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Spirit of Islam Issue 35 November 2015
PRIDE AND MODESTY
Accept Reality
A truly modest
person will look at all
matters in relation
to God, rather than
in relation to human
beings.
P
RIDE is the root cause of all evils. And modesty is the source
of all virtues. A human being’s personality is largely defined by
these two traits. One who is proud will, in every respect, have
a deplorable personality, while one who is modest will possess all
desirable qualities.
A society whose people are of a proud nature will be a jungle of negative
psychology. It is natural that in every society there will be some, more
privileged individuals and some less so. If a person considers the less
privileged as inferior to him, it bolsters his pride. On the other hand, if
he sees someone who is more privileged than
him, he feels jealous. With such people in a
society, no one can be in a normal state of
mind.
The matter of modesty is contrary to this.
A truly modest person will look at all matters
in relation to God, rather than in relation
to human beings. He will consider even a
‘common’ man an important person. He will
not look at the human relationships as a case
of man versus man, but as a case of man with
respect to God. Such thinking will put an end
to any pride or jealousy which might otherwise have tarnished his
personality. The modest man thinks that the greatest task ahead of
him is to introspect, learn of his shortcomings, and reform himself.
Through introspection, he becomes aware of his responsibilities and
works on ways to fulfill them.
Modesty is another name for acknowledging reality, while pride is another
name for the denial of reality. In this world, the acknowledgement of
reality is the source of all virtues, while the denial of reality is the source
of all evil.
o
Tests of Life
Every situation is a test paper. Apply your
wisdom and you will certainly stand the test.