Pride in Islam

Amouna

Pride is for God alone. This is because pride usually stems from believing you are better than others because of this thing you are 'proud' of.

It is much better to just be happy and grateful to God.

If you followed God's guidance to get a good job and you eventually got that job, you are just doing what you are supposed to do. You shouldn't feel proud that you followed God's guidance.

Releasing pride is just another step along the journey of following God alone.

Aryan_Warrior

Pride is for God alone. This is because pride usually stems from believing you are better than others because of this thing you are 'proud' of.

It is much better to just be happy and grateful to God.

If you followed God's guidance to get a good job and you eventually got that job, you are just doing what you are supposed to do. You shouldn't feel proud that you followed God's guidance.

Releasing pride is just another step along the journey of following God alone.

But pride doesn't always include arrogance. One can be proud of their son for getting good grades or how about being proud of overcoming the challenges and beating a video game?

And in regards to say a job, its "guidance" meaning one could reject the call of guidance and not to it, or strive hard to make it work. Thus couldn't one be proud of themselves for working hard to make such a thing happen?

Plus arrogance i'd think would be a separate catagory which would involve boasting I believe (which I believe there is a direct verse in the Quran mentioning "arrogant boasters" not being liked by God.

Also based on what i've realized in the Quran, examples of pride and arrogance are apparently ones that make him disobedient and rebellious to God, such as Iblis or Qarun

Aryan_Warrior

So this has been something i've been wondering about and surprisingly couldn't find a thread on it here.

The traditionalists always mention how evil pride is and such and always use hadiths to prove their point.

What is the view on pride according to the Quranists?

I am aware that pride in regards to things God does for you such as when you ask him for something, you get it and then take claim of that thing as your own due to pride.

But what about say simple things like being proud of your family? or proud you beat a video game? or proud of getting a new job?

Or how about being both thankful to God of the wealth you seeked from him and proud that you managed to use Gods guidance to get it?

As well i've heard that pride and arrogance are apparently ones that make him disobedient and rebellious to God, such as Iblis whos pride and arrogence prevented him from prostrating to Adam which led to deceiving humans later. Or another example being Qarun, who was blessed with money and using his money (which is basically a form of power) and betrayed the Isrealites + Moses and sided with the Pharaoh.

So yes I would like your opinion on this.

Thanks you.

Amouna

So what is the difference from being proud of your son for getting good grades or being happy that your son got good grades?

Pride a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

http//dictionary.reference.com/browse/pride

Aryan_Warrior

So what is the difference from being proud of your son for getting good grades or being happy that your son got good grades?

Pride a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

http//dictionary.reference.com/browse/pride

Well that is the thing, that some traditionalists seem to define pride as even simply being satisfied or happy over someone elses or your own accomplishments even if it doesn't involve thinking you are better than others. Course they are also of the opinion that pride if you die on it is also instant hell like Shirk O_O which I know for a fact isn't the case as the Quran definitely did not compare them.

Regardless in the past while, I have been doing research on various verses on arrogance and pride, and they all in the end seem to refer to those who reject the truth. I am not fully done as i'm still analyzing but this is quite interesting in contrast to what the traditionalists seem to say.

huruf

In english I think two different things come under the word pride. A legitimate one and an ilegitimate one.

If you have been through very hard trials, and you have been tempted, and you kmow how you would have fallen for the temptation if you didn't exert all your faith and patiente, when it is through it logical that you feel some exultation ofr having gone trough it unscathed. You feel relief, you feel hapiness about your own performance. If you reproach yourself when you do something wrong, and you know it, why wouldn't you congratulate yourself when you do something right. It took effort, it took trust in God.

Provided as others have said, that you do not think that somes from youi, but that it comes from God, and that you are above all grateful to Him, there is reason to be happy as when you have a child and you get congratulations. Your good deeds are your children. Compliments for what one does well are and adecation tool of the best, why be stingy with yourself if you know you exert. ed yourself and if you give thanks to Whom guided you and inspired you? That will give you strength next time too, since you know you did it once.

