Behaving Proudly and Arrogantly Without Justification (1 of 2)
Published in April 16, 2018
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
We have received this question via email; we quote part of it here followed by our reply: (... Dear Sir, ... God says in the Quran: " will turn away from My Verses those who behave proudly on earth without justification. Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it; and if they see the path of guidance, they will not adopt it for a path; and if they see the path of error, they will adopt it for a path. That is because they denied Our Verses, and paid no attention to them." (7:146). Does this verse imply that one can behave proudly, arrogantly, or haughtily on earth with justification? How is that? If not, why? ... Thank you ...).
Our Reply:
Firstly: proudness with justification is the exclusive right of the Lord God and it is never allowed for any human beings to behave proudly on earth:
1- The Almighty, Most-High Lord God has the exclusive right to be the Proud Lord; this is not allowed for the real, pious believers; they are to kneel and prostrate humbly to Him and obey His commands in the Book/Scripture conveyed by His messengers/prophets; God says the following about Himself: "The Knower of the Invisible and the Visible; the Grand, the Most-High." (13:9); "He is God; besides Whom there is no deity; the Sovereign, the Holy, the Peace-Giver, the Faith-Giver, the Overseer, the Almighty, the Omnipotent, the Proud. Glory be to God, beyond what they associate." (59:23).
2- When Iblis/Satan arrogantly and proudly refused to obey the divine command of prostrating to Adam, he has become among the sinful disbelievers: "And We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam." They bowed down, except for Satan. He refused, was arrogant, and was one of the disbelievers." (2:34); "He said, "O Satan, what prevented you from prostrating before what I created with My Own hands? Are you too proud, or were you one of the exalted?" He said, "I am better than he; You created me from fire, and You created him from clay."" (38:75-76). This is why when Satan was expelled from the Upper Realm, he was turned from being an angel into being a jinn/devil; he is the Devil (whose name is Ibis or Satan), and he is bent on tempting and misguiding human beings by making them act proudly by disobeying Almighty God.
3- Satan succeeds in his mission of tempting human beings by urging them not to use their minds or mental faculties so that they avoid monotheism. For sure, those reasonable persons will not worship creatures like them, or else, they lose their minds and dignity like polytheists, whose insanity aggravates and exacerbates when they sanctify, deify, prostrate before idols, statues, pictures, or mausoleums made 'holy' despite the fact that they are made and built using the same materials used to build houses and bathrooms. When Quranists preach and warn such polytheists by reminding them of God's Word; i.e., the Quranic verses, they move away in arrogance and pride because they reject God's Book. Those gullible, proud polytheists never see anything sinful or wrong in worshiping the building materials on which people tread with their feet; in fact, they see that such polytheism is their dear religion which should be defended. At the same time, such polytheists are too proud and arrogant to obey God's commands in the Quran.
Secondly: behaving proudly on earth without justification is the typical demeanor of disbelievers in general in all eras:
1- The Quran contains no mention at all about any human creatures who behaved proudly on earth while being justified; behaving proudly without having the right or justification to act like this is the Quranic description for disbelievers who are the followers of Satan. Hence, they are proud, haughty, and arrogant based on the falsehoods to which they adhere, because they refuse to follow God's Word.
2- The disbelievers from the people of Noah till the Arabs and the Qorayish tribesmen were very proud as they refused and denied God's religion expressed in the Celestial Message conveyed by God's messengers/prophets. Their behaviors that reflect such arrogance and pride are pretty much the same. For instance, Noah said the following about his misguided people after he despaired when his endeavors to guide them failed: "Whenever I called them to Your forgiveness, they thrust their fingers into their ears, and wrapped themselves in their garments, and insisted, and became more and more arrogant." (71:7). The same reaction and demeanor were adopted by the Qorayish tribesmen; God says the following about them: "They wrap their chests to hide from Him. But even as they cover themselves with their clothes, He knows what they conceal and what they reveal. He knows what lies within the hearts." (11:5).
3- God says the following about the Qorayish tribesmen: "Priding themselves on earth, and scheming evil..." (35:43). Within their arrogance, haughtiness, and pride, they refused and denied the Quran and demanded from Muhammad to allow them to see God and the angels; God describes their defiance and arrogance here: "Those who do not expect to meet Us say, "If only the angels were sent down to us, or we could see our Lord." They have grown arrogant within themselves, and have become excessively defiant." (25:21). Within this extended image or caricature, God describes the typical stance of a Qorayish tribesman who was too proud to believe in the Quran and he denied it in arrogance, as he claimed that the Quran is mere sorcery, magic, or witchcraft: "He thought and analyzed. May he perish, how he analyzed. Again, may he perish, how he analyzed. Then he looked. Then he frowned and whined. Then he turned back and was proud. And said, "This is nothing but magic from the past." (74:18-24). Some of the Israelites in Arabia believed in the Quran; in contrast, the Qorayish tribesmen rejected the Quran out of arrogance and pride: "Say, "Have you considered? What if it is from God and you disbelieve in it? A witness from the Israelites testified to its like, and has believed, while you turned arrogant. God does not guide the unjust people."" (46:10). The proud, arrogant hypocrites refused to come to Muhammad to make him implore God to pardon them, because this means that they should admit being sinful and guilty: "And when it is said to them, "Come, the Messenger of God will ask forgiveness for you," they bend their heads, and you see them turning away arrogantly." (63:5).
