Pretension and Conceit

Levels of Pretension From the Aspects of What Is Hidden and What Is Manifest, a Precise Research in the Issue of Pretension

Be informed that pretension, in as far as being manifest or hidden, has several levels. Some levels are obvious, some are more obvious, whereas some others are hidden, and some are more so.

The FIRST level: It is the most obvious level: Someone undertakes an action in order to show off in a way so as if the need to pretend is not there, he will not do it. It is the most obvious of its levels and needs no explanation.

The SECOND level: It is a little bit more hidden: The pretending side is not initially prompted to undertake the action: rather, the side that urges the origin of the action is the Divine side, the nearness to the Almighty, but the non-divine side intrudes into it, so much so that the act, despite the care of this side, becomes easier to undertake without it, such as one whose habit is to perform the tahajjud and to perform the night prayer (qiyam). He performs it every night, but whHe feeling lazy and drowsy. But when he has a guest, he stands up from his bed with agility and ease. Had he not hoped for rewards from Allah, he would not have abandoned the pleasure of sleep not only due to the presence of the guest but this presence had an impact on him, making it easier for him to pray and to offer tahajjud, and the prayer will then be easier than it would have been if he had been by himself.

The THIRD level: In it, the pretension is more hidden than it is in the second level: The non-divine side has nothing to do with the original intention to undertake the action, nor in the ease of doing it. But, at the same time, the substance of pretension is present in the heart. It is known that such pretension cannot be identified except through the precise experiment such as suspected terminal physical ailments since these, after medical analyses, indicate the presence of a disease which the doctor starts treating. So is the case with this spiritual disease: Precision is a must in diagnosing it. If some traces of the ailment are found, its substance will be known to be present. Its indication is that one must test himself at a time when people accidentally get to see his adoration. Will he then feel happy and elated on account of their seeing him or not? An individual may undertake an action with a sincere intention, desiring no pretension in it: rather, he even avoids pretending and hating it. But, at the same time, if he realizes that someone accidentally gets to know about it, he becomes happy, as if he feels restful when he gets to know that the individual saw how that act exhausted him. Such happiness and elation form the mark of pretension which is hidden within him, inside him, from which elation drips. Had he directed his attention towards anyone other than Allah, and had he paid no attention to people, there is no sense in this elation when he knows that others came to know about his I righteous] deed. Happiness [in such a case] is like a fire that is hidden inside a stone. It becomes evident when the stone hits iron and the hidden fire comes out to the open and becomes obvious when the stone hits a stone. People who are acquainted with and knowledgeable about the stone hitting the iron expose the hidden pretension. At that time, if this person does not react to this pleasure, that is, when happiness appears in his heart, and if he does not rebuke himself for it, reprimand it and meet it with hatred, this pleasure will be like nutrition for the disease's substance. It grows undetected, and the effect of that growth gradually creates in him the need to find a reason for people having, to be familiar with his work. It is like talking about a subject and saying something casually. For example, if he is one of those who offer tahajjud, he talks about how the weather is cold or hot at the end of the night, or about something like that, so that others will understand that he was awake at that time [for tahajjud].

It may even be more hidden than that, too, such as one does not say anything to suggest to others familiarity with them, with his actions, neither explicitly nor implicitly. But people can get to know it from the way he dresses himself, his appearance or general conditions, such as drowsiness, the low tone of his voice, how his lips are withered..., etc. Or he may not watch himself during his prostration in order to avoid hitting the ground so prostrating will bear an impact on his forehead. Deep inside his conscience he will be elated about it, that is, that he has a visible mark of adoration. Or he may be at a mourning commemoration for Imam al-Hussain (a.s) or a gathering for supplication. At the end of the gathering, he does not remove the tears from his eyes hilly. There are marks like these, and even more hidden than that, which show no such indications: This means that he may perform a [righteous] deed sincerely without desiring anyone to notice it, nor does he like it to show, yet he expects people to start greeting him, to be generous to him, to meet him with a smile, with respect, to praise him, to be energetic in carrying out his errands, to be tolerant as they trade with him, etc. If he goes -to a meeting place, they make room for him. If anyone falls short of doing any of these things, he will find it in his heart to be too heavy, and he will find it unsuitable for his status. It is as if he is rewarded by people for the worship which he hides, so much so that had he not 'performed such worship, he would not have demanded all of this, nor would he have found it unacceptable when people treat him any less than that. In my view, this has roots which also extend to conceit. In reality, he demands that from Allah, the most Glorified One, and even wonders why the Almighty did not cast love for him in the hearts of people so they may respect him although he did perform that "sincere" act of worship! As a whole, unless the presence of worship is similar to its absence with regard to everything relevant to people, and had one not contended himself with the fact that Allah knows about what he does, such an individual will not be free of pretension, even as low as the sound of ants' tracks, nor is he free of conceit either which we, by the will of Allah, will discuss.

