Taking a humble breather

Editor

"Anyone who possesses a speck of pride (kibr) in his heart will not enter Paradise." Muslim, Iman 149.

The feeling of comfort, state of relaxation and lack of arrogance one experiences when in the presence of family, friends and those who have espoused good manners as ordered by Allah stem from the fact that one believes they will not be misunderstood by these people and will be accepted, no matter what state they are in. The heart and deeds, the rest are merely games...

 "This is what I am capable of. This is how much I can achieve with the potential that Allah the Almighty has given me. I pray for His good pleasure with my acts and my person." We live with the hope that this voice from the conscience and the sincerity that comes from within us will embrace us in the afterlife.

A feeling of arrogance, of being superior to others, is perhaps the most alluring of worldly desires. It is toxic honey. What is the reason for all this putting on of airs? Why and for whom do we do it? Is one who has been created from a drop of liquid belittling another who has been also created from a drop of liquid?

 "Allah does not look on your bodies or your appearance. Rather, he looks on your hearts and deeds." (Muslim Birr, 33-34). While this formula is so clear, in our modern age thinking and living otherwise, forgetting that other people are also "servants", creating images of people that are larger than life can send people into the depths of depression. People will spend all they have on their outer appearance, and borrow from others if they don't have the means, pushing themselves as much as they can, and sometimes even eyeing what is forbidden. Some find that merely glancing at what has been forbidden is not sufficient, and they will seize the unlawful. But if, rather, they place what they have before their Creator, then there is attributes such as beauty or wealth, which are God given blessings, will have no value; rather, it is one's heart and deeds that are of significance. This is what will allow one to take a humble breather. And this will enable one to begin life. People will no longer be afraid while trying to earn a living. They will know how to "show themselves as they are", not just among those who have taken on the manners prescribed by the Most High, their family and loved ones, but among all of creation. They will know themselves and their Creator.