'Ujb (self-conceit)

Priority: c, Quality: b
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Ethics

Moral Verses
Ifk Verses • Al-Ukhuwwa Verse • Al-It'am Verse • Al-Naba' Verse • Najwa Verse • Verse of Trusts • Al-Sulh Verse

Moral Hadiths
Hadith of qurb al-nawafil • Hadith Makarim al-akhlaq • Hadith of Mi'raj • Hadith Junud al-'Aql wa l-Jahl

Moral Virtues
Humility • Contentment • Generosity • Controlling Anger • Truthfulness • Hilm (forbearance) • Asceticism • Bravery • Chastity • Insaf (Equity) • Silat al-Rahim • Wara' • Islah dhat al-bayn

Moral Vices
Hubris • Greed • Envy • Lie • Backbiting • Namima (Talebearing) • Miserliness • Disobedience to Parents • 'Ujb (self-conceit) • Sum'a • Cutting blood relation • Spreading grave sins • Ingratitude • Hypocrisy • Tabdhir

Moral Terminologies
Jihad with the self • Self-critical soul • Commanding Soul • Soul at peace • Self-reckoning • Muraqaba • Musharata • Sin • Morality lessons • Istidraj

Scholars of Ethics
Muhammad Mahdi Naraqi • Ahmad al-Naraqi • Sayyid 'Ali Qadi Tabataba'i • Sayyid Rida Baha' al-Dini • Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Dastghayb • Muhammad Taqi Bahjat

References of Ethics

Qur'an • Nahj al-balagha • Misbah al-shari'a wa miftah al-haqiqa • Makarim al-Akhlaq • Al-Mahajjat al-bayda' • Tanbih al-khawatir wa nuzhat al-nawazir • Jami' al-sa'adat • Mi'raj al-sa'ada • Al-Muraqabat

Al-'Ujb or self-conceit (Arabic: العُجب) , which is among moral vices, means being pleased of one's own good deeds and considering them great, and knowing them merits of his own, not from God. In ethics, issues such as power, beauty, lineage and multitude of children have been mentioned as the causes of self-conceit, development of arrogance, the spoilage of good deeds and wisdom are mentioned among its consequences.

Scholars of ethics consider 'ujb caused by ignorance and believe that it is cured by awareness and knowledge. They also believe that this moral vice should be cured by curing its causes and origins.

The Concept

'Ujb (self-conceit) means being pleased of one's own good deeds when the person considers them merits of his own, and forgets their bestowal by God and does not fear their spoilage.[1] However, Mulla Ahmad Naraqi considered 'ujb, caused by assuming a merit to have in one's self.

Connection with Takabbur (Arrogance) and Idlal

'Ujb has a meaning close to "takabbur" (arrogance), different from that regarding the formation of 'ujb, one does not compare himself with others, but in takabbur, the person considers himself superior to others.[2]

The difference between "'Ujb" and "Idlal", it has been said that 'ujb is considering one's own deeds great and themselves obliging God by doing some deeds and acts of worship; however, in idlal, in addition to all the mentioned, the person considers himself rightful, which makes him fearless and brazen.[3]

Causes

Scholars of ethics have mentioned different causes and motives leading to 'ujb. In al-Mahajjat al-bayda, Fayd Kashani mentioned the causes 'ujb to be, beauty and attractiveness, power and competence, cleverness and intelligence, lineage and family origin, relationship with kings and men of power, multitude of children, wealth and property and power of thought.[4] They also considered verse 25 of Qur'an 9, verse 2 of Qur'an 59 and verse 104 of Qur'an 18 related with 'ujb.[5] al-Naraqi said that 'ujb in the acts of worship disagrees with their philosophy which is demonstration of humility before God.[6]

Consequences

Some consequences have been mentioned for 'ujb in hadiths:

