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HE does not love those who are arrogant [Quran 16:23] Absolutely, GOD knows everything they conceal and everything they declare. He does not love those who are arrogant.

Several times in the Quran, God admonishes us not to be arrogant as it is a trait that is disliked by Him.

[16:23] Absolutely, GOD knows everything they conceal and everything they declare. He does not love those who are arrogant.

In fact, arrogance–along with our egos–is what led to our downfall and brought us here in the first place. Interestingly, the first occurrence of the word ‘arrogant’ in the Quran brings into focus the reason for our creation and existence.

[2:34] When we said to the angels, "Fall prostrate before Adam," they fell prostrate, except Satan; he refused, was too arrogant, and a disbeliever.

God expelled Satan from His kingdom because of the latter’s arrogance.

[7:13] He said, "Therefore, you must go down, for you are not to be arrogant here. Get out; you are debased."

So, what is arrogance really?  Arrogance implies a feeling of superiority and overbearing pride. Strangely, no one likes arrogance. Even a very arrogant person will talk negatively about another’s arrogance. This shows that arrogance is not a desirable quality.

The Quran addresses arrogance on 2 levels:

1) In the conventional sense of arrogance, the Quran talks of the negative qualities in the human, such as pride, haughtiness, snobbery, hubris or the act of being a show off.

[31:18] "You shall not treat the people with arrogance, nor shall you roam the earth proudly. GOD does not like the arrogant showoffs.

2) In the second sense, the Quran talks about human arrogance in refusing to accept God, His revelations, His messages and/or His messengers.  It could be refusal to accept any one or all of these.
Many people who would be considered very “nice” or amiable and not arrogant (in the normal sense of the term) could be termed as arrogant when it comes to accepting God’s message.

[2:206] When he is told, "Observe GOD," he becomes arrogantly indignant. Consequently, his only destiny is Hell; what a miserable abode.

[6:93] Who is more evil than one who fabricates lies and attributes them to GOD, or says, "I have received divine inspiration," when no such inspiration was given to him, or says, "I can write the same as GOD's revelations?" If only you could see the transgressors at the time of death! The angels extend their hands to them, saying, "Let go of your souls. Today, you have incurred a shameful retribution for saying about GOD other than the truth, and for being too arrogant to accept His revelations.

[16:22] Your god is one god. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are denying, and they are arrogant.

[27:14] They rejected them and were utterly convinced of their wrong ways, due to their arrogance. Note the consequences for the evildoers.

[31:7] And when our revelations are recited to the one of them, he turns away in arrogance as if he never heard them, as if his ears are deaf. Promise him a painful retribution.

[38:2] Those who disbelieve have plunged into arrogance and defiance.

[39:59] Yes indeed (you did get enough chances). My proofs came to you, but you rejected them, turned arrogant, and became a disbeliever.

 [40:56] Surely, those who argue against GOD's revelations without proof are exposing the arrogance that is hidden inside their chests, and they are not even aware of it. Therefore, seek refuge in GOD; He is the Hearer, the Seer.

There are several examples in the Quran of arrogant people who refused to accept the message of God that He sent His messengers to deliver, including the people of Saleh, Shu’aib, Moses, Hûd, Noah etc.

[7:75] The arrogant leaders among his people said to the common people who believed, "How do you know that Sãleh is sent by his Lord?" They said, "The message he brought has made us believers."

[7:88] The arrogant leaders among his people said, "We will evict you, O Shu`aib, together with those who believed with you, from our town, unless you revert to our religion." He said, "Are you going to force us?

[7:133] Consequently, we sent upon them the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood–profound signs. But they maintained their arrogance. They were evil people.

[10:75] Then we sent after them Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh and his group, with our proofs. But they turned arrogant; and were transgressing people.

[10:83] None believed with Moses except a few of his people, while fearing the tyranny of Pharaoh and his elders. Surely, Pharaoh was much too arrogant on earth, and a real tyrant.

[41:15] As for `Ãd, they turned arrogant on earth, opposed the truth, and said, "Who is more powerful than we?" Did they not realize that GOD, who created them, is more powerful than they? They were unappreciative of our revelations.

[71:7] "Whenever I invited them to be forgiven by You, they placed their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their clothes, insisted, and turned arrogant.

Consequences of Arrogance

Obviously, if God dislikes this trait and we continue to behave arrogantly, there are several consequences that might befall us.

Painful retribution.

[4:173] As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, He will fully recompense them, and shower them with His grace. As for those who disdain and turn arrogant, He will commit them to painful retribution. They will find no lord beside GOD, nor a savior.

[7:36] As for those who reject our revelations, and are too arrogant to uphold them, they have incurred Hell, wherein they abide forever.

[7:40] Surely, those who reject our revelations and are too arrogant to uphold them, the gates of the sky will never open for them, nor will they enter Paradise until the camel passes through the needle's eye. We thus requite the guilty.

[16:29] Therefore, enter the gates of Hell, wherein you abide forever. What a miserable destiny for the arrogant ones.

[35:43] They resorted to arrogance on earth, and evil scheming, and the evil schemes only backfire on those who scheme them. Should they then expect anything but the fate of those who did the same things in the past? You will find that GOD's system is never changeable; you will find that GOD's system is immutable.

[39:60] On the Day of Resurrection you will see the faces of those who lied about GOD covered with misery. Is Hell not the right retribution for the arrogant ones?

[39:72] It will be said, "Enter the gates of Hell, wherein you abide forever." What a miserable destiny for the arrogant.

[45:7] Woe to every fabricator, guilty.
[45:8] The one who hears GOD's revelations recited to him, then insists arrogantly on his way, as if he never heard them. Promise him a painful retribution.

