Humility is perhaps the
quintessence of human values. It is the recognition of the fact that only God is
great and the rest are meek and weak before Him. In other words, it is
acknowledging the reality.
If we want to cultivate and
strengthen this trait in us, we must watch out for things which are its
antithesis or are detrimental to it. Although our conscience is enough to guide
us in this matter, yet some blatant attitudes which are counter to humility may
well remain in our minds. Thus when we make fun of others, do not let others
speak, take credit of things we never did, boast of our achievements, do not
take the initiative in greeting others, do not apologize even after realizing
our mistake, walk and make gestures in an arrogant way, do not thank God enough,
show conceit on our lineage and status, do not invite poor relatives to our
banquets, splash our solo photographs all over house walls, put up a show of
piety and religiosity, do not admit our faults, deliberately deny the truth and
show self-righteousness, we are in fact doing things which are against humility
and modesty.
Some practical measures may help
to inculcate humility in us. Here are some of them:
1. We should stop claiming credit
for the good things we do.
2. We must realize that all our
talents and assets are a gift of God and He can take them away any time He wants
to.
3. We should highlight even small
achievements and qualities of others.
4. We should not buy and use
things which reflect status.
5. We must understand our
limitations. No matter how talented, rich, powerful or beautiful a person may
be, there are always people who have these traits to a more pronounced extent.
6. We must learn to confess our
faults to God and make amends on what we have done wrong.
7. We must keep an eye on our own
faults and shortcomings for the more we realize them the more lowly opinion we
will hold about ourselves.
8. We must listen more than we
talk. This gives others the impression that we do not want to impose ourselves
on them.
9. We must give others the benefit
of the doubt in situations where a better interpretation of a person’s attitude
can be made.
10. We should avoid making
sweeping statements. More often than not, they reflect arrogance.
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