Pretension and Conceit

Consequences of Conceit

There are many consequences, and harms of conceit, and their list is as follows :

  1. pride
  2. forgetting a sin and underestimating it
  3. deprivation of the benefits of admonishment and guidance
  4. indifference to people's ways of harm
  5. non-belief in the mercy and favor of Allah

Any of these consequences suffices to render one's perdition and suffering; so, what would you say about all of them combined?!

PRIDE :

As regarding pride being one of the outcomes of conceit, it is so because both of these characteristics have one and the same root. In other words, if one is conceited and arrogant, and when one sees himself as being great, his heart's eye will be too blind to see the faults and shortcomings in him. In this case, if he wants to show someone the condition of looking at his own sell greatly, demonstrating the greatness status, he will then be afflicted by the dangerous ailment of pride.

In other words, the condition of conceit and of one who considers himself to be greater than others, so long as it stays inwardly and has no outward manifestation, it is pride. If it gets out through the senses, it is called arrogance. Both conditions, pride and arrogance, need another person besides the individual himself so the latter may see himself inwardly and innately as being greater than others; it is then that one is characterized by pride. Or he may demonstrate his attitude of thinking he is greater than others to everyone else, hence this person becomes characterized by pride. At any rate, pride and arrogance need the other party. Not all pride is like that. This is the difference between conceit and pride. A conceited person sees himself and his deeds as being great without discerning the others. That is, if we suppose there is nobody who is not conceited, and that Allah. Praise to Him did not create anyone else besides him, so he lives by himself, he can be imagined as being arrogant. The arrogant person is at the verge of the hell of pride. When he finds someone to whom he can demonstrate his pride, he will then be afflicted with pride and arrogance, and his abode will be hell as is clearly stated in the Holy Qur'an in this verse: "... Is there no abode in Hell for the haughty?" (Qur'an, 39:60). This is one of the dangerous detriments that await the proud. Therefore; all the detriments and afflictions resulting from the sinning characteristic of "pride" can apply to conceit, too; may Allah grant us refuge from it.

FORGETTING ABOUT AND UNDERESTIMATING SINS

Conceit causes one to forget many sins which he committed in the claim that he does not need to reform himself; so he does not mend what he had broken. As a result for this heedlessness, he forgets many sins, and he is not concerned about the sins which he still remembers. This condition may drag one into committing new sins. Perhaps this is the meaning referred to in a tradition quoted in al-Shi'a From Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) who cites the Messenger of Allah (a.s) in a tradition in which Mousa (Moses) son of lmran (Amram) asks Satan. "Tell me about the sin which, when a son of Adam commits, you overtake him." Satan said, "It is when he is proud of himself, thinks too much of his good deeds and his sin looks small in his eyes." It is known that when Satan overtakes someone, the result will be more sinning, in addition to underestimating the for this by itself is an insult to the status of the divine greatness which is one of the greatest sins, and it may stop one from being included in the divine mercy, as some traditions point out. In the sacred book where Zaid the cooking oil seller cites Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) saying that Abu Abdullah said that he had heard Abu Muhammad (a.s) saying, "One of the sins which are not forgiven is when a man says, 'Blessed am I had I only not done anything other than this [deed ]!" Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari quotes Imam al-Hassan al-'Askari (a.s) saying that he heard Abu Muhammad (a.s) saying, "Among the sins that arc not forgiven is one saying, 'I wish I would not be held accountable except for only this [deed]!"

Imam al-Khomeini, the mentor, may I be his sacrifice, has explained that conceit obliterates belief and ruins the rewards for the good deeds, according to a tradition narrated by Ali ibn Suwaid. The imam was asked about the conceit that spoils good deeds, so the imam explained some of its degrees, citing other traditions as well, in this regard. He said the following :

"The conceit tree is bad; its fruit is many major sins and abominations. When its root rests in the heart, one's affair is dragged into disbelief and shirk and more than both of these. One of its consequences is underestimating sins; rather, one who is conceited is not in the process of reforming himself claims it is pure and purified. He does not care at any time to purge himself of the filth of committing offenses. The thick curtain of conceit blocks him from seeing his own ills. This catastrophe stops one from achieving perfections, afflicts him with all sorts of shortcomings, brings about eternal perdition, and the doctors of the psyche can find no cure for him."

DEPRIVATION FROM BENEFITS OF ADMONITION AND GUIDANCE

One of the problems with conceit with which one is afflicted as a result of this psychological disease, and as a result of one believing in his own superiority over others and the status which he has with Allah, he regards others as ignorant, seeing no value for their viewpoint. As a result for this condition, he accepts neither advice from any adviser nor any admonishment from any preacher. One who is deprived of the abundant benefits of admonishment, both the nafs and Satan have a free hand in tempting him. There is a great deal of emphasis in traditions, statements of great men, poets and wise men, on the company of the folks of righteousness and on being in contact with scholars, so much so that even looking at the face of a scholar is adoration, and looking at his house door is adoration, according to traditions. On one hand, the nab' and Satan find no room to tempt him because, as a result of keeping the scholars and the wise company, he becomes keenly aware of his faults, seeing himself as being derelict on the path towards Allah. But if he stops keeping them company, he will be surrounded with detriments, and he becomes unaware of his faults, so he stops seeking his pursuit, claiming he has already achieved his pursuit and no longer needs to exert any effort. One whose condition is like that is definitely going to perish and will imminently fall.