It is possible this much pretension voids one's rewards. Nobody is spared such type of pretension except Allah's sincere worshippers, for Satan can have no way of reaching them. Perhaps a reference to this lies in a statement by the Commander of the Faithful Ali (a.s) who is quoted as having said. "Allah, the most Great, the most Exalted, will say to those who recite [the Holy Qur'an in public] on the Judgment Day: 'Did people not sell to you cheap? Did people not start greeting you'? Were your needs not taken care of by people?' According to tradition, [the Almighty adds saying] 'There are no wages for you here: you were paid your wages in full.'"

Abdullah Mubarak is quoted as having said that it is narrated about Wahab son of Muneer saying that a man from among the travelers said to his fellows, "We left behind the wealth and the sons fearing oppression, now we fear lest more oppression has afflicted us than that with which people who have wealth have been afflicted! If one of us is met, he likes to be respected because of the station of his piety. If he asks for something, he likes to be given on account of his faith. And if he buys something, he likes the seller to sell it to him cheaper because of his faith!" This reached the knowledge of their king who rode among a crowd of people. The valley and the mountain became full of people. That traveler inquired about it and was told that the king was coming. He asked his servant to bring him food. He was brought beans and oil which he kept stuffing in his mouth, eating violently. The king asked the travelers, "Where is your fellow?" They pointed to him, whereupon the Icing asked him. "How are you?" The man said, "Like anyone else," but according to another way of telling this incident. "I am fine." The king said. "There is nothing good with this man." leaving him. The traveler said, "Praise be to Allah Who sent you away from me, thinking ill of me!"

Yes, my dear one, the sincere ones were apprehensive of hidden pretension, trying hard to mislead people about their righteous deeds out of their concern about hiding them more so than people's concern about hiding their bad deeds and sins, all of this in the hope their good deeds will be sincere, so Allah will reward them on the Judgment Day by hiding these bad deeds and sins from people. These sincere folks knew and became convinced that Allah Almighty does not accept anything hut what is purely for His sake, for he has said. "And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah, offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith): To establish regular prayers, and to practice regular charity: such is the right and straight religion" (Qur'an, 98:5). The Judgment Day is the Day of their want and need for righteous deeds: it is the Day when neither wealth nor offspring will be of any benefit save for one who reaches Allah with a sound heart.

A scholar has provided this example: The desert travelers go there with the best currency in circulation because they know that the need for it is the greatest in the desert, and that the desert people accept only the best currency. The same applies to those who have hearts. They witness the Day of Judgment and the rations whereby they supply themselves: piety, knowing that the best of rations is piety. They bring about deeds that are free of pretension, protecting themselves against all levels of pretension.

UNIQUE QUR'ANIC JEWEL

WhHe narrating the story of Yousuf (Joseph) and his brothers, the Qur'an states that alter the latter having come to Egypt and asked Yousuf to provide them with provisions and rations, the Qur'an states the following: "At length, once he had furnished them with provisions (suitable) for them, he put the drinking cup in his brother's saddle-bag. Then a crier shouted out, '0 you (in) the caravan! Behold! You are thieves, without doubt!'' (Qur'an, 12:70).

One of the men of knowledge says, "It is not right to think that Yousuf accused his brother of theft so he would take him and keep him in his company because if Yousufs purpose was to keep his brother with him, he did not have to accuse him in this ugly way, embarrassing him and letting him fall in the public's esteem as a thief although he is the son of the prophet of Allah. Rather, he could have found another excuse to do that without scratching his dignity. If he had to, he could have done so secretly, say, in a confidential personal meeting rather than before the public, so much so that a crier had to cry out to the caravan, charging it of theft. So, what prompted this announcement to the caravan which contained Canaanites who would return to the land of Canaan and the robbery committed by a prophet of Allah would be the core of the talk in all meeting places and gatherings'? Men will talk about it and so will the women, and the reputation of a house about which people know nothing but honor and spirituality will be ruined. There has to be something hidden in this matter."

The man of knowledge goes on to say, "The hidden matter is that reaching truly divine dignity is not easy except through public humiliation. We tie dignity to the truth because posts and stations among the public are not truly dignifying. True dignity is in reaching nearness to Allah. In other words, it is neighborliness of Allah, the company of the Lord of the Worlds, a station of the truth near an Able King. The company of Allah's servants is the company of Allah. Whoever loves you loves Allah, and whoever hates you hates Allah. Whoever Allah chooses, He starts with you, Whoever visits his brother in Allah, the Almighty says. 'You have visited Me'. This dignity does not become available except when conditions are met the greatest of which is humiliation by the people. If you wish, you can say that the greatest obstacle in the path towards Allah and towards reaching Allah's courtyard is love for prominence and eminence among the people.

So long as the heart remains attached to such love, the owner of this heart cannot reach his destination as this narrative tells us: Two ferocious wolves, one of which attacks a herd of cattle from its beginning and the other from its end, are as detrimental to one's creed as loving distinction and a high station. Therefore, the worldly mastership is rejected in the eyes of Allah's friends who hate it as the Master of the Pious has said, 'By the One Who split the seed and created the breeze, had it not been for the presence of what is present..., you would have found this world of yours less important in my esteem than a goat's sneeze.' One who treads this path must take this love out of his heart, even if it means dropping his esteem from public eyes if he does not feel secure regarding the ills and detriments of his own nuts, just as severing a part of the body is permissible, even obligatory, when there is concern about the health of the rest of the bodily parts. Therefore, the virtuous al-Naraqi has narrated in his hook Mi'raj al-Sa'ada about a scholar reciting the Qur'an in front of their students and sincere ones deliberately in a way about which they claim he has no knowledge and that he is illiterate. Committing a small harm in order to attain a great deal of goodness is rational and according to the Shari'a permissible. This concept has many testimonials from those who tread the path towards Aim, and many refer to it in their poems.

