The Second Type: Self-Amazement (al-‘Ujb)
It is happiness for the occurrence of something , and it is accompanied with envy from whoever does not have such a pleasing thing. It is done by saying, deed, abandonment, or belief. It is as one says: “I know better than you,” “I am smarter than you,” “I have more money and children than you,” or when he says: “I am from so-and-so tribe” and their descendants are one of the most honoured descendants. It is also when one says: “I son of so-and-so” or “I am close to the owner of affairs,” and he avoids sitting with the poor people because he admires sitting with the rich ones. It is also when he glorifies the scholars with that type of admiration. It is also when he believes that people will perish, while he will be the only survivor, or when he believes that he has an honoured position because of his work. As Imam Yahya, uhbp, said: “Self-amazement is honouring and praising the blessing, as well as to be happy with it and rely on it always, without remembering to associate it to the Benefactor, who has granted it.”
The conclusion is that self-amazement is divided into three types, and every one of them must be avoided. One must do one’s best and make a great effort as possible to avoid them:
● First type: Honouring the blessing and being extremely happy because of it without mentioning the Benefactor who granted it, and without adding His Name to it. This type is not accompanied by saying or deed.
● Second type: When happiness occurs, and it is accompanied by saying or deed. These two kinds are types of pure self-amazement.
● Third type: When happiness occurs and it is accompanied by believing, which is believing that one deserves a honoured position. This is considered as self-amazement because of the occurrence of the happiness, and it leads to conceit because of the occurrence of the belief.
Yes, and there is no difference between that matter which is the object of self-amazement— whether it be involuntary, like beauty, eloquence, the large number of family, or abundance of money or children; or voluntary, like the abundance of knowledge or acts of worship, being generous and giving much, or courage. So, self-amazement in these matters is abominable according to Islamic Law, and it renders good deeds fruitless.
The cure that helps to eliminate it—which is self-amazement—is that the human knows and be certain that the life of this world is a house of vanishing and death, not a house of eternity. One is also to know that one’s destiny is a house of eternity, and on that Day, the judgment shall be passed, and there shall be no escape. So, how is it possible that the one have self-amazement when it is well-known that his destiny is the grave or that the scavengers will eat him in the wilderness?! Then, this is to be considered from the wrong discernment and a mistaken mentality.