4- There were other proud, arrogant nations/peoples between the era of Noah and Muhammad; for instance, God says the following about the people of Aad and their arrogance that led them to refuse the Truth that has come down to them from the Lord God: "As for Aad, they turned arrogant on earth, without justification, and said, "Who is more powerful than us?" Have they not considered that God, who created them, is more powerful than they? And they went on denying Our Verses." (41:15).
5- Since the dawn of the presence of humanity on earth, God's Revelation has come down to address all the progeny of Adam: "O Children of Adam! When messengers from among you come to you, relating to you My Verses - whoever practices piety and reforms - upon them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.But as for those who reject Our Verses, and are too proud to accept them - these are the inmates of the Fire, where they will remain forever." (7:35-36). Hence, the repentant, pious doers of good actions will enter into Paradise, whereas those who deny God's Verses out of pride and arrogance will enter into Hell. God describes the arrogant, haughty, and proud disbelievers as deniers of God, God's Word, the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah), and the Last Day: "Your God is one God. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial, and they are arrogant. Without a doubt, God knows what they conceal and what they reveal. He does not like the arrogant ones." (16:22-23). This is God's refutation (within stern warning to the proud disbelievers) of the polytheistic notions of those who deify Jesus Christ: "The Messiah does not disdain to be a servant of God, nor do the favored angels. Whoever disdains His worship, and is too arrogant - He will round them up to Himself altogether. But as for those who believe and do good works, He will pay them their wages in full, and will increase His grace for them. But as for those who disdain and are too proud, He will punish them with an agonizing punishment. And they will find for themselves, apart from God, no ally and no supporter." (4:172-173).
6- God tells us in the Quran that those who are proud and arrogant because of their adherence to falsehoods will never see or discern the Truth; thus, there is no hope in expecting them to guide themselves as they reject God's Verses: "I will turn away from My Verses those who behave proudly on earth without justification. Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it; and if they see the path of guidance, they will not adopt it for a path; and if they see the path of error, they will adopt it for a path. That is because they denied Our Verses, and paid no attention to them." (7:146); this verse applies, of course, to the Muhammadans of today who refuse and deny the Quranic Truth out of pride and arrogance.
Thirdly: behaving proudly on earth without justification is the typical demeanor of the Muhammadans because they adhere to earthly, man-made religions:
1- Some fools and gullible persons assume that God's Verses about disbelief, disbelievers, and the arrogance of the disbelievers as only something of the past; this is as if Satan has tendered his resignation once Muhammad died; this is as if the era of hypocrisy and hypocrites has ended; this is as if 'Muslims' after Muhammad's death have adhered to the Righteous Path (i.e., the Quran); this is as if the Arabs did not launch unjust wars and committed heinous crimes, grave injustices, and sins; this is as if Satan has despaired of tempting 'Muslims' and he confines his mission now to non-'Muslims'! Quran-believing people must realize the fact that God mentions the descriptions of disbelief, disbelievers, arrogance, polytheism, sinning, and misguidance so that real believers avoid such things and so that these descriptions apply to all those polytheists, in all eras till the end of days, who perform the same deeds and adopt the same words/stances. Thus, the Quranic descriptions of these things are not confined to Qorayish or Arabs during Muhammad's lifetime; rather, the descriptions of disbelief, disbelievers, and the arrogance of the disbelievers apply to all deniers and rejecters of the Quran, especially the proud, misguided, and misguiding Muhammadans.
2- God preserves the text of the Quran; despite the fact that the Muhammadans make the copies of the Quran present around them everywhere, they are those arrogant, proud who deny, reject, and discard the Quran more than any other nations on earth. The clergymen/imams/leaders of polytheism/disbelief are spread like an epidemic within the countries of the Muhammadans. Such wicked imams repeat the words, stances, and demeanors of all misguided and misguiding imams/leaders who are mentioned by God in the Quran.
