issues within ourselves.
Even if it's a small iota of those things, and we can all insha Allah
become just better in sound better human beings and then of course
better a bad Allah better servants of Allah subhana wa Tada. So
obstinacy and pomposity. What exactly is that obstinacy in
Arabic is called a nerd.
A nerd. And a nerd just being somebody who's very, very
stubborn, obstinate
pomposity that goes hand in hand with a nod and obstinacy. That in
Arabic is called mocha bottle hawk.
Thinking yourself too big and too great to accept the truth. Macabre
macabre comes from the word kibble. kibble is from arrogance,
pride, macabre till Hawk
to show pomposity in the face of truth.
Denying denying the truth after knowing it. And that's exactly as
the Prophet sallallahu Sallam described it. One of the Sahaba
he'd come to the Prophet salallahu Salam and he was a bit concerned
about
whether he was proud or not, because he'd heard a description
of what he'd heard that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam
was
criticizing
pride and arrogance. And the Prophet sallallahu sallam was
mentioning it as a sin. So he came in he had a genuine question
because he was worried about himself.
See, unfortunately, this is very different to the questions that we
will receive today.
The questions that the Olimar generally received is
that person has done this and that to me. What is my right?
Whereas the Sahaba their questions were generally about themselves.
This is the issue I have is this a problem? So he came in, he said,
you can see how handsome I am. You can see how much beauty Allah has
given me. And I love that Everything about me is beautiful.
up to the level of the straps of my sandal, I mean, there was
something to do with straps in those days, I mean, today's straps
of sandals on a big deal the sandals themselves. But in those
days, the in Arabic literature, you will see she rock, she rock,
she rock when I lay the concept of this, the strap of the sandals,
they were special, because I think the bottom was just pieces of
leather that was that was sewn together. And then it was the
strap that made it special. And if you see they were quite ornate,
quite elaborate. He says, You can see the beauty that I have been
given and I love everything about me to be beautiful, including up
to the straps of my sandal is that arrogance is that pride. And the
prophets are awesome. Explain that. No, that is not Pride. Pride
is not that you have good things. Pride is that you look down upon
somebody else and you deny the truth. When the truth becomes
clear, you're still you're not willing to accept you're not
willing to change your position
and you look down upon others. You're degrading of others because
you think yourself higher than others.
Now you may be higher. I mean, this needs to be clarified, you
may be of a better family. For those who come from backgrounds
that have family hierarchies. Certain families and tribes are
known to be superior than others. In England, there's no such thing
but
Many of us hail from other countries and other cultures and
there are hierarchies in those cultures.
And if you've been if somebody has been born into
a particular class of sweepers or cleaners, or
tailors or whatever it may be, then sometimes people don't give
you daughters in marriage. So unfortunately, this goes around.
But then a person from that background may work very hard and
mashallah gains great accomplishment, both from a
worldly perspective and from a Dini perspective. Whereas those
who are from those so called higher risk of aristocracy, the
higher aristocracy as such, they get left behind, because they
just, they think it's sufficient for them to just bask in the
sunlight, or in the light of the glory of their forefathers, and
they get left behind.
So for a person to just look down upon others, because they come
from a certain area or village or a certain postcode or whatever it
is, I mean, it happens in East London is not going to happen
much.
But you know what I mean?
So it's that kind of a thing to be arrogant about something. I mean,
you can't be arrogant, even about self accomplishment, how can you
be arrogant about something you did nothing to attain?
We're not even allowed to be arrogant. So now look, you may
have something superior, you may be better, you may be more
handsome, you may be more wealthy, you may have a better voice, you
may have better clearer.
You may be able to speak better than others, you may be more
intelligent, all of those things are possible. But who is closer to
Allah?
That's the question that needs to be asked. The other person may be
nothing.
He has nothing. He has no renown whatsoever, and you may may be
more renowned than so many other people.
But that person may be closer to Allah subhanaw taala.
And that's what really matters in the hereafter. Yes, if we're just
worldly people, then it only matters what matters in the world.
But as Muslims, everything we do in this world should be done in
light of the hereafter. We do things for this world. But with a
view of the Hereafter how is this going to be projected onto the
hereafter that's what's important.
Now obstinacy and pomposity in the face of truth, this arena then
Mukhabarat will help these stem from ostentation,
hatred, envy or courageousness. All of these are reasons for where
this comes from.
ostentation is love for fame, love to be known to be heard.
And what is very frightening in this regard is that there's a
hadith mon sama sama Allah Who better Surah allah sallallahu
sallam said, whoever wants to be heard,
Samar, whoever wants to be heard, Allah will cause him to be heard.
If you want to become famous, if you wanna become known, you can
pay a
advertising company. If you've got the money, and you will become
known, they'll put you on all these posters for whatever.
But does that mean any acceptance
so just because a person is well known or popular,
doesn't mean he's more accepted to Allah subhanaw taala. Once we
believe in this, it just crushes you completely.
