Article appeared Friday, October 31st, 2014 in The News Today, Bangladesh

The Reelation !3"1# yo$s$% &ahb$b$l 'sla&, (h)

)oes arrogance reap bene%its* Be%ore loo+ing at its possible bene%its, let $s loo+ at the
de%initions and other doc$&ented tho$ghts on arrogance, An applied de%inition o% arrogance is
gien in the website {1} with a slogan o% discovering who and what we are:
-arrogance is a way o% &anip$lating others. perceptions o% yo$rsel% in order to aoid
ta+ing a /hit0 to yo$r sel%1estee&, 'n this case, howeer, the basic strategy is to get
others to see yo$ as special, per%ect or %lawless 2 dierting attention %ro& yo$r ordinary
i&per%ections, wea+nesses and %ailings 2 and thereby +eeping yo$r sel%1estee&
arti%icially in%lated, {1}
3o, arrogance helps to artificially in%late the sel%1estee& or the ego o% people who conscio$sly or
s$b1conscio$sly %eel the need to boost their sel%1i&portance, Other words $sed {1} to describe
this personality trait are egotis&, conceit and grandiosity, Analysing the roots o% this character
trait, the British poet, 3a&$el B$tler !143" 1 1502#, &aintains that n$rt$ring arrogance is a sign
o% ignorance,
The truest characters of ignorance are vanity and pride and arrogance. {2}
The website titled Causes of Arrogance {3} disc$sses in detail the aspect o% ignorance or lac+ o%
deep tho$ght that can s$pport %eelings o% arrogance, 't shows that things that &ay s$pport the
%eeling o% arrogance, e.g., wealth, power, bea$ty, yo$th, stat$s, prestige, intelligence and
ed$cation are all relatie and te&porary, 6$st li+e the ti&e we hae le%t on earth, 7e hae no
control oer o$r death, nor do we +now when we will die, Not only do arrogant people annoy
others by their arti%icial s$periority, in addition, the website titled 2KnowMyself {4} points o$t that
by being arrogant one denies the %aors o% the 8reator,
'n &ost religions arrogance is considered a spirit$al disease si&ply beca$se thin+ing
that yo$ are s$perior &eans that yo$ clai& that yo$ are the only one responsible %or yo$r
s$ccess and !in doing# so, i&plicitly deny the role o% 9od, {4}
For e:a&ple, in response to the ;$estion, What does the Bible say about arrogance! the
website {5} responds with the %ollowing state&ent,
The words arrogance, arrogant, "roud and haughty are &entioned oer 200 ti&es in
the N'< Bible, And in practically eery occ$rrence, it is a behaior or attit$de detested by
9od, The Bible tells $s those who are arrogant and hae a ha$ghty heart are an
abo&ination to =i&>- {5}
8iting a partic$lar erse, in the Bible,
?eryone who is arrogant in heart is an abo&ination to the @OR)A be ass$red, he will
not go $np$nished, B(roerbs 1C>", ?3<D {6}
'n the sa&e ein, in the E$r.an, the 8reator points o$t that =e +nows o% the secret ;$est %or
greatness in the hearts o% those who are arrogant,
Fndo$btedly Allah +nows what they conceal and what they reeal> verily #e loves not
the arrogant. B1C,23D
F$rther, the %eeling o% s$periority preents arrogant people %ro& belieing in the words o% the
=oly 3cript$res, the acco$ntability on the )ay o% G$dg&ent and the li%e with the 8reator a%ter
death as pointed o$t in the %ollowing <erse o% the E$r.an,
Ho$r Allah is One Allah> as to those who beliee not in the =erea%ter their hearts re%$se
to +now as they are arrogant. B1C,22D
As a res$lt, on the )ay o% G$dg&ent, it will be said to the arrogant,
3o enter the gates o% =ell to dwell therein !%oreer#, $hus evil indeed is the %final&
abode of the arrogant. B1C,25D
7e are being warned that on the )ay o% G$dg&ent the 8reator.s 6$stice will preail, Those who
denied the %aors o% the 8reator will be in serio$s tro$ble, Being Iost Ierci%$l, Allah does not
want s$ch an eent$al %ate %or any h$&an being 1 beings to who& =e has gien so &$ch, As
s$ch, =e has repeatedly e&powered apostles to warn o% s$ch an eent$ality %or the arrogant,
Then a%ter hi& 7e sent !&any# apostles to their (eoples> they bro$ght the& 8lear
3igns b$t they wo$ld not beliee what they had already re6ected be%orehand, Th$s do
7e seal the hearts o% the transgressors, B10,J4D
A%ter repeated initations to consider and re%lect on the tr$th, i% the arrogant contin$e to co&e $p
with e:c$ses to deny the %aors o% the 8reator, Allah withdraws the opport$nity to beliee,
3o&eti&es, as lessons, Allah de&onstrates =is Annoyance towards arrogant persons while on
earth, As a well doc$&ented e:a&ple, Allah wants $s to learn %ro& the nat$re o% e:c$ses that
(haraoh gae, to aoid %acing the tr$th, when =e sent Ioses !pb$h# and Aaron to inite hi&,
10.75 Then after them We sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his hiefs !ith
"#r $i%ns &s'eia( mira(es). But they were arrogant: the* !ere a 'eo'(e in sin.
Their arrogance preented the& %ro& re%lecting on the Tr$th and accepting the reality o% the
8reator, To &isg$ide hi&sel% and those with hi&, he ca&e $p with ario$s e:c$ses, =e %irst
clai&ed that the &iracles de&onstrated were so&e +ind o% &agic,
10.76 When the Tr#th did ome to them from +s the* said, "This is indeed
evident sorcery!"
Ioses pleaded with the& to consider the &iracles as 3igns %ro& the 8reator,
10.77 $aid Moses, -$a* *o# &this) a.o#t the Tr#th !hen it has &at#a((*) reahed
*o#/ Is sorcery (like) this? 0#t sorerers !i(( not 'ros'er.-
(haraoh %eared that accepting the Tr$th wo$ld bring down the %aKade o% s$periority that he had
b$ilt aro$nd hi&, 3o instead he acc$sed Ioses o% a ;$est %or greatness L another e:c$se,
10.71 The* said, -2a3e *o# ome to #s to t#rn #s a!a* from the !a*s We fo#nd
o#r fathers fo((o!in% in order that you and your brother may have greatness in
the land? But we shall not believe in you!"
(haraoh then ca&e $p with another %li&sy e:c$se regarding the religion o% his %ore%athers,
7hen they are told to %ollow the !reelation# that Allah has sent down they say> MNay we
shall %ollow the ways that we %o$nd o$r %athers !%ollowing#,M As+, what, een i% it is 3atan
bec+oning to the (enalty o% the !BlaNing# Fire* B31,21D
11111
{4otes}>
{1} http>OOpersonalityspirit$ality,netOarticlesOthe1&ichael1teachingsOchie%1%eat$resOarroganceO
{2} http>OOwww,brainy;$ote,co&O;$otesO;$otesOsOsa&$elb$tl344041,ht&l
{3} http>OOwww,har$nyahya,co&OenOBoo+sO5C1Othe1arrogance1o%1satanOchapterO1432
{4} http>OOwww,2+now&ysel%,co&O)e%initionPo%ParrogancePpsychologyOs$periorityPh$&bleness
{5} http>OOwww,got;$estions,orgOBible1arrogance,ht&l
{6} http>OObibleh$b,co&OproerbsO1C1",ht&