  • Spoilage of good deeds: It is transmitted from the Prophet (s) that 'ujb spoils one's 70 years of good deeds.[7] Also, according to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), two people entered a mosque, one of them was a wicked person and the other was a worshipper; but when they were coming out of the mosque, the wicked person had turned into a worshipper and the worshipper had turned into a wicked person, because the worshipper was plagued with 'ujb and was proud of his worships, but the wicked person had thought about repentance and repented.[8]
  • Arrogance: 'ujb is considered among the cause of arrogance.[9]
  • Forgetting sins or considering them unimportant
  • Considering good deeds and acts of worship too great and obliging God by them.[10]

In hadiths, spoilage of wisdom,[11] destruction[12] and loneliness[13] are mentioned among the consequences of 'ujb. Also, 'ujb is introduced as an obstacle for acquiring knowledge[14] and reaching perfections.[15]

According to a hadith in Nahj al-balagha, a sin which makes human being sad or makes him apologize for it is better than a good deed which leads him to self-conceit.[16]

Cure

According to a will of Imam al-Baqir (a) to Jabir b. Yazid Ju'fi, the path of 'ujb (self-conceit) to the heart should be blocked by knowing the self.[17]

Fayd Kashani knew 'ujb a disease caused by ignorance and foolishness and since every disease can be cured by its antidote, he believed that 'ujb can be cured by knowledge and awareness.[18] Fayd and some other scholars of ethics believe that to cure 'ujb, one must pay attention to its causes, because the cause of 'ujb is a blessing of God such as beauty, power or multitude of children; so, human being should observe that God Who has given him these blessings can take them back from him in a blink of an eye and takes lesson from those who had such blessings during the history, but did not use them in a proper way. For example, the cure for a kind of 'ujb caused by power and competence is observing the Glory of God's power and also caring about the stages of human being's creation to see from what he has been created. Also, if one's 'ujb is because of one's power of thought, the cure would be that the person always gives a possibility for inaccuracy of his opinions, unless he has a definite proof for their validity from the Qur'an or hadiths and also presents them to prominent thinkers.[19]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 276.
  2. ↑ Ibn Qudama, Mukhtaṣar minhāj al-qāṣidīn, p. 227-228.
  3. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 276.
  4. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 282-287.
  5. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 236.
  6. ↑ Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 1, p. 333.
  7. ↑ Pāyanda, Nahj al-faṣāḥa, p. 285.
  8. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 314.
  9. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 275; Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 1, p. 325.
  10. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 275; Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 1, p. 325.
  11. ↑ Āmadī, Ghurar al-ḥikam, p. 388.
  12. ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 313.
  13. ↑ Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, p. 6.
  14. ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 69, p. 199.
  15. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, p. 817.
  16. ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, p. 477.
  17. ↑ Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl, p. 285.
  18. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 277.
  19. ↑ Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ, vol. 6, p. 282-289; Narāqī, Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt, vol. 1, p. 326-344.

References

  • Nahj al-balāgha. Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ. Qom: Hijrat, 1414 AH.
  • Āmadī, ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Muḥammad al-. Ghurar al-ḥikam wa durar al-kalim. Edited by Mahdī Rajāʾī. Qom: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmī, 1410 AH.
  • Fayḍ al-Kāhsānī, Muḥammad b. Murtaḍā al-. Al-Maḥajja al-bayḍāʾ. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Muʾassisat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, [n.d].
  • Ibn Qudama. Mukhtaṣar minhāj al-qāṣidīn. Edited by Shuʿayb & Abd al-Qādir Arnāʿūṭ. Damascus: [n.p], 1398 AH.
  • Ibn Shuʿba al-Ḥarrānī, Ḥasan b. ʿAlī. Tuḥaf al-ʿuqūl. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī. Qom: Daftar-i Nashr-i Islāmī, 1363 Sh.
  • Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Edited by ʿAlī Akbar Ghaffārī & Muḥammad Ākhūndī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Narāqī, Muḥammad Mahdī. Jāmiʿ al-saʿādāt. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Maṭbūʿātī-yi Irānīyān, 1963.
  • Pāyanda, Abū l-Qāsim. Nahj al-faṣāḥa. Tehran: Dānish, 1382 Sh.
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