The Essence of Islam – Volume II — Page 360
360. Essence of Islam II characteristic of Satan and is displeasing to God. Satan manifested such pride, conceived that he was better than. Adam and claimed: انَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِنْ نَّارٍةٌ خَلَقْتَهُ مِنْ طِينٍ 148. The result was that he was rejected and expelled from the presence of God. [Speeches, p. 19]. Arrogance and mischief are evil. A slight mistake might destroy all the good achieved over a period of seventy long years. It is written of a holy man who dwelt in a mountain where no rain had fallen over a long period, that one day when rain fell over stones and rocks also, he felt that rain was needed by fields and gardens and that much of it which had fallen on stones and rocks had been wasted. It would have been of much greater benefit if it had fallen over cultivated fields. Thereupon. God Almighty deprived him of all holiness. He became very sorrowful and sought help from another holy person and was told in the end that he had offended God because of his criticism. [Malfūzāt, vol. VI, p. 57]. Arrogance is of many types. It sometimes emerges through the eye when a person looks contemptuously upon another deeming himself his superior. Sometimes it emerges through the tongue, or through the head, or through hands and feet. In short, there are many sources of arrogance and a believer should avoid all of them. He should take care that no one of his limbs should smell of arrogance or manifest it in any way. 148 I am better than he. Thou hast created me of fire and him hast. Thou created of clay. '-Şad, 38:77 [Publisher].