When Allah described people who are humble, He said:
وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا
{And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth with ease, and when the ignorant address them, they say [words of] peace}
He described them as ‘walking upon the earth with ease’. Why?
Because it’s actually HARD to be arrogant. It is difficult to live your life with ego. It hurts you. It harms you. It drags you.
When you are about your ego, you have to care – a lot – about what other people think of you. You are a slave to other peoples’ attention and admiration. You have to always impress upon others why you are deserving of their respect. That’s a difficult life.
But to be humble is to live an easy life. You walk the earth with ease. Because the focal point of your life isn’t to impress others. It isn’t to gain their admiration.
If people are kind to you, or ignorant to you…in either case it’s ok. You will still say ‘peace’ to them and treat them with empathy and kindness.
Because the focal point of your life is the admiration of the Most Merciful. And He grants His Mercy to those who are themselves merciful.
Shaykh Ibrahim Hindy