Staying Away from Arrogance

The condition of bai‘at also include that one would stay away from arrogance. I shall give the example of Sayyed Sarwar Shah(ra) in this regard:

Despite having a very high status in religious scholarship and academia, unlike the so-called ‘ulema of this day and age, his temperament was so simple and humble that if at any time a small child wished to talk to him, he could do so without any hesitation. He would listen most affectionately and would respond in a very pleasing manner. [Maulavi Muhammad Hafiz Baqapuri relates an incident from his childhood.] One of his close relatives had a newborn baby. When the news came through letter he decided to ask Maulavi Sahib for a name for the baby. He was perhaps going to or coming back from Aqsa Mosque for dars of the Holy Qur’an. He went towards him; he stopped as he saw him coming towards him and was most affectionate and courteous, and on his request suggested a name for the newborn and prayed for the baby. (Ashab-e-Ahmad, vol. 5, part III, p. 35)

I shall now relate an incident of Hazrat Maulavi Burhan-ud-Din(ra) in this regard. It is already clear from earlier examples that he had no ostentation, formality, or pretense. Furthermore he had absolutely no scholarly airs and vanity, despite the fact that he was an unequalled scholar. During his stay in Qadian if someone addressed him as Maulavi Sahib he would promptly ask them not to call him Maulavi, saying: ‘I only just started learning the ABC from Mirza Sahib’ [the Promised Messiah(as)]. (Monthly Ansarullah, Rabwah, September 1977, p. 12)

A model of meekness and humility that is greater than all other models. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) writes about Hazrat Sahibzadah Sayyed ‘Abdul-Latif Shahid(ra):

[He] had reached a degree of humility and selflessness that cannot be reached until one is totally absorbed in Allah the Almighty. Each person is somehow or the other affected by fame and knowledge and begins to indulge in self-conceit and that very knowledge and fame prevents him from attaining the truth. However, this person was so selfless that inspite of being a paragon of merits and excellences, his knowledge, and lineage could never prevent him from accepting the truth. Eventually he sacrificed his life for truth, and left such a model for our Community, conformity to which is the real objective of God. (Tadhkiratush-Shahadatain, p. 45, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, p. 47)