It is so helpful to know this, because it really takes care of
the narcissism.
So
being obstinate, and denying the truth is either comes because you
want to be well known. If you
now agree and acquiesce to what this other person is saying, which
is the truth if you think you will lose your faith.
Just the fear of that leads you to be obstinate and stubborn.
Another reason?
Hatred, you hate somebody so much that you don't want them to be
right.
That's why you deny the truth.
And look at the people like Imam Shafi Rahim Allah who died around
the age of 43 years old, a young man but so wise. He said that when
I when I have the debate about a masala button ruling with
somebody, my dua is always that the Huck and the truth manifest on
the other person's tongue
so that the truth becomes known, but I don't have to win. I just
want the truth to be known and it's better that it manifests on
that person.
What selflessness is that will that person be obstinate,
so hatred for another person that you don't want them to ascend, and
thus, you feel that you can't let them have the last, say, envy,
jealousy, you're jealous of that person.
You may not hate them, but you don't want them to have the higher
position. So you're denied. I mean, all of if we think about it,
anytime you've had an argument, you feel bad about just giving up
and say, Okay, you're right. It's mostly for these reasons, or
courageousness, greed,
extreme greed, hearse, that leads the person to obstinacy and not
moving from their position. And of course, it could either be just an
ideological debate, or it could be
about the ownership of a piece of land.
And that would be worse than just the ideological debate, because in
the ideological debate, it's just about you being stubborn, you're
not really harming the other person. You're not taking anything
of this is just an ideological supremacy you want. But where it's
about, I cannot say that my father made a mistake.
Even though I know he did. Deep down, I convinced myself, you know
what happens sometimes, stubbornness will lead you to
convince yourself against the truth. And if you think that's not
possible, then read the books, the studies on the mind. The studies
on the mind, show that if somebody tells you that when we were young,
when you were young, when we were, you know, 1015 years old, you did
this data on the other? And you think, no, I can't remember that.
But another person comes and tells you the same thing.
Despite your initial disbelief, you you can get your mind to start
believing that and to even then create extended
details of how that may have been.
They did that test on a number of people. They got people close to
them to say something to them that Oh, I remember this. I don't
remember that. Yes, remember, you did that. And then this is what
happened and so on. And then they start doubting themselves. And
then a few days later, you go and speak to them about it. Again,
they did this and the proper study,
I think is David Eagleman, he's got this in his book about the
mind. And they had now created an entire narrative and a story about
that incident. And then they were told no, it wasn't you.
So the mind that person can do this.
That's why evidence is so important.
So don't trust your mind. All the time.
Our minds can play tricks.
So these are all reasons why a person may be
obstinate and accurate composite in the face of the truth. Each of
this these things ostentation, hatred, envy and courageousness
leads to obstinacy pomposity and the lack of submission in the face
of the truth.
merge with Dino Hussey,
he mentions in his book called Personal tenable of the deeds and
traits of the obstinate of the traits and characteristics and the
deeds of the obstinate person is their pomposity and unwillingness
to change despite seeing clear science
of which they take no admonition.
They don't take any nasiha
they get themselves more and more deep, they dig themselves deeper
and deeper, whereas they could have walked away in the beginning.
But that arrogance, this the it was just too much for them to move
away.
It has been mentioned it has been narrated rather, that when the
winds of destruction came to the people of art, the famous story of
art. And when the winds of destruction came to the pupil of
odd, they held hands and stood firm because you know, they were
big and they thought that they could withstand this. So they held
hands, they held hands, and they stood firm planting their feet
into the earth, saying to who the alayhis salaam who will move our
feet who will remove our feet. So the wind pluck them out of the
earth, that the punishment is always in accordance
with the sin.
That's why it's mentioned that in the hereafter when people are
resurrected from the grave, and they will be driven to the mashup.
That's Yeoman bath, young of resurrection the Day of
Resurrection resurrection means a person coming out of the ground
and becoming alive again for our sake.
can lay our second life in the hereafter, then everybody's going
to have to go to the mash of the gathering place where the hisab
will take place. So you've got Yeoman birth, then you've got
young will hashtag. The hashtag is the drive the gathering. Each
person will be driven.
Sir ecomo Shaheed ma who say sir Kumar Shaheed, you'll have a
driver with you, everybody will be gathered, then you will go to the
marshal and then the hisab will begin. That's the normal hisab. So
these are different stages.
Now, during this time, when people are led to the marshal, they will
be in the room, they will be representing the sins that they
used to do. So the arrogant ones will be like tiny ants.
And they will have to be dodging people going over them.
The liars will have huge tongues coming down, that everybody will
see this.
And it's just various different forms of
representation manifestation of the sin that they commit. You
know, it's because of belief in all of these things that kind of
tempers down on, change our approach to these things. If
you're a worldly person, what can cause you to make change your
arrogance? Unless you've unless a person has been unless a person
has tasted
the punishment in this world of being arrogant? What's going to
make you change?