[46:20] The day will come when those who disbelieved will be introduced to the hellfire: "You have wasted the good chances given to you during your worldly life, and you rejoiced in them. Consequently, today you incur a shameful retribution as a requital for the arrogance you committed on earth without any basis, and for your evil works."

 [40:35] They argue against GOD's revelations, without any basis. This is a trait that is most abhorred by GOD and by those who believe. GOD thus seals the hearts of every arrogant tyrant.

 [40:60] Your Lord says, "Implore Me, and I will respond to you. Surely, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Gehenna, forcibly."

[40:76] Enter the gates of Gehenna, wherein you abide forever. What a miserable destiny for the arrogant ones.

God diverts revelations from those who are arrogant.

[7:146] I will divert from My revelations those who are arrogant on earth, without justification. Consequently, when they see every kind of proof they will not believe. And when they see the path of guidance they will not adopt it as their path, but when they see the path of straying they will adopt it as their path. This is the consequence of their rejecting our proofs, and being totally heedless thereof.

God is the only one who guides us to the correct path when we prove our willingness to accept His message. But if we are arrogant, He can mislead us while making us believe that we are on the correct path. Look at the traditionalists within Islam who refuse to accept God’s message, insist on adding the name of Muhammad to the proclamation of faith (shahada) against his will, and reject God’s Messenger of the Covenant. Theirs is a very good example of people who refuse to accept the truth because of arrogance. Hence, they remain on a misguided path and continue their ignorant and corrupt worship practices.  

[37:35] When they were told, "Lã Elãha Ella Allãh [There is no other god beside GOD]," they turned arrogant.

Good news

However, there is good news. If you have chosen Submission whole-heartedly, it proves that you are willing to put aside your arrogance and accept God as being Supreme and submit to His will. That is the beauty of Submission. One could say that God is an equal-opportunity employer, as He gives everyone an equal chance regardless of each individual’s prior situation. 

[16:49] To GOD prostrates everything in the heavens and everything on earth – every creature–and so do the angels; without the least arrogance.*

[41:38] If they are too arrogant to do this, then those at your Lord glorify Him night and day, without ever tiring.

[21:19] To Him belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth, and those at Him are never too arrogant to worship Him, nor do they ever waver.

[32:15] The only people who truly believe in our revelations are those who fall prostrate upon hearing them. They glorify and praise their Lord, without any arrogance.

Arrogance-related mistakes a Submitter may fall into

We know that Satan constantly tries every trick up his sleeve to nab believers. One way he can get at us is to make us believe that as Submitters we are better than others. No doubt, God calls the believers ‘the best community,’ but we shouldn’t become arrogant about this blessing to the extent of condemning others who may not yet have received or realized God’s message. It is important for us to understand and appreciate that had it not been for God’s grace towards us, we would have been like them. A person may receive the message after us and tomorrow become a better submitter than us. After all, it is only because of God that we ourselves have believed in the first place (7:43).

There are many ways in which Submitters can fall into committing the sin of arrogance:

1) Expecting everything to go our way because we are Submitters. Sometimes, we take our special status for granted and seem to think that God must give us exactly what we want. Let us not forget that God is our Master and we are meant to follow His rules. We cannot tell God what He should do. We have to learn to accept joyfully everything He does for us, even if we don’t understand it.

2) Believing that nothing “bad” could happen to us / taking God’s Mercy for granted. Bad things are a consequence of our own decisions and we don’t always make the best decisions. However, it is important to understand that something unpleasant may be a test from God or a lesson we need to learn.

3) Admonishing or reproaching others when something bad happens to them. Sometimes, when a believer (or even a non-believer) is sick or going through a test, I find other believers admonishing him/her for their “wrongdoings”. This is an unhealthy situation and can repel people from the message of God. As believers, we should show compassion and try to help others realize their own mistakes rather than telling them what they have done wrong. God tells us that kind words and compassion are better than charity followed by reproach or insult (2:263-264), as the bad words can nullify our charitable acts. God is Most Gracious, Most Merciful. When the Most Merciful is willing to overlook many of our sins, why do we insist on being so harsh with others?

[2:263] Kind words and compassion are better than a charity that is followed by insult. GOD is Rich, Clement.
[2:264] O you who believe, do not nullify your charities by inflicting reproach and insult, like one who spends his money to show off, while disbelieving in GOD and the Last Day. His example is like a rock covered with a thin layer of soil; as soon as heavy rain falls, it washes off the soil, leaving it a useless rock. They gain nothing from their efforts. GOD does not guide disbelieving people.

[4:94] O you who believe, if you strike in the cause of GOD, you shall be absolutely sure. Do not say to one who offers you peace, "You are not a believer," seeking the spoils of this world. For GOD possesses infinite spoils. Remember that you used to be like them, and GOD blessed you. Therefore, you shall be absolutely sure (before you strike). GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

4) Being arrogant with our families. So often, we take our families–particularly our parents–for granted. We know that our families love us and will not attack us or break connections with us (under normal situations). Hence, Satan pushes us to treat them with less respect than our friends, colleagues, superiors, acquaintances and even strangers. But again, God tell us that this is not righteous behavior and could land us in severe trouble on the final day.

[75:26] Indeed, when (the soul) reaches the throat.
[75:27] And it is ordered: "Let go!"
[75:28] He knows it is the end.
[75:29] Each leg will lay motionless next to the other leg.
[75:30] To your Lord, on that day, is the summoning.
[75:31] For he observed neither the charity, nor the contact prayers (Salat).
[75:32] But he disbelieved and turned away.
[75:33] With his family, he acted arrogantly.
[75:34] You have deserved this.
[75:35] Indeed, you have deserved this.

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