Modesty Stems from Realization of God

Modesty Stems from Realization of God T he Quran promotes modest behaviour, its culture being that of modesty—an incomparable virtue. The translation of the relevant verse of the chapter Al-Furqan (The Criterion) of the Quran is as follows: The true servants of the Gracious One are those who walk upon the earth with humility and when they are addressed by the ignorant ones, their response is, ‘Peace’. (25:63) When one discovers God, one discovers at the same time that the only possible way for a person to conduct himself is with modesty. Modesty stems directly from the realization of God. It is not possible to separate it from belief in God. In their daily prayers, believers recite the words allahu akbar several hundred times. Allahu akbar means ‘God is great’, but at the same time it implies: ‘God is great and I am not great.’ This is the genesis of modesty in the religion of Islam. The above Quranic verse refers to the true, faithful, and loyal people of God immersed in deep spirituality, and principally it refers to the early believers or the companions of the Prophet, whose conduct was marked by humility in every aspect of life. The companions of the Prophet, having followed this principle throughout their lives, became historic models for the rest of the believers for all eternity. According to Quranic teachings, modesty is essential in every aspect of human life—in thinking, in speech, in behaviour, in