Is Condemning Wrongdoing in Others Arrogance?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
We shouldn’t have arrogance but how should we think or feel when we see someone oppressing and committing crimes against others? Is arrogance ever okay in such situations?
Answer
Arrogance is seeing yourself as better than others. This is forbidden. Condemning the wrong others do does not entail one feeling they are superior to them. Rather, it is a recognition of the other party doing something that is unacceptable. They two are different.
You should speak out and condemn the oppression, but if you fear the pride and arrogance creeping in, turn to Allah and ask for forgiveness. Remember that Allah’s favour on us is immense, and had it not been for His favour we could be in such a horrible situation, doing such things.
Allah tells us of this in the Quran, “Had it not been for the generosity of Allah upon you, and His mercy, none of you would ever have been purified…” (Quran, 24:21) Reflect on this and see that any favour or goodness we have has come as a gift from Allah. We have no reason to think we are better than anyone.
May Allah fill our hearts with gratitude and appropriate humility. Amin.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.
