The worst of evils (the most severe of all evil) is kibr (arrogance, pride) in which there is no good whatsoever, nor any connection to good, whether near or far... Kibr is to see one’s nafs (nafs, the lower self) as superior to other people.
For a servant, there is nothing better than choosing humility (tawāḍuʿ). (Ādāb, 147)
(I asked:) What is kibr, and what is its source? He replied: The calamity of kibr is very great. Many of the afflictions that immediately bring Allah’s punishment and His wrath (ghaḍab) arise from it. For kibr is fitting only for Allah. No one else is worthy of or suited to kibr, for everything besides Allah is a servant, while He is the ilāh (God) and the malik (sovereign). Since it is not fitting for anyone else, kibr is a tremendous sin in the sight of Allah! If a servant does something that is fitting only for the Master, the wrath of the Exalted Lord upon him increases. (Riʿāya, 232)
Kibr that arises from self-admiration in religious matters is due to knowledge and action. Regarding knowledge: a scholar admires his own knowledge, which leads him to see himself as superior to others, and even if others are more God-conscious (muttaqī), he acts arrogantly toward the common people. This was the concern of ʿUmar regarding scholars. As he said to them: Be humble toward those to whom you teach knowledge; do not be among the tyrannical scholars, lest your knowledge be regarded as ignorance in the sight of Allah! That is, when you are arrogant, your knowledge will not purify you before Allah.
When a scholar is arrogant due to his knowledge, he looks down on those less knowledgeable, belittles them, distances himself from them, and drives them away, seeking to use them, and boasts about what he has taught them. He acts arrogantly toward the people, restrains himself from greeting them first, mocks them, and if something about himself is belittled or their needs are not met, he becomes angry with them. He believes he deserves all this from them, and that, given his own worth, they ought to act accordingly. If he argues with one of them, out of arrogance and pride, he knowingly rejects the truth. If he is to preach or be admonished, he reacts harshly. (Riʿāya, 239)
I asked: How is kibr removed? He replied: By knowing one’s rank in matters of religion and the world (dunyā).
And how does one know one’s rank? I asked. He replied: By knowing one’s beginning, life, and end (and continued:) In the beginning, he was nothing, and ages passed before him, and Allah created him after nonexistence. (Riʿāya, 248)
What causes kibr in the heart are thoughts (khawāṭir) and similar impulses that lead a person to think he is better than his Muslim brother, to look down on him as insignificant and worthless, and thus to admire himself. When such a thought arises, one must be vigilant and alert, and expel it from the heart. If the nafs does not accept this, remind it of its worthlessness, its duties, its end, and that it should fear a bad outcome in the afterlife. (Riʿāya, 259)
Know that kibr is a thought that arises in the heart regarding exalting the nafs. Self-aggrandizement and arrogance follow from it. Self-abasement is a thought that arises in the heart regarding lowering the nafs. To see oneself as insignificant and to have tawāḍuʿ follow from it.
Both kibr and tawāḍuʿ are divided into general and specific types. General tawāḍuʿ is to be content with the minimum in clothing, housing, and transport. Its opposite is takabbur (self-aggrandizement), which is to see oneself as superior. Specific tawāḍuʿ is to train the nafs to accept a true opinion presented by someone of low or high status. Its opposite is takabbur, which is to refuse to accept the truth. This is a grave sin and a major error. As for general tawāḍuʿ, it is to remember one’s beginning and end, and the afflictions and impurities one is currently in. (Minhāj, 36)
Kibr al-nafs (the arrogance of the nafs) is a ḥāl (ḥāl, spiritual state) between takabbur (self-aggrandizement) and seeing oneself as insignificant. It is a virtue in which, while one sees oneself as insignificant and does not give much importance to oneself, one also appreciates the value and superiority of the nafs, and is deemed worthy of great tasks. Its sign is that one is little pleased by great honors from scholars, and is not pleased by honors from those of low status, by small things, or by things that could be considered stingy or that would bring happiness. (Mīzān, 73)
Takabbur is when the nafs rises above its (true) worth without deserving it. (Mīzān, 74)
Tawāḍuʿ is to adhere to moderation (iʿtidāl) between kibr and humiliation (dhillah). Thus, kibr is to raise oneself above one’s true station; dhillah is to lower oneself to a state that leads to blame and loss of rights. From many of the indications of the shaykhs regarding tawāḍuʿ, it is understood that they have sometimes taken tawāḍuʿ to the point of humiliation, and that in this there is an excess (ifrāṭ) of nafsānī (egoic) feelings, descending from the peak of excess to the depth of deficiency (tafrīṭ). This shows a deviation from moderation. The shaykhs’ aim in this was to exaggerate in breaking the nafs, fearing that their murīds (murīd, disciples) might fall into self-admiration (ʿujb) and kibr.
If one asks, What is kibr? The answer is: Kibr is the manifestation of the claim of “I” (anā) among creatures, according to their ranks, in the presence of rubūbiyya (rubūbiyya, Lordship).
Kibr is one of the states of the heart in terms of attributing (nisbat) kibriyā (majesty) and knowing what is required. For the Real (al-Ḥaqq) is known by every creature, and knowledge follows kibriyā. The one who knows this best has more of the Real’s kibriyā in his heart than one who does not. If kibriyā were an attribute of the Essence (dhāt), it would be composite. If it were identical with the Essence, and the Real, Exalted is He, manifested Himself to it and removed knowledge from it in that manifestation, then the one to whom the manifestation occurred would not know the one manifesting, and there would be no trace of kibr in him. If He then informed him, kibr would follow.
Knowledge is an attribute of the knower, not of the known. Kibr is likewise an attribute characterized by knowing that the trace of kibriyā is present in this person’s heart. For this reason, it is reported in a ḥadīth qudsī: “Kibriyā is My cloak.” (Muslim, Taḥrīm al-kibr, 10; Abū Dāwūd, Mā jāʾa fī al-kibr, 4; Ṭayālisī, 314) Kibriyā is a veil between the servant and the Real, preventing the servant from knowing the reality of the One who wears that cloak—that is, his own nafs.
Thus, what befits him is to know his Lord. Nevertheless, kibr is only attributed to someone other than the One who wears that cloak. This is a strange state. The same applies to greatness (ʿaẓama). For it is impossible for the Essence of the Real to subsist with either essential or nonessential attributes. Yet, since denial by creatures occurs at the point of the manifestation of the attribute, it is also impossible for it to be the nafs itself.
Since both possibilities are invalid, it remains that the attribute belongs only to the one to whom the manifestation occurs. This is a state that can be conceived between the existent or the one manifesting and the one to whom the manifestation occurs. For servanthood is the opposite of kibr and its contrary. It is impossible (muḥāl) for both to exist together. Thus, it remains that kibr is only among the attributes of knowledge. That is, the attribution of greatness, elevation, and honor is, as you said by analogy, due to the existence of these attributions according to taste and inclination, and the knowledge is necessarily attributed to the known. (Futūḥāt, TI, 102)