Arrogance toward Truth: A Lesson from Tradition and Contemporary Reality

Introduction

Arrogance toward truth is the root of every sin and deviation in individual and collective conduct. This concept is clearly evident in the Qur’an and in the religious traditions of Judaism and Christianity, and is among the most important factors that have led to the loss of the message and of morality throughout history. The fundamental mission of chosen communities was to serve truth and justice and spread goodness among human beings, but arrogance toward truth leads to corruption, deception, and departure from the original mission.

Arrogance toward Truth in Religious Tradition

In the Qur’an

﴿قَالَ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ﴾ (He said, “I am better than he.”) [Al-Aʿrāf: ١٢]

Iblis refused to prostrate before Adam out of pride. This act represents the root of every act of disobedience, because it places the self above the command of truth and justifies rebellion against God. Any other sin branches out from this pride when a person justifies disobedience to themselves and disregards truth.

In Judaism and Christianity

Jewish and Christian tradition links departure from truth, distortion, and arrogance toward God with the fallen angels. In Christianity, the story of rebellion arising from conceit appears, reflecting the same moral core against which the Qur’an warns.

Pride toward truth is thus a fundamental cause of individual and collective deviation, and appears in all religious laws as a danger to the message and to morality.

Satan’s Deception of Human Beings

Satan does not tempt through direct force, but through intellectual and psychological deception: manipulating the mind and ignorance until a person thinks truth is error and disobedience is beneficial; sowing pride and doubt until a person sees themselves as above truth; and concealing the consequences by presenting sin as pleasure or power, when the reality is destruction. The result is that pride makes a person justify their actions and turn away from repentance, which is the gravest error.

Divine Election and Its Transformation into Superiority

The Qur’an mentions certain actions of the Children of Israel for formative and educational purposes, not as a blanket indictment: departing from God’s command, rejecting the prophets as liars, distortion, and arrogance toward truth. Modern history shows that some policies have transformed election into national or racist interests at the expense of justice and human rights. This represents another face of Satan among human beings—that is, conduct that chooses interest over truth.

Not all Jews represent this face; rather, it is certain arrogant and wrongful forms of conduct that embody it.

The Election of the Muslim Community and Its Mission

﴿كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ﴾ (You are the best community brought forth for humankind: you enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong, and believe in God.) [Āl ʿImrān: ١١٠]

The aim is for the community to bear witness to truth and serve as an example to humanity in justice and virtue. This election imposes an ethical responsibility and a continual struggle to preserve the message, rather than merely taking pride in religious identity.

Reasons for the Muslim Community’s Weakness Today

Intellectual pride and attachment to inherited tradition: Refusing to reassess tradition and submitting to customary norms without regard for truth have led to the accumulation of errors over time.

Preoccupation with outward forms: Worship and rituals without justice or the practical application of truth have become an identity without substance.

The absence of unity and collective action: Muslims are sometimes unable to confront injustice and violations worldwide, although their duty is to lead in truth and justice.

The result is political, economic, and moral weakness, and defeat before other nations.

The Point of Resemblance

Election for service: The original purpose of the mission is to lead people through goodness and spread justice. Some have turned this election into the exploitation of authority or identity for private gain, whereas Muslims are commanded to preserve the message and act justly.

Ethical responsibility: The community is commanded to enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, whereas power is sometimes used to justify violations.

Faith in truth: The foundation of leadership and justice rests on faith in truth, but personal interest is sometimes justified at its expense.

The resemblance thus lies in the original aim, and the difference in the deviation that has appeared among some.

Refusing to Reassess Tradition: A Form of Pride

Its causes are attachment to inherited tradition, fear of criticism and strife, the weakness of a critical religious culture, the association of tradition with identity, and the exploitation of tradition for power. The element of pride appears in reliance on form and identity, and in clinging to inherited tradition as though it were absolute truth. The resemblance to Iblis lies in refusing to reconsider truth and clinging to what is wrong, leading to the accumulation of deviations and the loss of the ability to put the essential message into practice.

Principal Conclusions

Arrogance toward truth is the root of every sin; Satan’s deception operates through conceit and ignorance; the original mission of chosen communities was truth, justice, and the spread of goodness; the weakness of the Muslim community today results from attachment to inherited tradition, preoccupation with outward forms, and weak collective action; and refusing to reassess tradition is a form of pride.

The practical solution is humility before truth, reassessing tradition, repentance, an informed understanding of the Qur’an, and acting justly, to ensure that the community’s election to serve humanity is real and tangible, rather than merely a slogan or an identity without substance.