The Treasure of the Wise

As an Arabic term, tawadu means humility, submission, and thinking little of one’s own reputation and status. Pride and arrogance are antonyms of this concept. 

It originates from the Arabic root word “wada’a,” which means “to place” in English. It means placing oneself in a lower position, considering oneself in a lower degree than his present situation.

In tasawwuf, tawadu means that the dervish doesn’t see anything in himself to be proud of or feel accomplished for; he devotes himself to Allah and worships Him genuinely.

The dervish sincerely sees himself as inferior to other mumins because he struggles with his own faults and flaws. He honestly believes that others are clear of these defects.

For this reason, he feels self-conscious towards everyone and hangs his head low; he is kind, soft, and good-humored. His behavior is always sincere and never intended to impress.

Allah says in the Qur’an: “The ‘true’ servants of the Most Compassionate are those who walk on the earth humbly, and when the foolish address them ‘improperly’, they only respond with peace” (Al-Furqan, 63-64). 

Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen states in his tafsir for this verse: “Those sincere and thoughtful servants of Allah, the Most Generous Rabb, are not the same as the ones who avoid sujud. These esteemed servants of Allah are modest on the face of the Earth. They avoid pride and arrogance. Being aware of their own faults, they act with kindness and modesty. They show no arrogance, do not boast, or praise themselves.”

Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declares: “Allah has made me choose between being a King-Prophet or a Servant-Messenger. Jibril alayhissalam gestured to me to maintain my humility. I chose to be a servant messenger to be one day satiated and one day hungry.” (Haythami, Majmau’z-Zawaid)

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (radiyallahu anh) describes Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam): “He would take care of his camel, feed his animals with hay, and clean his house. He would repair his shoes, sew his own rips, milk the sheep and eat with his servant. He would help him grind flour by hand mill.

He wouldn’t hesitate to carry the sacks after purchasing goods from the market. He would shake hands (musafaha) with everyone, whether they were poor or rich. He was always the first to greet anyone he met.

He would not turn down any invitations. Moreover, when he was invited, he would not look down on anything he was offered, even if it was a dried date.

He had a mild-mannered, generous nature. He was cordial and friendly. He had a sincere smile that did not tend towards open laughter, an expression of seriousness and sadness without a frowning brow. He was humble but not disgraceful, generous but not extravagant.”

Ibn Sammak (quddisa sirruhu) says about modesty: “modesty has various kinds. The most honorable kind is your not considering yourself superior to anyone. You should consider everyone better than you, hope for their mercy, and ask for their dua (prayer), hoping that their duas will lead to your troubles, calamities and disasters being warded off.”

Harith Al-Muhasibi mentioned two reasons when he was asked what causes humility: “The first reason is that a person sees his nafs as inferior, low. He knows how weak and needy he is, how much he is in disgrace, how much he oversteps his boundaries and, in doing so, opposes Allah.

The second reason is that his heart understands the might and majesty of Allah Ta’ala, glorifies His name and fears Him. In this case, his nafs will also be modest, following his heart.”

Humility has two aspects: towards Allah and towards people.

Sahl b. Abdullah at-Tustari (quddisa sirruhu) states: “The perfection of dhikrullah (remembrance of Allah)is mushahadah (witnessing)and the perfection of modesty is rida (being perfectly pleased with Allah).” He thus expresses that a modest servant is pleased with Allah every second of his life.

Junayd al-Baghdadi (quddisa sirruhu) explains how to show humility towards people by saying “Humility is spreading the wings of compassion over people and treating them gently.”

Explaining humility, the people of Sufism said: “Humility is being the first to greet someone when you meet them, responding nicely to the greeting of the one who greets you, not trying to get a seat in assemblies, and not asking people to praise you.”

Khwaja Abdullah al-Ansari classifies the types of modesty with three definitions: "The first is to not oppose the verses and hadiths, not challenge any evidence of Islam, and not oppose religion in any way.

The second is to be pleased with Muslims as brothers, not violate the rights of your enemies and excuse the one who begs your pardon.

The third is to be modest for the sake of Allah. Thus, you get rid of your own views and interests, and stop taking your rights, and ultimately your entire existence, into account.”

When Bayazid Bastami (quddisa sirruhu) was asked when a person becomes humble, he answered: “Once he believes that he has no authority and status (maqam) and that there is no one worse than himself in the world.”

Cihat Ceylan