One of the men of knowledge says, "I saw once in a vision someone whom I did not know. He handed me a piece of paper and ordered me to sign it. I signed it without knowing what is written in it or be familiar with its contents. Once I have signed it, the person who gave it to me said, 'Our narrative is quite hard: it is not tolerated except by an angel who is near to Allah, or a sent prophet, or a servant whose heart Allah tested with conviction.' He read this tradition and said, 'I undoubtedly choose humiliation.' So, I woke up from my sleep and came to know that I had signed the document of my humiliation among the people so I may win through such humiliation the ability to bear the difficult traditions and the secrets of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be with them." This topic has a lengthy continuation, so we shall leave it for its place and people.

Generally, the impurities of hidden pretension arc numerous, countless. As much as one realizes on his own about how a human being or an animal becomes acquainted with his adoration, he still has a branch of pretension. Since he has no hope set on animals and infants being thus acquainted with his adoration, he does not care whether they are present [when he is involved in an act of adoration] or if they are absent, whether they notice his adoration or not. If one is sincere, having no desire about anyone [with regard to his acts of adoration], lie will think very lowly of their knowledge of his acts of adoration because he knows that they, too, are like children: They cannot bring him sustenance, nor can they bear any impact on his destiny, nor increase his rewards. Rather, they cannot bring their own selves any good, or any harm, or death, or life, or resurrection ..., etc.

At this point, in order to explain what we are driving at, we have to submit a question because the matter is very important: We see most people feeling glad when their good deeds are recognized; so, is such feeling of happiness lauded by the Shari'a, or is it held as contemptible?

The answer is that it is not lauded at all, nor is it held as contemptible either. Instead, it is praised in some cases and held with contempt in others. Here are the details :

The lauded one falls into four categories :

The FIRST is that one's intention is to hide the acts of obedience and sincerity to Allah, but when people noticed what he was doing, he has to remember that Allah, the most Praised One, by virtue of His Attribute expressed in this supplication: "0 One Who manifests what is beautiful!" has manifested something beautiful, so he is led to think that Allah has fared well with him: The perfection of His munificence is that He hides obedience and disobedience. But Allah, due to the beauty of His care, hides the man's acts disobedience whHe manifesting those of his obedience. This is a great act of kindness from the part of Allah Almighty in his regard, hence the man is very happy on account of Allah having done such a nice thing for him, not because people praise what he has done or the status in their hearts which he now occupies. It is as though he sees through it that Allah, due to His favor and mercy, has accepted his deed, so he is happy about it. "Say: 'In the bounty of Allah, and in I His mercy, let them rejoice!'" (Qur'an, 10:58). The SECOND is that his happiness stems from I his conviction that] since Allah Almighty manifests what is beautiful in him whHe covering up what is ugly in this life, He will do likewise in the Hereafter as well, for Allah is the Lord of the Hereafter and of this life. Actually, His mercy in the Hereafter is broader than it is in the life of this world as referred to in the traditions. It is as though he is repeating what Imam Zayn al-'Abidin (a.s) has said in one of his supplications thus: "Lord! Just Os You have covered up sins that I have committed in this life, I have a greater need that You will veil them in the Hereafter." His elation in the first case is due to accepting what is in the present time without considering the future, whHe in the second his mind is set about the future. One tradition states the following: "When Allah covers up the sin of one of His servants in the life of this world, He covers it up for him in the Hereafter as well."

The THIRD is that his elation stems from his belief that hopefully those who see his act of adoration will emulate him, hence he will have an increase in the rewards. Even if he undertakes the action publicly with this same intention, he will not be violating the spirit of sincerity: He will have the reward, due to his intention, as though he undertook that deed privately firstly, and secondly due to Allah Almighty manifesting his deed and letting others emulate his act of obedience to Him, and one who thus feels elated is quite justified. The manifestation of indications of benefit is sweet and undoubtedly prompts one to be happy bout it.

The FOURTH is this: When he sees how those who noticed his act of adoration praise him for being obedient to his Lord, he will feel happy and glad that they, too, obey Allah and love to see people obeying Him as well; their hearts incline towards the good deeds. There are some people who see obedient people and hold them in contempt, or feel envious, or speak ill of them, or ridicule them, or charge them with pretension rather than praise them for their act of adoration. This elation is due to seeing how good the belief of Allah's servants is, how good their souls are. The sign of sincerity in this type is that one feels happy when people praise someone else just as he feels happy when they praise him, perhaps even more so, as it is quite obvious.

As regarding what is contemptible, it is when one feels happy for having earned a status in the hearts of people, so people may now praise and magnify him: This is hated and is contemptible, and surely Allah knows best.