Imam al-Khomeini may his blessings endure, says that among the harms of conceit is that one looks askance at Allah's servants, seeing their good deeds as nothing even if they may be better than his own: this, too, is one of the paths towards the annihilation of man and thorns on his path.

UNAWARENESS OF THE SERVANTS' DETRIMENTS

Among the perils of conceit is that instead of one seeing his faults and shortcomings, he becomes too blind to see these, so he does not examine his deeds, nor does he ascertain his acts of worship. If the nafs and Satan find their ways to him through other venues such as pretension and others, one may treat himself before it is too late. But due to this disease [of conceit], one may not correct the conditions required for the soundness of his rituals and acts of adoration, so his good deeds and worship become void even according to obvious religious laws and according to the verdicts of scholars of the Sharma. But since he admires his good deeds, he does not look for such verdicts so he may apply them to the sacred rites. The poor man finds himself in a situation in which the adoration of as long as fifty years of his lifespan is void and was not correct even in a way where he can repeat them and make up for them. What a fault is greater than one being unaware of seeing his faults?! The Prophet (a.s) says, "Suffices one for a fault is that he sees people's faults whHe being too blind to see his own." Imam Ali bin Muhammad al-Nadi (a.s) has said, "One who is pleased with himself will find many who are displeased with him."

Lord! Enable us to see our faults so such vision may be one of the marks of Your love for us. He, peace be with him, has said, "If Allah loves a servant, He enables him to see his own faults."

NOT BELIEVING IN ALLAH'S MERCY AND FAVOR

One of the harms of conceit is that it weakens one's reliance on the favor of Allah, the most Blessed, the most Exalted. Those who admire their deeds fall into a severe darkness and peril, so much so that if one mentions one of the favors of Allah and His infinite mercy, they deny it, as if they love that Allah. Praise to Him and Exaltation, deals with I lis servants according to His justice, so these admirers may be the ones who receive salvation, according to their claim, and their endeavor in undertaking good deeds will not go to waste. In other words, the ailment of conceit creates in the conceited persons the ailment of envy, too. If we apply an impossible supposition, that is, if they are saved through Allah's justice, they do not wish the rest of people to be saved through His favor. Although they are deeply immersed in sins, nay, they are the personification of sins and offenses, if these individuals hear someone saving that Allah, Praise to Him, forgives - whomsoever lie pleases and pays no attention to anyone, nor is He concerned about him, instead of being pleased and happy with such a statement, they may deny it inwardly though they may not articulate it. They thus object to Allah about why the Praised One should thus forgive! In fact, [according to them] He does not forgive, because if he forgives others, what is the difference between them, those who exhausted themselves on the paths of asceticism and adoration, and those who did not? They are as the Commander of the Faithful (a.s) described: "He fears for others on account of what is less than his own sin, hoping to get more than his deed [is worthy of], magnifying the offense of others whHe underestimating what he himself commits. He magnifies his acts of obedience whHe underestimating the same when done by others."

As a result of this disease, the admirers reject most narratives on the side of anticipation narrated by Ahl al-Bayt (a.s), especially with regard to their Shi'ites. They either reject them or interpret them, with some of their own views and interpretation. For this there are many evidences. We would like to state one of them as an example:

The great master. Ibn Tawoos, may Allah be pleased with him, has stated in his book, Al-Iqbal,, a tradition from Imam Ali ibn Mousa al-Rida (a.s) about the virtue of the Ghadir Day, In it, the following is stated: "Allah orders in it the honored scribes not to record the sins of those who love and follow Ahl al-Bayt for three days starting on the Ghadir Day, not to record any of their sins in honor of Muhammad, Ali, and the Imams (peace be with them), all of them."

This tradition is one of hundreds of similar ones the recording en masse from Ahl al-Bayt is definitive, and they have a sequentially narrated meaning, but they are heavy on the taste of those among the worshippers and ascetics who think that they are holy and who admire their deeds, so they cast doubt about them under the guise of defending the creed. They say that such narratives permit some people to commit offenses during the three Ghadir days, relying on this narrative.

