Bowing Our Heads in Humility

By: Mariam Al-Kalby

Moi, mi, ana, and well, me. The reigning attitude or motto that has permeated our way of thinking is all about the individual. I slaved through stacks of textbooks to get to UCLA, I have worked so much overtime interning at the law office to pay my tuition. I got this position as a director to pay for the house I bought; my Lexus is the money I earned by selling my shoe business.

Our life is saturated with “me” and we have forgotten that Allah (swt) is the One who has blessed us with our worldly fruits.

There is humility with Allah (swt): abstaining and condemning what is forbidden and promoting good. To do actions and behaving in order for Allah’s (swt) love to embrace us tighter. Then there is humility with the people around us: not being boastful, haughty, and arrogant.

The Prophet (saw) is the role model of what it is to be a humble person. How is it that we have forgotten this righteous path? We follow our Beloved with striving to complete the five pillars and yet we are unable to touch the North Star. We fall short of striving to inhale every smell of musk that emanates the air with the Prophet’s qualities.

It is well documented that the Prophet (saw) is held in great esteem for his superb traits and humility is just one of the many blooms from his garden.

It was narrated that al-Aswad said: “I asked ‘Aa’ishah what the Prophet (saw) used to do in his house, and she said”: “He used to serve his family and when the time for prayer came he would go out and pray” (Bukhari).

It is clear that it is permissible for a man to help with the household chores. The Prophet did not see himself as a superior in comparison to the rest of the people in the house. A Prophet, a man, a leader, the most perfect human being that has ever existed and yet the humility glows from his pious face.

With all of these titles, the Prophet is still gracious and humble enough to help and assist in things that needed to be completed within the family.

Another narration by Anas ibn Maalik said: “I never saw a man seeking the ear of the Prophet (saw) except that the Messenger of Allah would never turn his head from him, until the man turned his head first. Nor did I ever see a man take the hand of the Prophet (saw), except that the Messenger of Allah would never let his hand go until the man was the first to let the Prophet’s hand go” (Bukhari).

The Prophet (saw) is considered more than a king to us and yet his demeanor is quite the opposite of one. He lowers his wings and envelopes the believers in comfort and tranquility.

In this narration it is evident that Allah’s Messenger gave his sincere effort to assist any one who came his way; the Prophet was there for the Muslims until the believers felt they knew everything they needed to know and this hadeeth is a fact as well as a symbol that the Prophet (saw) did not let go until the believer was confident enough to do so.

Humility begins with accepting that Allah (swt) is the one who turns the earth on its axis, and that Allah (swt) is the Almighty controller and has given every strand of hair its strength with only His permission.

How dare we compete with Allah (swt) and think we are better than anybody? The Almighty is the ultimate Creator; therefore we should realize that nothing is more entitled to being so high but Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) does not like arrogance: “And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not each arrogant boaster” (31:18). Why should we be arrogant and compete with one of the ninety-nine attributes of the Almighty’s?

We are servants and servants are not stereotyped to be arrogant or boastful so it is hypocritical if we behave as one. All of the successes and wealth and glory of this dunya is possible because Allah has bestowed that power on us and He can turn all of this into dust if He wills it.

Allah’s Messenger stated: “Allah revealed to me that people should be humble with one another to the point that none boasts over another” (Muslim).

The Prophet (saw) himself said that Allah revealed this fact to the Ummah and it is an issue to be concerned with. Humility brings people together.

When believers start boasting and competing with one another, feelings get hurt, friendships crack, jealousy ensues, bonds crumble, and blackness seeps into the hearts of the believers. Because we are weak as humans, our spiritual piety shrivels and crawls towards the devil’s paradise of pride.

Humbleness is just one cherry blossom from the branches of Islamic etiquette, a golden sliver of the Muslim identity. We must bow our heads in humility like the way of the Prophet (saw) and pray Allah loves us as much as our Beloved.

Mariam Al-Kalby has a B.A. in English Education and Creative Writing