Ethics of Islam

giving alms should have a sort of conceit mixed with cheer and
joy. His conceit is not directed toward the receiver but instead it
is intended to despise the given property or money. It indicates
that one is not a slave of property or money. Rasûlullah ‘sall-
Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “The giving
hand is superior to the receiving one.” Being proud towards
hypocrites or those who behave ostentatiously is also permissible.
It is permissible to be humble towards those who are below one’s
rank or position but one should be careful to avoid extremes.
Excessive humility is called “tamalluk”. Excessive humility is
only permissible toward one’s spiritual master or toward an
Islamic scholar. Excessive humility (tamalluk) is not permissible
toward anybody else. It is reported in a hadîth-i-sherîf,
“Tamalluk is not a part of Islamic ethics.”
Poem:
To a teacher and medical doctor,
Necessary to do “tamalluk”.
The former for inner soul, the latter physically,
Serve for curing these diseases.
Among the various conceited behaviors, the worst kind is to
be conceited toward Allâhu ta’âlâ. Nimrod was an example for
this type of conceit. He declared himself to be God. He threw the
prophet into fire because he had been sent by Allâhu ta’âlâ to
counsel him. Pharaoh was another one of these fools. He
declared his deity in Egypt and said that he was the powerful god
of Egypt. Allâhu ta’âlâ sent prophet Moses (Mûsâ) ‘alaihissalâm’
to advise him but he refused to believe and thereafter he
was drowned by Allâhu ta’âlâ in the Suez Sea. People who are
similar in nature, i.e., who do not believe in the Creator of the
universe, are called atheists (dahris). [People with similar
atheistic attitude appear in almost every century. For example,
Mao and Stalin killed and tortured millions of people and
destroyed religious men, Islamic scholars and books and inflicted
terror and horror upon their nations. They imposed their desires
by using force, which gave them a smug satisfaction. They began
to have delusions that they possessed the superior qualities
possessed by the Creator and said so to others. They banned
importing of Islamic literature into their country and banned
reading them. They executed those who talked about religion or
Allâhu ta’âlâ. And finally, they could not protect themselves
– 66 –