Thursday, November 24, 2011

"Remember who you really are." - Habib Umar

Bismillah.

Let's sit down and reflect on who we really are. We are nothing and we started off with nothing. Along the way, we pick up all sorts of things and carry with us until we come to the destination. Eventually, we will have to declare our baggage to the rightful Owner cum Accountant who will audit every single thing. If that is the case then we have nothing to be proud of. And those things we amass along the way are ours not because we deserve them or because we are so smart in acquiring them, but they are given solely out of the Lord's generosity. So what's there to be so proud?

That's roughly what the honorable Habib Umar bin Hafiz was saying to a question on how we can purify our lower selves from pride (`ujub)[1]

Sayyid al-Habib `Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) answered: “By remembering who you really are. Your reality is nothingness and your ending is being taken to account by Allah. So what is there to be proud of between nothingness and being taken to account?

Allah says: You have not received any blessing except that it is from Allah.[2] All bounty belongs to Allah; you possess nothing. So witness your Lord’s generosity, and beware: were He to take you to account for your best actions He would punish you. However, out of His bounty, He rewards you, shows you His generosity and multiplies your good deeds. Reflecting on this will remove your pride.”

[1]  `ujub can be defined as being content with your own actions and states and seeing them as great while forgetting that Allah is the One who bestowed them upon you.

[2] Al-Nahl, 16.53

Source:
http://abdulkarimyahya.com/2011/11/15/advice-a-cure-for-pride/
Translated from the Arabic by Ustadh Amin Buxton
Al Mutakabbir poster credit: Hamid Iqbal Khan
Purchase here: http://hamidsart.redbubble.com/works/5741274-al-mutakabbir

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