3- Hence, we find a miraculous Quranic prediction in these verses as they apply in all eras: "Among the people is he who trades in distracting tales; intending, without knowledge, to lead away from God's Path, and to make a mockery of it. These will have a humiliating torment. And when Our Verses are recited to him, he turns away proudly, as though he did not hear them, as though there is deafness in his ears. So inform him of a painful torment." (31:6-7). These verses apply to imams/leaders of Qorayish who aimed to repel people away from the Quran (which is God's Path) by spreading distracting narratives, because they arrogantly rejected the Quran. These verses apply to many people in all eras, as we infer from the phrase (among the people...) in the verse 31:6. This is a clear indication of the same stances and deeds that are repeated in all eras until the end of days. Until now, there are those who propagate ad spread the hadiths/narratives of Al-Bokhary book to misguide people out of ignorance, and when Quranist preachers warn them using the Quranic verses, they move away in pride and arrogance.
4- Again, we find a miraculous Quranic prediction in these verses as they apply in all eras to those who reject and disbelieve in the Quranic Message/Discourse because of their adherence to hadiths/narratives/discourses authored by Al-Bokhary and other fabricators. God says in the Quran: "These are God's Verses which We recite to you in Truth. In which discourse, after God and His Verses, will they believe? Woe to every sinful liar. Who hears God's Verses being recited to him, yet he persists arrogantly, as though he did not hear them. Announce to him a painful torment." (45:6-8).
5- Another miraculous prediction that applies in all eras to those disbelievers and polytheists is found in these verses about the arrogant, proud ignoramuses who misguide others by arguing against God's Verses using their words of ignorance while turning aside proudly and haughtily when they address others: "And among the people is he who argues about God without knowledge, or guidance, or an Enlightening Book. Turning aside in arrogance, to lead away from the Path of God. He will have humiliation in this world, and on the Day of Resurrection We will make him taste the torment of burning. That is for what your hands have advanced, and because God is not unjust to the servants." (22:8-10).
6- God's miraculous predictions in the Quran include describing those eloquent propagators of falsehoods who use their linguistic eloquence to mask their lies in order to deceive others; when such misguiding ones are warned by the Quranic Truth, they turn away haughtily and in arrogance as they take pride in their grave sins: "Among the people is he whose speech about the worldly life impresses you, and he calls God to witness what is in his heart, while he is the most hostile of adversaries. When he gains power, he strives to spread corruption on earth, destroying properties and lives. God does not like corruption. And when he is told, "Beware of God," his pride leads him to more sin. Hell is enough for him - a dreadful abode." (2:204-206). We urge our readers to warn any man among the sheikhs/imams of the Muhammadans by saying to him to fear the Lord God within piety, and they will see how the miraculous prediction of the Quranic verse 2:206 is realized when this sheikh/imam will turn away in arrogance and declare taking pride in what he says and does.
Fourthly: behaving proudly on earth without justification is the typical demeanor of imams/leaders of disbelief/polytheism:
Those arrogant, proud, haughty imams and clergymen, in all eras, have always been the arch-enemies of God's religion and God's messengers and prophets.
1- God mentions in the Quran the dialogue between the arrogant, proud, affluent retinue members of the people of Thamood and the weak, poor believers within the Quranic story of the prophet Saleh: "The elite of his people, who were arrogant, said to the weak people who had believed, "Do you know that Saleh is sent from his Lord?" They said, "We are believers in what he was sent with." Those who were arrogant said, "We reject what you believe in."" (7:75-76). These are the words of the arrogant, proud, affluent retinue members of the people of Madian within the Quranic story of the prophet Shuaib: "The arrogant elite among his people said, "O Shuaib, We will evict you from our town, along with those who believe with you, unless you return to our religion." He said, "Even if we are unwilling?"" (7:88).
2- Arrogance and pride – among other descriptions – are repeated in the verses that describe Moses' Pharaoh and his ruling affluent retinue members: "So We let loose upon them the flood, and the locusts, and the lice, and the frogs, and blood - all explicit signs - but they were too arrogant. They were a sinful people." (7:133); "Then, after them, We sent Moses and Aaron with Our Signs to Pharaoh and his dignitaries. But they acted arrogantly. They were sinful people." (10:75); "Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron...To Pharaoh and his nobles, but they turned arrogant. They were oppressive people." (23:45-46); "Moses said, "I have sought the protection of my Lord and your Lord, from every proud tyrant who does not believe in the Day of Judgment."" (40:27).
3- God has made the proud Moses' Pharaoh and his arrogant people as imams/leaders whose footsteps are followed by other proud, arrogant tyrants in later eras until the end of days: "And when they provoked Our wrath, We took retribution from them, and We drowned them all. Thus We made them a precedent and an example for the others." (43:55-56); "So We seized him, and his troops, and We threw them into the sea. Observe, therefore, what was the end of the oppressors. And We made them leaders calling to the Fire. And on Resurrection Day, they will not be saved." (28:40-41). This indicates clearly that Satan has not despaired or tendered his resignation and that he will not do so. Satan will remain active in his mission of tempting and misguiding human beings until the end of days when the Hour takes place.
4- Why does the Quran focus more on the story of Moses' Pharaoh? Because he mixed religion with politics. We continue in the very next article.