I am Better than him .When we think highly of ourselves and lowly of others then we are setting up ourselves to behave like Shaitaan.
With the name of Allah most Beneficient ever Merciful
When Allah Subhanatallah asked him why he did not follow the command to prostrate to Adam (AS) he replied: “…”I am better than him: You created me from fire and him You created from clay.” Al Quran 38:74.
It is quite common for human beings to think that we are better than others based on factors such as outward piety, religion religious knowledge, wealth, skin color, qualifications, achievements, intelligence, language, sex, age, place of origin etc.
Like Shaitaan, thinking that we are better leads us to greater evil. Shaitaan’s transgressions did not end at this point, but this thought that he was better, caused him to rebel even further until his entire demeanour changed to one that was evil.
Now when he disobeyed Allah’s command to bow down to Adam (AS) then Allah made him the outcast.
“(God) said, ‘Then get out of this (state); you are surely driven away (from My mercy). `And surely upon you shall be My disapproval till the Day of Judgment. Al Quran 38:77.
When this happened then Shaitaan did not accept responsibility for his actions but instead pinned the blame on Allah Subhanatallah. “(Iblis) said: “O My Lord! Because You have put me in the wrong,…” Sura Al Hijr 15:39.
Shaitaan did wrong, then he blamed someone else for the resulting outcome of his wrong and now it leads him to absolute evil. He vowed to mislead humanity. “… (Iblis said) will make (wrong) fair seeming to them on earth, and I will put them all in the wrong except Thy chosen servants among them.” Sura Al Hijr 15:39.
This boils down to simply being evil because it was no fault of Hazrath Adam (AS) or his progeny and this enmity started off from him thinking that he was better.
Hazrath Adam (AS) also committed a sin. He also did not follow a command of Allah which was not to eat of a particular tree.
However he was forgiven because he did not commit the sin from a standpoint of pride and because of this he was able to seek pardon. Unlike Iblis, Adam AS took responsibility for his actions and did not blame anyone else and he asked Allah for forgiveness. “Our Lord, verily we have wronged our own souls” Sura Al Araf 7:23.
So we see that having pride and being arrogant is the greatest sin of all.
“The sin of Adam arose from the belly and sexual intercourse and the sin of Iblis from pride and power. Consequently, he (Adam) at once besought pardon, while the (iblis) disdained to repent” Mathnawi 5:320
It is therefore very important to think well of others, immaterial of how they appear or how they behave.
Once, Hazrath Hassan Basri (RA), a great saint and Imaam, was walking along the sea shore, when he saw a man sitting close to a woman and drinking from a broken glass.
He thought that they were a couple behaving badly. Just then a boat capsized and this man swam out to sea and rescued six out of seven people.
He then addressed Hassan Basri (RA) and said: “O Hassan, why are you thinking badly of me. That woman is my mother and she brought lunch for me. I saved six people. Can you save the last one?” Hazrath Hassan Basrie (RA) was embarrassed and astonished that the man knew his name and what he was thinking.
He relates this incident so that we could learn and not make the same mistake. This relation is from Muslim Saints & Mystics.
So we see that thinking highly of ourselves and poorly of others is actually the root of sin. “O you who believe! let no people look down upon another people for the (latter) people may be better than they, nor let women (look down) upon other women, the women who are treated lightly) may be better than the other ones. And find not fault in one another (in order to defame your own people), nor call one another by nick-names. Bad is the reputation of wickedness after the (profession of) belief. Highly unjust are the people who would not abstain from what they are forbidden.” Al Quran 49:11.
The angels thought poorly of Adam (AS) and when they were practically shown that they were wrong, they were commanded to bow down to him. If we think poorly of others and if we realise our mistake then repentance comes by first acknowledging our faults to those we underestimated just like the way that the angels had to bow down to the person of their contempt.
Moosa Suhagi (RA) was a prominent, well respected scholar (‘alim.’) One day he decided to visit the shrine of Hazrath Khwaja Nizamudeen Aulia (RA). It so happened that when he got there he saw a group of men dressed as women singing songs and this disgusted him.
He retreated from the mazaar thinking badly of the place and the visitors. A while later he went for Hajj. After his stay in Mecca he was preparing to leave for Medina and that night he dreams that the Prophet ﷺ did not want to meet him and that he must not come to Medina.
He remained in Mecca and as he sat sadly at the Khaaba pondering over what he had done wrong, he met a pious person that told him that perhaps he had offended someone dear to the Holy Prophet ﷺ. The only thing that came to his mind was his visit to the dargaar of Hazrath Khwaja Nizamudeen (RA).
He returned to India to put things right and as he approached the mazaar he was wondering as to how he could best make amends. He thought that the men dressed as women disgusted me and so I too will dress as a woman and go to the mazaar.
Everyone was astonished that the prominent Moosa Suhagi was dressed as a woman and he lost his fame just by this one single act. No one called on him to deliver talks anymore and so he retired to a nearby village where he found a job doing menial chores such as washing dishes.
He still wore the clothes of a woman and he still wore bangles on his wrists but why he continued doing this no one understood.
It so happened that Deli experienced a severe drought and the people approached a pious person to make dua for rain. This person told them that if he prayed for rain then they may get a few buckets of rain but if they go to Moosa Suhagi (RA) and ask him to pray then there would be plenty of rain.
So the group approached Moosa Suhagi and because of their desperate situation they succumbed to asking such a strange person to make dua. Moosa Suhagi lifted his hands and directed his speech to Allah Subhanatallah:
“If you do not send rain then I will break all my bangles.”
The bangles were the symbol of his union with God just as the ring is a symbol of marriage. It rained and the secret of Moosa Suhagi’s piety was exposed. He was a man of God hiding beneath the dress of a woman and he’d done this for years.
It is narrated in the Hadis that the Prophet ﷺ said that a prostitute was forgiven because she once felt pity for a hungry thirsty dog and went out of her way to get the dog water from a well. Al Hadis 1:3:9:143.
Can we afford to think poorly of anyone now that we know where this will lead us to? It is not good to think poorly of others because of their skin colour or the language they speak.
It is not good to think poorly of others because we do not see them praying while we pray. Even if people do wrong or even if they are idol worshippers we cannot judge and think badly of them.
“And do not turn your face away from people in scorn and pride, nor walk about on the earth haughtily. Surely, Allah does not love any self-conceited boaster.” Al Quran 31:18
Our Pir O Murshid, Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saib (RA) said: “Pride is the veil of Shaitaan and humility is the veil of ….”
Note: Musa Suhagi was not a perverted homosexual. He only outwardly dressed in this manner. He did this first to seek forgiveness and he continued in this manner because he wanted to hide his piety.
Peace and blessings be upon Muhammad Sallallahu Allayhi Wasallam.
Published by Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi.
Anjuman e Waris e Mohammedi was founded by Dr/Hakim Hazrath Khwaja Sayed Shareef Ahmed Ali Shah RA (lovingly known as Hazrath Poona Wale Shah Saab RA).
Author: Mohamed Hassan Gaffoor WhatsApp; +27 84 910 1486