You sometimes look at other people who
don't care about these things. You can they just so arrogant.
So Allah subhanaw taala says, What Amaya done for overly kooberi in
salt salt in Aditya, Sahara or li him sub ILA erlin with ammonia to
a yam in her Summa federal coal Murphy has sarara Ghana whom urges
will knock on him Kalia for health Allah hoomin Berthier SOTL
healthcare is a very powerful surah. So as for if they were
destroyed by an immeasurable clamorous wind, he subbed subject
subjugated over them for seven nights and eight days without a
break. Do you see any of them left and remaining?
These were the days of no blessing. These were a Yamane sad,
they had no blessing, the days of finality. These were the days I
Jews. They called our Jews because they came at the end the edges of
winter. Or because an elderly women elderly woman and I Jews of
the ad attempted to hide from the wind in her basement in her salah.
But the wind plucked her out of there as well and broke her neck.
When the punishment of Allah comes it can get wherever it to wherever
it may need to. They mentioned that the traces of their
punishment remained manifest every year on the anniversary of these
days. Every day on the anniversary every year on the anniversary of
these this punishment.
Those days then were the intensity of the cold and the dryness of the
wind could be felt to serve as a lesson and an admonition for those
of reflection insight at the time.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has
defined arrogance as refusing to accept the truth and considering
people to be belief one, as mentioned in the Hadith that I
mentioned earlier, which is related by Muslim.
The first point of this definition of arrogance is the crucial test
of humility.
A person going through the test of humility. When a person learns the
truth, deep down you know in your mind, it dawns on you in a matter
of faith, attitude, or a person's practice deed or deal, especially
when attested to by the oil amount of sacred law. Then one should you
drop one's usual habit or personal opinion or private understanding
and he must follow what the Allah mentioned.
Without this, there can't be any humility to listen to people of
knowledge.
That's why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned as a
sign of the coming of the day of judgment is that what gerbil
Kolibri ra em brr here
for
every person who can hold a position, to be stubborn, and
to be self infatuated, by his opinion.
Unfortunately, today, it's become such a it's become such that
even people who don't have
The right to hold an opinion because we're living in a modern,
individualistic world, where, in the postmodern world, truth is
relative.
In the postmodern world, truth is relative. What that means is that
they don't believe in a universal truth. Your truth is different
from my truth, and you should celebrate your truth, I should
celebrate my truth. They say, this is the world we're living in.
That's why it's saying you can't condemn somebody else, unless
they're doing something that's harmful to others. That's why
morality is also individualistic. Your morality you can have. Keep
it to yourself, though. My morality is my morality. So your
higher your level of higher your barriers, your, your limits of
higher are yours, mine are mine. You can't say I'm wrong in mine, I
can't say yours is wrong. This is what the post modernism is
teaching us and we're all part of this, unfortunately.
So everybody has a right to hold an opinion and they can be
stubborn about that opinion.
So when a person beholds, any sign of Allah subhanaw taala, such as
thunder, or lightning, earthquake storms, lunar or solar eclipse
eclipses, he should experience real fear and dread
and call on Allah for refuge and wellbeing. For indeed, this
response is the very purpose behind sending such signs. So to
be different than the people of God, who are obstinate in the face
of the sign of Allah subhanaw taala. When we see signs we should
we should think about Allah subhanaw taala and we should think
about our weakness.
Because Allah subhanaw taala says, Woman notice the Lubin iOttie Illa
who Eva that we only send the signs to strike fear.
Now obstinacy is refusal to take heat, rejection of subservience to
one seniors.
Its causes arrogance, narcissism, ostentation, hatred, envy,
courageousness, and just following one's own desires. Any one of
these will bar the person from accepting and submitting to the
truth. Instead, the person will remain stubborn, reject it, reject
and prove unjust and then he will become a transgressor. And once
you become established in that position, it's very difficult than
to if you can't stop after two days of obstinacy. How will you
stop after five years of obstinacy?
You will then have to build an entire thought process, an entire
narrative and entire story an entire lifestyle based on that you
will be living and HIPAA HIPAA cryptic life and that is a mod in
the heart as Allah says in the Quran, ficolo be him Maradona.
That's a disease in the heart. You can't lead a true you can't be of
the Sidi theme. And the Siddiqui in MA Alladhina. Anam Allahu
Allah, him in an OBE and I will say the 18 or shahada it was
solely him. We pray for this every day multiple times which is
a Latina and I'm Daddy Him those who you have showered your
blessing your your favors upon who are them as Allah mentioned in
another place my Latina and I'm Allah why do you mean in the bn o
Cydia team if you want to be a Cydia halen Do you want this? To
be right? We need to remove stubbornness. We need to remove
arrogance. Then we can be of the Siddiq in the champions of truth
or truth inside and outside.