Mathew 23:8 – 8“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you will be your servant.
12For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Hadith Qudsi 19 – Pride and Greatness Belong to Allah (God) Alone – HADITH – ISLAM
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Allah, the Most High, said: ‘Pride is My cloak and greatness is My robe. Whoever competes with Me in respect of either of them, I shall cast him into the Hellfire.’” — Narrated by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad. Also reported with sound chain in Sahih Muslim.
Reflection: This Hadith Qudsi is a stark reminder of the danger of arrogance. Pride and greatness belong only to Allah — when a person tries to claim them, they cross a boundary set by the Divine. True honor is found in humility, submission, and recognizing that everything we have is from Him alone.
Numbers 12:3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.
Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.’
1 Samuel 2:7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.
2 Samuel 22:28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Notice they bow down and prostrate – just like the Muslims ( because they were Muslims/ eg/ worshipped God Alone);
Matthew 23:10–12 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
Colossians 3:18–19 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
1 Peter 3:3–4 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
HUMILTY IN ISLAM – PRIDE BELONGS TO ALLAH (GOD ALLMIGHTY ALONE)
Abdullah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever has a mustard seed’s weight of pride (arrogance) in his heart, shall not be admitted into Paradise. And whoever has a mustard seed’s weight of faith in his heart, shall not be admitted into the Fire.”
“Verily, for all men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves… for them God has readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward” (Qur’an33:35).
At-Tirmidhi (1999), Abu Dawood (4091) and Ibn Maajah (59) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is an atom’s weight of arrogance and no one will enter Hell in whose heart is an atom’s weight of faith.” A man said: What if I like my clothes to look nice and my shoes to look nice? He said: “Verily Allah loves beauty; rather arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”
PRIDE BELONGS TO ALLAH ALONE:
There is no doubt that Kibriyaa’ (Pride/Grandeur) is one of the Attributes of Allah, The Exalted, as stated in the Quran and Sunnah, and that Al-Mutakabbir (The Superior and Supreme in pride and grandeur) is one of His Names. Allah Says (what means): {And to Him belongs [all] grandeur within the heavens and the earth, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.} [Quran 45:37] Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer book: “{to Him belongs [all] grandeur} means that to Him belongs greatness, majesty, immortality, dominion, power, and perfection.” [End of quote]
In the Sunnah, it was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Allah, The Almighty, Says: “Pride is My Ridaa’ (cloak), and Greatness is My Izaar (lower garment), and whoever claims to share with Me either one of them, I will cast him into Hellfire.” [Ahmad, Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah]
Moreover, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to say in his Rukoo‘: “Subhaana Thil-Jabarooti wal-Malakooti wal-Kibriyaa’i wal-‘Athamah (which means: Glory be to the Lord of Might, Dominion, Grandeur, and Greatness).” [Ahmad, Abu Daawood, and An-Nasaa’i]
One of the Most Beautiful Names of Allah is Al-Mutakabbir, as stated in the Quran, where Allah Almighty Says about Himself (what means): {…the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior.} [Quran 59:23] [Al-Mutakabbir in this verse is translated as ‘the Superior’]
Briefly, the reported meaning of the divine name Al-Mutakabbir is as follows: “The One Who is Superior and Exalted Above all evil, Who is far Exalted above committing injustice against His slaves. To Him belongs all grandeur, and He is far Exalted above the attributes of His creation, and He shows His Superiority to the insolent created beings who dare to claim to share with Him the attribute of greatness, so He destroys them.”
Al-Munaawi said in Faydh Al-Qadeer: “Al-Mutakabbir means the One to Whom belongs all Kibriyaa’ (pride/grandeur), The Sovereign, or The Superior Who sees others as inferior to Him. He regards others in the same way a master regards his slaves, and it is inconceivable that this attribute should be ascribed to other than Allah, The Exalted (in this sense). To Him alone belong greatness and grandeur in all respects and from all aspects, and therefore this attribute cannot be used in reference to other than Allah, The Exalted, except in a context of dispraise.” [End of quote]
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