Salaam

Aryan_Warrior

In english I think two different things come under the word pride. A legitimate one and an ilegitimate one.

If you have been through very hard trials, and you have been tempted, and you kmow how you would have fallen for the temptation if you didn't exert all your faith and patiente, when it is through it logical that you feel some exultation ofr having gone trough it unscathed. You feel relief, you feel hapiness about your own performance. If you reproach yourself when you do something wrong, and you know it, why wouldn't you congratulate yourself when you do something right. It took effort, it took trust in God.

Provided as others have said, that you do not think that somes from youi, but that it comes from God, and that you are above all grateful to Him, there is reason to be happy as when you have a child and you get congratulations. Your good deeds are your children. Compliments for what one does well are and adecation tool of the best, why be stingy with yourself if you know you exert. ed yourself and if you give thanks to Whom guided you and inspired you? That will give you strength next time too, since you know you did it once.

Salaam

Well it is well understood that all comes from God but how about when say someone builds up skill? Say you are playing a tough video game and you finally beat it after training yourself a good amount of hours. I would think feeling proud of yourself in doing so is fine. But the question is that when playing a game, one isn't thinking about God right at that moment so when one does the accomplishment they are proud of themselves and might not have asked God for help in getting better at it.

While I understand that one shouldn't take pride if they asked God for help as then God would have helped you with that thing, though a bit of pride for making that guidance come to fruitition seems fine it seems.

Also in my continuing research of pride and arrogence throughout the Quran, I still haven't come up with any evidence of pride and arrogence referring to anything but those who reject Gods laws and truth. This so far seems to have ranged from rejecting messengers, rejecting to submission and turning others away from it too, paying charity.

The only thing seems to be boasting that is mentioned in that we shouldn't boast. Even boasting seems to have its range from Qarun who boasted about his riches. The other one which i'm not too sure on yet is that boasting with regards to making others feel bad or putting them down seems to be the one God doesn't like.

Thus it seems that in the end it arrogance and pride seems to be something that is fine as long as it doesn't lead to rejecting God and his laws. Afterall many of us have that feeling and its quite impossible for one to be completely clean of it I'd think, thus why God has stated for us not to boast in the end it seems as boasting is its outward action

Jafar

Also in my continuing research of pride and arrogence throughout the Quran, I still haven't come up with any evidence of pride and arrogence referring to anything but those who reject Gods laws and truth. This so far seems to have ranged from rejecting messengers, rejecting to submission and turning others away from it too, paying charity.

Thus it seems that in the end it arrogance and pride seems to be something that is fine as long as it doesn't lead to rejecting God and his laws. Afterall many of us have that feeling and its quite impossible for one to be completely clean of it I'd think, thus why God has stated for us not to boast in the end it seems as boasting is its outward action P

"The servants of The Most Gracious/Caring (Ar-Rahman) are those who walk on the earth in humbleness and when the ignorants address them they say "Peace!"."
(2563)

The verse show it all.. the main criterion for "God's servant" is shown on their 'humility' and 'peacefulness'.
Another way that you can do on you 'search for pride/arrogance' in the Quran is try to look for it's opposite; which is "Humility and Humbleness".

There are lot of stories in the Quran how pride / proudness and arrogance causes people or beings to be fallen from grace. The 'fall' of "Iblis" is another example, he's too proud to pay a 'respect' towards a being which is made of 'soil'. The 'destroyed people' is also another example.

The 'bad-ness' of "Pride" is a common theme shared among philosophical ideas all around the world, from Torah to Gospel to Gita to Tao Te Ching.

"Pride brings its own trouble."
"When you have accomplished your goal"
"Simply walk away."
"This is the pathway to Heaven."
-- Tao Te Ching

"Everyone that exalt himself shall be abased; and he that humbled himself shall be exalted"
Luke 18

The 'trap of being proud' / pride are also apparent across history.. Many nations/civilizations downfall also primarily due to their 'pride'.

On everything.. don't be proud yet don't be ashamed as well... choose something in between.. and always be humble at all time.. as those are the trait of God's true servant...

Salam / Peace

Aryan_Warrior