Self-Criticism: The 11th Step in the Journey to Allah

(Ibn Ata’s Words of Wisdom: Part 12)

“The origin of every sin, forgetfulness and lust is in being self-righteous, and the origin of every good, awareness and chastity is in being self-critical.”

After this step and looking within yourself, and trying to discover your flaws, it is very important to be self-critical, so that you go into the depth of yourself and discover the depth of your flaws.

The origin of the flaws in general, the sheikh is teaching us, is a false sense of self-righteousness. And being pleased and proud of yourself in the sense of being good and being righteous and so forth.

Many people say that they are good because they compare themselves to people who are less good. And this is false. They should compare themselves to a higher standard, not a lower standard.

And Allah (SWT) mentioned a kind of soul in the Quran, that is a soul that is accusing itself.

I call to witness the Day of Resurrection, and I call to witness the accusing voice of the human’s own conscience. (The Quran, 75:1-2)

That conscience that blames you and accuses you and makes you revise yourself is the fundamental basis of doing good and being aware and chaste. If you don’t have this and you are pleased with yourself, the sheikh says this is the fundamental basis of every forgetfulness and lust and sin.

Allah (SWT) has given us in the Quran the origins of this maxim. The sheikh is quoting here through different stories.

Prophet Joseph & Prophet Muhammad

Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) for example said:

I’m not trying to absolve myself, for verily one’s inner self does incite to evil except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed my Lord is forgiving and merciful. (12:53)

This self-critical statement from Prophet Yusuf is how he felt, even though he was at a high and a pure status. And we should learn from that example.

Blaming oneself and questioning it is what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught the companions.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) would always ask them to look into themselves and blame themselves. To the extent that you find Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that:

“I wouldn’t feel safe from Allah’s punishment even if I had one foot in Paradise and the other is outside, till both are in Paradise.”

And therefore, when you feel self-righteous, and you think you have secured a certain status with Allah (SWT), go back and blame yourself . Look for your mistakes once again.

And remember that this feeling is actually going to push you in the wrong way.

Finding the Right Balance

But the feeling of self-criticism and not being pleased with yourself and what you do is the right feeling for improving yourself and avoiding the danger of being too relaxed and too happy with yourself.

It doesn’t mean to take yourself all the way to desperation.

There has to be a moderate path here; not to blame yourself to the extent of desperation but to continue to blame yourself in a way that improves you and makes you discover your faults.

A Journey to God (Folder)

 

About Dr. Jasser Auda
Jasser Auda is a Professor and Al-Shatibi Chair of Maqasid Studies at the International Peace College South Africa, the Executive Director of the Maqasid Institute, a global think tank based in London, and a Visiting Professor of Islamic Law at Carleton University in Canada. He is a Founding and Board Member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, Fellow of the Islamic Fiqh Academy of India, and General Secretary of Yaqazat Feker, a popular youth organization in Egypt. He has a PhD in the philosophy of Islamic law from University of Wales in the UK, and a PhD in systems analysis from University of Waterloo in Canada. Early in his life, he memorized the Quran and studied Fiqh, Usul and Hadith in the halaqas of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. He previously worked as: Founding Director of the Maqasid Center in the Philosophy of Islamic Law in London; Founding Deputy Director of the Center for Islamic Ethics in Doha; professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada, Alexandria University in Egypt, Islamic University of Novi Pazar in Sanjaq, Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, and the American University of Sharjah. He lectured and trained on Islam, its law, spirituality and ethics in dozens of other universities and organizations around the world. He wrote 25 books in Arabic and English, some of which were translated to 25 languages.