Muslims Should Refrain From Seeing Themselves as Superior to Non-Muslims

By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam

05 January 2019

Presenting oneself as superior to non-Muslims in any way is one of the major sins according to the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him), whether this superiority is on the basis of social status, religion, race, caste, education or finance. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) warned us against such superiority.

According to a Hadith, the Prophet said, “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab and neither for a non-Arab over an Arab; also there is no superiority of a white man over a black man, neither for a black man over a white man except by piety (Taqwa)”.

This Hadith calls upon Muslims to understand the importance of piety and refrain from the idea of superiority. Indeed one’s superiority over others will be judged by one’s piety but this judgment can only be done by God Almighty. Therefore piety can’t be used as a tool for Muslims to measure themselves against each other.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have warned against pride which is part of supremacism. He said,

“No one who has the weight of a seed of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.”

The Muslims should not feel pride in any way. They can and should thank God Almighty for any blessings or gifts that they have got in this world. Blessings like good health, good family, good income, Islamic affiliation, deep relationship with God Almighty come as gifts from God Almighty. So in reaction to these gifts, one should maintain one’s humbleness and be thankful to God Almighty.

One of the signs of piety is that the more piety one gets, the more humble and kind one becomes towards God Almighty and His creatures. Therefore Muslims should not see themselves above other Muslims or non-Muslims.

Islam is gift from God towards Muslims, as He guides whom He wills to His straight path. With this gift, Muslims should be thankful and keep presenting good example of morality and noble character in order for non-Muslims to observe the practical beauty of Islam.

Adopting the path of supremacism or waving the flag of religious superiority is an attitude which keeps the people away from beauty of Islamic faith.

In order for Muslims to present noble characters, they should first differentiate between the sin and the sinner. They can abhor, dislike or disapprove sins like Kufr, Shirk and disbelief, yet they should not hate the disbeliever or the sinner. They can see them with the eyes of mercy and compassion. If possibly, they can pray for their guidance and returning back to God Almighty.

Islam commands Muslims to be modest and humble so that they can observe the divine beauty in the creatures of God Almighty. With this observation of the divine beauty, Muslims should never see themselves above the creatures. Moreover Muslims should follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who according to the Quran is “a Mercy to all worlds”.

Therefore, Muslims must see the beloved Prophet as their role model of mercy, kindness and compassion and follow his command of noble character and keep away from supremacism.

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/muslims-refrain-seeing-themselves-superior/d/117374

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