بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Table of contents:
2. What is the point of being humble?
2.1 People of Knowledge & Humblness
Previously, my blog covered about the silent enemy of faith. Now, I'll be covering about the enemy of the "silent enemy", that is, humbleness or humility.
Also Read : why ego is silent enemy of faith
1. What is Humbleness?
In simple term, it's when we realize who we really are, i.e. a piece of clay, who is given free will and freedom on this earth for a temporary time, and ultimately we will turn to dust like we didn't even existed. Now keeping this foundational knowledge in our mind, let's move on to the next up question.
2. What is the point of being humble?
One of the most frequent doubt that Muslim nowadays, especially our youth have, why should I be humble and have humility? They consider the opposite, that is ego to be better, as they give them that superiority complex feeling, but in reality, it's just a lack of knowledge or lack of implementation (if they already have knowledge).
2.1 People of Knowledge & Humblness
It is only the people with right knowledge know the importance and true value of being humble & practicing humility, and the loss of being arrogant, as the hadiths clearly give evidence to both my arguments:
“The people of Paradise are those who are humble, kind, and merciful to others.”
Extracted from
From: 110 Hadith Qudsi. Chapter 1, 110 Ahadith Qudsi (Sacred Hadith)
“He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise.”
Source: Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 165.
That's one of the very absolute benefit of knowledge as
Al-Ghazali said:
“True knowledge leads to humility; false knowledge to arrogance.”
Source: Ihya Ulum al-Din, Book 3.
2.2 Scientific perspective
The points will be further clarified by the scientific evidences:
1.Psychological Well-being: Studies have shown that humility is linked to increased psychological well-being and reduced stress.
Source: Exline, J. J., & Hill, P. C. (2012). Humility: A consistent, fruitful, and challenging virtue for psychology. Journal of Psychology and Theology.
2. Social Bonding: Humility fosters closer relationships and enhances social bonding by creating mutual respect and compassion.
Source: Davis, D. E., Worthington, E. L., & Hook, J. N. (2010). Humility: Review of measurement strategies and conceptualization as personality judgment. Journal of Positive Psychology.
3. Leadership: Research indicates that humble leaders are more effective, as they are open to feedback and focus on team success over personal gain.
Source: Owens, B. P., & Hekman, D. R. (2012). Modeling how to grow: An inductive examination of humble leader behaviors, contingencies, and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal.
4.Better Health: Humility is associated with improved cardiovascular health and reduced blood pressure due to its calming effect.
Source: Krause, N., & Hayward, R. D. (2014). Humility, lifetime trauma, and change in health over time. Research on Aging.
5.Personal Growth: Humility encourages self-reflection and openness to change, leading to personal growth.
Source: Worthington, E. L., & Allison, S. T. (2018). Heroic Humility: What the Science of Humility Can Say to People Raised on Self-focus.
6. Lower Aggression & more forgiving nature: Studies have found that humble individuals exhibit lower levels of aggression and are more likely to forgive others.
Source: Powers, C., Nam, R., Rowatt, W., & Hill, P. (2007). Associations between humility, forgiveness, and the psychological outcomes of humility. Personality and Individual Differences.
7. Humiliation: Experiencing humility protects against feelings of humiliation and social isolation by reinforcing self-worth.
Source: Leary, M. R., & Guadagno, J. (2011). The role of humility in the self-concept and social bonds. Social and Personality Psychology Compass.
8.Academics: Humble students have better academic outcomes as they are more open to learning and feedback.
Source: Hu, J., & Liden, R. C. (2011). Antecedents of team humility and its impact on team effectiveness and individual growth. Academy of Management Journal.
9.Reduced Narcissism: Humility counters narcissistic tendencies by fostering empathy and self-awareness.
Source: Exline, J. J., & Geyer, A. L. (2004). Perceptions of humility: A study of personality correlates and responses to trait self-descriptions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
10. Empathy: Individuals with humility exhibit higher levels of empathy, which strengthens interpersonal relationships and communication.
Source: Wang, L., & Owens, B. P. (2019). Humility in social relationships and the self-importance paradox. Personality and Individual Differences.
2.3 The power of being Humble
In order to fully discuss just the amazing benefits and power of this simple yet great habit, it would need days to fully explain it. But here are a few from the Hadiths of our Prophet ﷺ.
“Whoever humbles himself for the sake of Allah, Allah will elevate him.”
Source: Sunan Ibn Majah 4176
"Allah will elevate him" In order just to visualize this statement, I want you to imagine you are working in your newly joined office as a low-wage employee and just by being humble, the owner elevated you to become CEO of the company. Great, isn't it?
Now just look, if a simple worldly affair can give an individual such peak of happiness and amazement, then think of the happiness you will get after ALLAH elevates you through His mercy. We can't even imagine it. This hadith is quoted in Ibn Majah as
It was narrated from Abu Sa’eed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Whoever humbles himself one degree for the sake of Allah, Allah will raise him in status one degree, and whoever behaves arrogantly towards Allah one degree, Allah will lower him in status one degree, until He makes him among the lowest of the low.”Source: Ibn Majah, Hadith 4176.
Humility brings peace to the soul. Haven't you seen around you men who boast themselves with pride and look great in the eyes of greedy men, but their inner peace is destroyed? And how many are there who humble themselves, avoid useless quarreling, and sometimes people of society consider them insignificant, are actually at peace within themselves, and have high ranks in the eyes of angels?that is a blessing of Allah.
Ibn al-Jawzi:
“Humility brings peace to the soul; pride only brings grief.”
Source: Sifat al-Safwah.
3. How to practice humility?
“Humility is th kme essence of knowledge, for knowledge without humility is ignorance.”
Source: Nahj al-Balagha.
Acquiring knowledge and then practicing it is what leads to a humble heart and brings humility to the heart. Here is a link for my previous blog in which I covered some Islamic series.
They will give you a kickstart in your path to attaining knowledge.
The next step is to practice what you learn. Without proper implementation, acquired knowledge is like a tree without fruit.
Remind yourself of how low you are in comparison to the magnificent creations of Allah. Look at the sun, the moon, the stars, all glorify Allah and are humbly submissive to His command. Take admonition from the similitude of one who passed away and the one who are around you. Look at their lives and observe the ones who humbled themselves got elevated. But the egoistic ones suffered from disgrace. Such examples are filled in our society. All you need is a proper vision to observe and practice the lessons you learn from them.
Also, make sure to develop a habit of journaling. Not just it retains your memory but also gives you a clarity of thought for future decisions.
Conclusion
The blog covered the reasons of why one must be humble and some necessary practical steps to humble ourselves. May Allah guide us all.
اللهم مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوْبِ صَرِّفْ قُلُوْبَنَا عَلَى طَاعتِكَ
O Allah! Controller of the hearts, direct our hearts to Your obedience
Ameen.
Comment down any question or dought you have regarding islam and its doctrines. Future blogs will inshallah include the solution to them ☺️
Fiqh & hadith related doughts will be explained by ulema of the specific fields inshallah
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