Arrogance and Humility

The Seat of Love and Knowledge : Allah the Glorious created Hadrat Adam (A) from clay, the angels from pure light (nur), and Shaitan and the jinn from fire. The Holy Quran states that Shaitan was from among the jinn, and he disobeyed Allah the Glorious. His original name was Azazeel, and he earned the title Ta'us ul-Mala'ika because of his consistency in the worship and obedience of Allah  the Glorious. He was not the leader of the angels, as is how many misinterpret the meaning of ta'us. Ta'us means peacock, which is a most handsome creature from among Allah's feathered creation. Shaitan hence stood out from among the angels (mala'ika) like a beautiful peacock among ordinary birds because of his exemplary worship. Allah the Glorious had created the jinn prior to creating mankind, and the jinn had a history of spreading corruption and bloodshed in the earth. Hence, when Allah the Glorious communicated His intention of creating Hadrat Adam (A) to the angels, we learn from hadith that the reply of the angels reflected their knowledge of this tainted history of the jinn. The angels asked Allah the Glorious why He wanted to create another species that would cause havoc and bloodshed throughout the earth, when the angels were already there to praise Him. Allah the Glorious asked Azazeel his opinion, and the latter closely examined the yet lifeless body of Hadrat Adam (A) before him. After studying the outside of this figure he requested permission to examine it from the inside, and Allah the Glorious allowed him to do so. He then entered the body and studied every single part in detail, but there was one organ he could not enter, and he asked Allah the Glorious about this when he came out. Allah the Glorious said, "That is the heart of Adam and the seat of my love (muhabbah)." The heart is the seat and central receptor for the grandeur (tajalliyaat) of Allah. Allah the Glorious says that the Holy Quran was revealed onto the heart of the Messenger (A) of Allah. Subsequently, all revelation (wahi) and inspiration (ilham) descends upon the heart.The Transmission of Wahi Modern science has revealed that the human heart has a transmitter that sends and receives signals, something that the Messenger a of Allah told the community of believers more than fourteen hundred years ago. It functions as a receiver in that the heart of the Messenger of Allah would receive wahi and ilham from Allah u. This was not in words, but we know from the Messenger of Allah himself that he would hear something resembling the distant toll of a bell when the wahi would descend upon his noble heart. The scholars of hadith (muhaditheen) have deduced two crucial points from this statement of the Messenger (A) of Allah. The first point is that the Prophet (a) was specific in his analogy of a distant bell. Since the precise source of a distant sound cannot be located, the scholars drew the conclusion that the Messenger (a) of Allah intended to convey that wahi and ilham are multi, and not unidirectional. The second noteworthy point is that a bell toll is produced by a periodic motion, traveling on a wavelength at a certain frequency. All messages travel at a certain frequency that can only be received by a particular piece of electronic equipment such as a radio or a television. These concepts are very easy to understand in today's technological age, but the Messenger (a) of Allah introduced it more than fourteen hundred years ago to a nomadic culture that could not even imagine it. Thus the divine messages received by the Prophet (a) were not only multidirectional but also signals of a specific wavelength traveling on a specific frequency.Recognizing the Importance of Humility Hadrat Umar (R) used to beg Allah to be elevated in the eyes of others but to become humble in his opinion of himself. People only occupy a lofty position in the hearts of those around them if they are deeply respected, and the arrogant rarely inspire such sincere reverence. Allah will honor people and elevate them in creation only if they are sincere in their humility, and their actions reflect this quality. The branches with the sweetest and most valuable fruit are the ones hanging closest to the ground; attaining humility is the means by which man is deemed worthy in front of Allah . Humility is a gift from Allah that is to be sought and begged for, just as we implore Allah for such blessings as houses or wives. Man is deprived of a great blessing if he is deprived of humbleness. Our nafs tries its best to instill arrogance in us, which ultimately leads to our destruction. Our best weapon against our nafs is to remind ourselves of our origins. The Holy Quran says that the servants of The Most Merciful should walk with humility upon the earth. Hence we should ask Allah to inculcate this humility deep in our hearts and allow it to b e reflected in all our actions, and we should inculcate the same in our children. Allah created clay to be intrinsically humble, and created man from that clay so man would also be humble because He loves humility. Man needs to purge his heart of pride and arrogance and acquire a humble posture before he faces Allah on the Day of Judgment......