💯 Miscellaneous Benefits from Yemen

BENEFIT 8: Praising Oneself The Fuqahā mention that it is GENERALLY prohibited for a person to praise themself. Al-Izz ibn 'Abdis Salām raḥimahullāh said (paraphrasing): وَمَدْحُكَ نَفْسَكَ أَقْبَحُ مِنْ مَدْحِكَ غَيْرِكَ، فَإِنَّ غَلَطَ الإِنْسَانِ فِي حَقِّ نَفْسِهِ أَكْثَرُ مِنْ غَلَطِهِ فِي حَقِّ غَيْرِهِ، فَإِنَّ حُبَّكَ الشَّيْءَ يَعْمِي وَيَصُمُّ، وَلا شَيْءَ أَحَبُّ إِلَى الإِنْسَانِ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ ، وَلِذَلِكَ يَرَى عُيُوبَ غَيْرِهِ وَلا يَرَى عُيُوبَ نَفْسِهِ، وَيَعْذِرُ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ بِمَا لا يَعْذِرُ بِهِ غَيْرَهُ. “Praising oneself is worse than praising others, for indeed a person wrongs himself more than he wrongs others (through praise); because his desire for something can cause him to become deaf and blind; for nothing is more beloved to man than himself; which is why he sees the faults of others but sees not his own faults, and he excuses himself with what he does not excuse others.” He then quoted the statement of Allāh: { فَلَا تُزَكُّوۤا۟ أَنفُسَكُمۡۖ هُوَ أَعۡلَمُ بِمَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰۤ} “So do not ˹falsely˺ elevate yourselves. He knows best who is ˹truly˺ righteous.” [Surah An-Najm: 32] And His saying: {أَلَمۡ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِینَ یُزَكُّونَ أَنفُسَهُمۚ بَلِ ٱللَّهُ یُزَكِّی مَن یَشَاۤءُ وَلَا یُظۡلَمُونَ فَتِیلًا} “Have you ˹O Prophet˺ not seen those who ˹falsely˺ elevate themselves? It is Allah who elevates whoever He wills.” [Surah An-Nisâ': 49] Then he continues to say: وَلا يَمْدَحُ الْمَرْءُ نَفْسَهُ إِلا إِذَا دَعَتِ الْحَاجَةُ إِلَى ذَلِكَ، مِثْلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ خَاطِبًا إِلَى قَوْمٍ فَيُرَغِّبَهُمْ فِي نِكَاحِهِ، أَوْ لِيُعَرِّفَ أَهْلِيَّتَهُ لِلْوِلايَاتِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ وَالْمَنَاصِبِ الدِّينِيَّةِ، لِيَقُومَ بِمَا فَرَضَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ عَيْنًا أَوْ كِفَايَةً “And one does not praise himself unless there's a need to do so, like the one who seeks to marry from a people, so he entices them (by mentioning his good qualities for them) to marry him off, or the one who discloses his eligibility for a ministirial or religious position in order to establish what Allah has enjoined upon him on an individual or communal basis.” He then gives the example of Prophet Yusuf peace be upon him: {ٱجۡعَلۡنِی عَلَىٰ خَزَاۤىِٕنِ ٱلۡأَرۡضِۖ إِنِّی حَفِیظٌ عَلِیمࣱ} “Put me in charge of the store-houses of the land, for I am truly reliable and adept.” [Surah Yûsuf: 55]” [End quote - 'Al-Mawsū'ah Al-Kuwaitiyyah (36/380)] Similarly, An-Nawawi raḥimahullāh said (paraphrasing): اعلم أن ذكرَ محاسن نفسه ضربان: مذموم ومحبوب. فالمذمومُ : أن يذكرَه للافتخار، وإظهار الارتفاع، والتميّز على الأقران، وشبه ذلك. والمحبوبُ: أن يكونَ فيه مصلحة دينية، وذلك بأن يكون آمراً بمعروف، أو ناهياً عن منكر، أو ناصحاً أو مشيراً بمصلحة، أو معلماً، أو مؤدباً، أو واعظاً، أو مذكِّراً، أو مُصلحاً بين اثنين، أو يَدفعُ عن نفسه شرّا، أو نحو ذلك، فيذكر محاسنَه، ناوياً بذلك أن يكون هذا أقربَ إلى قَبول قوله واعتماد ما يذكُره، أو أن هذا الكلام الذي أقوله لا تجدونه عند غيري فاحتفظوا به. “Know that mentioning the merits of oneself is of two categories: (1) Blameworthy or (2) Praiseworthy. It is blameworthy if done: out of pride, to elevate and distinguish oneself over his peers, etc. And it is praiseworthy if done: for a religious interest (Maṣlaḥah), like in the case of one who commands good, who forbids evil, an advisor, one who directs others to good, a teacher, a counsellor, a preacher, a reminder, or a mediator between two, or one who seeks to ward off evil from himself, and like, so he mentions his merits, hoping that this will be greater cause for others to accept his saying and approve his speech, or that this is what I am telling you is not found anywhere else, so hold onto it, or so.” He said there are many examples of this, I.e. Praiseworthy praise of oneself, and he continued on to mention some examples, such as: The statement of the Prophet ﷺ: ((أنا سَيِّدُ وَلَد آدَم)) “I am the master of the children of Adam.” [Muslim] His saying ﷺ: ((أنا أعْلَمُكُمْ باللهِ وأتْقاكُمْ)) “I am more knowledge concerning Allah and more fearful of him than any of you.” [Bukhāri]