How Do We Practice Loving and Accepting Ourselves without Falling into Arrogance?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

How do we practice loving and accepting ourselves without falling into the sin of arrogance?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Loving oneself and accepting oneself is based on the inherent dignity that Allah Most High gave all humans. It means that we uphold our God-given dignity out of gratitude for the blessing of existence.

Allah Most High says, “Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.” [Quran, 17:70]

However, this dignified state is shared by all humans, so it is in no way a point of comparison between us and others, such that we consider ourselves better than others. That would be where arrogance starts.

Related:
Should I Love and Accept Myself or Only Rely on Allah?
How Does One Practice Self-Acceptance, That Is, Loving and Accepting Oneself?

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.