THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY: Islam’s Ethical and Spiritual Outlook

THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER God gave us honour through Islam. If we ever seek honour through anything other than what God has honoured us with, He will surely humiliate us.” (Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith No. 207) To believe that honour and humiliation come from God alone is a powerful conviction. It arms a person without the need for weapons. It builds true self-confidence—one that depends not on external validation, but on inner strength, grounded in the highest degree of humility and a deep commitment to truth. Others can never take away this inner treasure, and honour built on such spiritual conviction can never be defeated. A PRAYER ʿAmr ibn Bahr ibn Mahbub al-Kinani (163–255 AH), better known as al-Jahiz, was born and died in Basra. He was one of the greatest scholars of Arabic literature. His passion for reading was so intense that when he died, a book lay open on his chest. Among his most famous works is al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin. In the introduction to this book, he wrote the following profound prayer: “O God, we seek refuge in You from the trial of speech, just as we seek refuge in You from the trial of action. We seek refuge in You from taking on what we are not capable of, just as we seek refuge in You from pride in what we are capable of. We seek refuge in You from excessive speech and