Question

We know tht considering your self superior to others due to any attribute like money, power, authority, beauty, or knowledge is known as takabbur (conceit).Using mercedes car to prove your wealth comes under the category of takabbur. I wanted to know if a student tries to get first position just to prove that his knowledge and genius would that also be a manifestion of takabbur?

Answer

To complete othres and prove one’s worth is a different thing from showing off. The stage where we can judge the intention of a person comes later on when he has achieved something. For example if a student outmatches others in a discipline and then shows haughtiness and arrogance he will be held accountable. However, if he simply completes and outmatches others it is not discouraged and condemned in any moral and religious basis. Don’t we see that God exhortsus to vie one another in acts of virtue. But to vie others in virtue is different from praying for showing off. I hope the difference is clear on the basis of commonsense. We do not need to refer to any religious basis for this difference between the two things. Simalarly to own a car and remain humble and to have it and then boast and show off are two different attitudes.

Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

Date: 2015-02-10