In making such a statement, they really are not concerned about the creed: rather, the root of this confusion, as we pointed out, is the disease of conceit. Since they rely on their deeds, seeing themselves as being in no need for divine care, they feign sorrow for the creed. But they doubt a man of divinity and spirituality, such as Ibn Tawoos, who has a moral contact with the supreme spiritual kingdom, something which is admitted by all scholars and great Muslims, and the same doubt they apply to the great traditionist, al-Majlisi, and other great men of the creed. But their sectarian fanaticism is actually much greater than their concern. They believe they definitely protect the creed more than these holy men. But these men have recorded this tradition and similar ones in their hooks and were not concerned about some readers having the "courage" to charge them with offense. These "nurses that are more merciful than the mothers", or the branches that are superfluous to the main root, defend the sanctities of the creed. They claim the recording of this tradition and its likes causes people to dare to transgress. These vain claimants must he told that the curtain of seeing the soul and its adoration obstructs belief in these facts:

otherwise, there is no room to dislike such narratives, and there is no room for confusion. What, then, is the difference between a written sin being forgiven and not being written in the first place? Are there no clear verses and consecutively reported narratives that say that Alin Almighty forgives all sins, including the sin of shirk when combined with repentance, if He wills, even if one sinned for seventy years? The One Who forgives the sins of seventy years and wipes them out through a signal from Him, the most Exalted One, does not only wipe out sins but, according to the manifestation of the attribute of "0 One Who changes wrong deeds with good deeds!", replaces a sin with a good deed. Allah changes their sins into good deeds... Should such obvious verses and authentic narratives cause people to dare to sin, let that narrative, too, be as such?! Any answer which you provide about these verses and narratives we respond to it by contrasting it with this narrative, and what we have stated underscores the scholarly term.

As for the resolving answer and analysis in the issue, one who truly loves Ali (a.s) is during the Ghadir days immersed in an ocean of happiness and elation. Just as one who is immersed in the sea, surrounded by the tumultuous sea waves does not accept any outside filth, nor does filth affect him nor makes him dirty, in the sense that water overwhelms him and surrounds him from all sides, so it does not permit filth to bear any impact on him..., so is the case with the Ghadir days: They do not permit room for offense's impact which is in the sense of writing and confirming, nor does it necessitate crossing the borders, either: One who loves Ali (a.s) by instinct shies away from transgressing. If a sin is committed by him, it is by virtue of the overpowering nature and external obstacles. He, having committed a sin, even during committing a sin, is ashamed of it, regretting it, which is one of the important factors for the sin having no effect and necessitating Allah's forgiveness, not only during those three days but in all days, during the entire life-span. The reality of repentance is nothing but this. Repentance is regret, and this is what our Lord, the Almighty, has decreed. Anyone who does not accept Allah's decrees and rulings can do whatever he wants, whatever he can.

Based on the above, there is no room in the narrative for any direction, for any affectation, which has been committed by some of those who say that this narrative and its likes is negative because the subject rejects such a conclusion in the sense that one who loves Ali (a.s) during these days commits no sin. Or, as some have committed, according to what has been transmitted by observers from among the sects of the difference between a sin and an offense, it is said that the offense is the one that is not recorded. As for the sin, it is recorded. Based on this trend, they had a problem passing a judgment on al-Majlisi, criticizing him for having interpreted the offenses referred to in the narrative as the sins in his book Zad al-Malad. The summary of what they say is that they made a distinction between the offense and the sin. They say that the transgression is the sin that is clone on purpose, while the offense is the sin that is clone unintentionally, unwillingly. What is stated in the narrative is that what is not recorded during the three Ghadir days is the offense, the sin that is done unintentionally, unwillingly, not the transgression that is premeditated, clone on purpose, pre-determined, for it is called a sin, not an offense. But this distinction is unnecessary absurdity because a "sin" in the books of language means the absolute transgression, whether it is on purpose or without. But there is disagreement about the offense: Is it the absolute sin undertaken on purpose, as is stated in Al-Munjid? In the latter reference, this text exists: "An offense is a sin, and some say it is done deliberately.

" The same exists in Muntaha al-Arab so, one can refer to them if he wishes. What is added to the above is derived from its linguistic meaning. This term, the offense, is used in the Qur'an in more than twenty places, and most of these places cannot convey the sense of a sin done unintentionally or unwillingly such as these verses of the Almighty: "... Nor clues he have any food except the corruption from the washing of wounds which none eat except those in sin" (Qur'an, 36-37)" : "... And Pharaoh, and those before him, and the overthrown cities, all committed habitual sin" (Qur'an, 69:9); "... A lying, sinful forelock!" (Qur'an, 96:16): "Surely those who seek gain in evil and are engulfed in their sins are the companions of the Fire: they shall dwell in it (forever)" (Qur'an, 2:81); "Because of their sins, they were drowned and were made to enter the Fire (for punishment)" (Qur'an, 71:25). So, how can all these places where Allah, Praised is Ile, makes such strong threats convey the meaning that an offense is the sin that is done unintentionally or unwillingly?! How could Pharaoh or the people of Noah or other sinners have committed their sins unwillingly, unintentionally?! Even if you overlook all of these, what is the meaning of forgiveness for an offense that is clone unintentionally or unwillingly during these three days although the narrative refers to a status of gratitude, whereas such forgiveness is not restricted to it? It is apparent that these trends and explanations are unacceptable. They remind one of the Persian axiom which says, ".., like one who composes poetry but is unable to come up with a rhyme scheme!" The imam of the nation, the leader of the Islamic revolution, imam al-Khomeini, may his blessings endure, has made statements on the occasion of the narratives cited about the virtue of weeping out of fear of Allah which I would like to quote for more benefi t: