Ibn Daud - A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine

VANITY
CHAPTER 25
العُجْب [Ujub] Vanity
Vanity is to attribute one’s excellence to oneself while forgetting
that it came from Allāh and being oblivious of the possibility of
such excellence being snatched away by Allāh . The vain person
labours under the notion that these bounties they have accrued are
everlasting and noteworthy. The word ‘vanity’ comes from the Latin
word ‘vanus’, which means ‘empty’, implying that the source of our
vanity is devoid of substance, and will vanish.
The Prophet said, “On the Day of Resurrection, the man of
vanity, strutting about in overconfidence, will meet Allāh, and He
(Allāh) will be irate.” [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 549]
Vanity is related to arrogance, which - it is said - requires two
people for its outward manifestation: the arrogant one and the one
to whom the arrogance is shown. Contrastingly, the vain person is
always preoccupied with the agony of wondering what other people
think of him, yet this worry continues regardless of whether there
are any other people passing judgement on him. In other words,
vanity does not need a second person. In a very similar vein, in the
case of the close cousin, pride (takabbur), the proud person must be
noticeably superior to the other(s). With vanity, this does not apply:
there can be a fluctuating sense of inferiority with the insecure and
vain individual.
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