Do not think of yourself as being better than others

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Original illustration. View image

...هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِكُمْ إِذْ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ الْأَرْضِ وَإِذْ أَنتُمْ أَجِنَّةٌ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ ۖ فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ

huwa a’lamu bikum iz ansha akum minal ardi wa iz antum ajinnatun fee butooni umma haatikum falaa tuzakkooo anfusakum huwa a’lamu bimanit taqaa

Part of ayat An-Najm (The Star) - 53:32 He is fully aware of you when He brings you into being out of dust, and when you are still hidden in your mothers’ wombs: do not, then, consider your­selves pure - [for] He knows best as to who is conscious of Him.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا يَسْخَرْ قَومٌ مِّن قَوْمٍ عَسَى أَن يَكُونُوا خَيْرًا مِّنْهُمْ وَلَا نِسَاء مِّن نِّسَاء عَسَى أَن يَكُنَّ خَيْرًا مِّنْهُنَّ وَلَا تَلْمِزُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَلَا تَنَابَزُوا بِالْأَلْقَابِ بِئْسَ الاِسْمُ الْفُسُوقُ بَعْدَ الْإِيمَانِ وَمَن لَّمْ يَتُبْ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ

Yaaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo laa yaskhar qawmum min qawmin ‘asaaa anyyakoonoo khairam minhum wa laa nisaaa’um min nisaaa’in ‘Asaaa ay yakunna khairam minhunna wa laa talmizooo anfusakum wa laa tanaabazoo bil alqaab; bi’sal ismul fusooqu ba’dal eemaan; wa mal-lam yatub fa-ulaaa’ika humuz zaalimoon

Al-Hujurat (The Private Chambers) 49:11 O YOU who have attained to faith! No men shall deride [other] men: it may well be that those [whom they deride] are better than themselves; and no women [shall deride other] women: it may well be that those [whom they deride] are better than them­selves. And neither shall you defame one another, nor insult one another by [opprobrious] epithets: evil is all imputation of iniquity after [one has attained to] faith; and they who [become guilty thereof and] do not repent - it is they, they who are evildoers!

Lesson 1:

A teaching tale tells of a diligent young man who wanted to learn Islam from the best of the best scholars. Perfect teachers. He settled on the criterion that a great scholar must be great in his deeds, so he would learn only from those in whom he found no mistakes, let alone sins.

He went up to a scholar, and requested permission to stay with him, and to learn from him with the caveat that if he found any shortcomings, he would leave without further ado. And it so happened that after several days he found something in the scholar that he did not like, and so he left.

Then he went looking for another scholar, and after several weeks, he found one, and repeated the process. After a few days, he left dejected due to something similar. Finally, after several years of seeking, and spending time in the company of scholars, it is said that the number of scholars rejected by him reached ninety-nine. So he was hoping against hope that the next one, that is, the hundredth, would meet his standard so that he could learn from him.

So, he told this hundredth fellow, a pious, wise old man, the terms of his search. The old saint arranged for him to be well fed and rested, and said he would reply the next morning. Here is what he had to say:

"Son, do not wait to find one defect/flaw in me, for rest assured, I have many. You will be wasting your time. So, I have asked my family to prepare provisions for your return journey. However, since you have traveled far and wide to get here, let me offer you an idea, or some advice, if you so wish it."

The young man was open to listening to the advice. So the old man went on:

"Based on what you said, you have traveled thousands of miles and spent years seeking out a perfect teacher or scholar, and yet, all you have to show for it is ninety-nine flaws that you found in others. Had you decided, instead, to pick one good trait from each of them, as of now, you would have been richer by ninety-nine good character traits, and who knows, perhaps become a teacher in your own right. How wonderful that would have been!"

Hearing this, the youth was shocked, and was awakened to his folly and at the same time was hit with the realization that this hundredth teacher was the teacher he had been looking for.

Lesson 2:

In this modern retelling of a Nasruddin tale, an old gentleman in ordinary clothes was queuing for a security check at the gates of a banquet hall. On clearing the metal detector and the physical search, he entered the banquet hall and said “As-salaamu Alayikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh ”. Before he could reach the Mercy of Allah (“Rahmatullah”) in his utterance, he was surrounded by the guards and the Assistant Banquet Manager (ABM), who, not impressed by his attire, told the gentleman:
“This is a closed event. Are you aware that you cannot enter the banquet hall, unless invited?”
“Oh, but I am….. Invited, I mean”, he said calmly.
“Yeah sure, but the banquet is reserved for distinguished guests only, so may I please see your invitation?” they said, not believing him. After all, how could someone so poorly dressed be a guest at the Sultan’s banquet?
“Actually, I am not carrying it with me,” he replied confidently.
“So you are a distinguished guest?” the ABM asked.
“Well, no,” replied the old man.
“Then you must be more than that, a diplomat perhaps?” asked the ABM in a ridiculing tone.
“No, not really”, said the old man.
“So you are a minister, perhaps?”
“No, not that either”.
"Oho! So you must be the Sultan himself, sir," said the ABM sarcastically, obviously running low on his patience reserves.
“No, I am sure I am not the Sultan!”
“Hmm? So you must be higher than the Sultan? But wait, nobody is higher than the Sultan in this land! Get rid of this beggar” so saying he signaled to the guards to get rid of him.
“Now you have it,” he exclaimed, and everyone froze, “I am ‘Nobody!’” he continued. Before anyone could make sense of what he had said, sounds of commotion were heard near the main gates, indicating the arrival of the Sultan. Everyone ran to their respective positions, and the gentleman shrugged his shoulders and proceeded towards the exit.

Several hours later, a vaguely familiar guest was behaving rather strangely, dipping his cuffs in the punch-bowl. As if that was not weird enough, he started ladling custard down the front of his rather dazzling brocade coat (with ivory buttons and semi-precious stones lining the epaulets). Not only that, he put his turban on the banquet table and applied caviar on to it.
The head-waiter rushed towards him, as if with the intent of offering him a juice or something to calm him down. Suddenly in one swift, unexpected motion the guest picked up the bottle and threw it across the hallway, smashing it to smithereens. A hushed silence fell over the banquet table, as the attention of the Sultan was drawn to him. We did not know what to expect, when the gentleman uttered:
“Apparently the juice has taught the bottle to fly, but it has yet to teach it the art of landing properly.” Then addressing his coat and turban, he said “Thanks to Allah, you have had your fill.”
So saying, the merry gentleman, covered in all sorts of delicious sweetmeats, excused himself from the table, when the Sultan addressed him, much to the surprise of all and sundry.
“O Noble and August Shaykh Nasruddin, did anything displease you?”, asked the Sultan, with utmost respect.
“No,” replied the gentleman, who, it seems, was Nasruddin Hodja.
“No, not at all, I was just feeding these robes of brocade for what is their right,” said he, rather nonchalantly.
At this point, the Sultan asked “What could be the meaning of this, O Master of Masters?”
He replied, “The banquet invitation was meant for these robes, for they were welcome here, and not I, when I came a while back without them”.
So saying, he took leave and left.