SPEECHLESS!

By: Shaista Khurshid, Calgary, Alberta

In many places of the world, people are suffering from the suppression of their humanity - humiliation, inequality, racism, denial of basic human rights and even death. Whether they are black, Indigenous, Muslim, poor, women, or anyone; people are suffering. It seems that the world does not see the difference and variety in humanity. Is it fear? Is it self-preservation? Are we apathetic? Why so? Or is it something much deeper?

The answer might lie deep inside our hearts. Our humanity is suffering from a grave and hugely impactful sin, arrogance. It seems like everyone is revolving around themselves without the concerns for others and how their actions are impacting others.

One of the signs of Allah is that He has created a variety of humanity among us. He has made us into a man and a woman and diversified into many sizes, colors, shapes,languages, culture, and ways of life a human can have. Allah says in the Quran

“Mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer" (4:1)

So, what is arrogance? Arrogance is when someone feels and treats others as lesser, and denies the signs Allah has spread around us to see, thus creating social injustices.

So, what makes us think that someone is lesser than us if they are different from us? The answer might be that conceit is residing in our hearts. If this hubris resides in any heart, whether it is a size of smallest grain or even size of an atom - its ramification disbalances the soul and leans it towards evil.

النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ " . قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ حَسَنَةً . قَالَ " إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ "

“He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise. A person (amongst his hearers) said: Verily a person loves that his dress should be fine, and his shoes should be fine. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: Verily, Allah is Graceful, and He loves Grace. Pride is disdaining the truth (out of self-conceit) and contempt for the people.”

Every atom's weight of arrogance is born from insecurity and worthlessness. And insecurity comes from comparison. When we compare ourselves to others, we feel either haughty or deprived. Never grateful (which should be the result). When we feel insecure, it develops the opposite reaction of entitlement, haughtiness, pride in wrong things. When this security is threatened by other people’s differences, opinions, beliefs, or way of lives, we recoil or lash out. The sign of an unhealthy soul. That is what we are seeing around the world, where people are oppressing in ways which are brutal, confusing, and mind boggling at the same time.

Questions arise: Why? Is this world so attractive that we want to redesign the demographic Allah had designed? How much narcissism do we have that we want everyone to either be like us or else be subjugated? Or is it that our insatiable greed takes over so much that human life becomes worthless? Or is it that the attitude of me, myself & I, makes us arrogant and inherently insecure?

What makes us do evil?

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَىٰهَا

And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it [with discernment of] its wickedness and its righteousness,

— Sahih International- 91:7-91:8

Our souls are designed to understand the difference between good and bad and have both inclinations. It is the test for us to find where we would incline, and steer ourselves towards the end we want to have. This makes us people of free will. We are not angels who only obey, or devils that only reject. Quran says:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا

He has succeeded who purifies it, And he has failed who instills it [with corruption].

— Sahih International- (91:9-10)

Truth of the matter is that our life, our property, and our honor is nobody’s business. And others, whether we like them or not, carry the same right. So, if we all start treating others like us, maybe people would still die, but that would be Allah’s decision, not ours. We will still celebrate life and mourn death, but as a dignified human and not an arrogant ones.

وَعَنْ أَبِي بَكْرَةَ; - رضى الله عنه - أَنَّ اَلنَّبِيَّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -قَالَ: فِي خُطْبَتِهِ يَوْمَ اَلنَّحْرِ بِمِنًى 1 { إِنَّ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ [ وَأَعْرَاضَكُمْ ] عَلَيْكُمْ حَرَامٌ, كَحُرْمَةِ يَوْمِكُمْ هَذَا، فِي بَلَدِكُمْ هَذَا، فِي شَهْرِكُمْ هَذَا } مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَيْهِ 2 .صحيح. رواه البخاري ( 67 )، ومسلم ( 1679 ).

Narrated Abu Bakra (RA): In his (Rasulullah SAW's) Khutbah (religious talk - sermon) on the Day of Sacrifice at Mina, the Prophet said: "Your blood, your property and your honor are forbidden for you to violate, like the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this city of yours “

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash