He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about “humility” and the Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“O Allah, let me live in humility and die in humility, and gather me among the humble.”

He replied:

Praise be to Allah. This hadith was narrated by al-Tirmidhī, and Abū al-Faraj mentioned it in al-Mawdū‘āt (Fabricated Reports). Whether or not its wording is authentic, the humble person who deserves praise is one who is modest and submissive before Allah. Humility does not mean lacking wealth. Indeed, a man may be poor yet tyrannical, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in an authentic hadith:

“There are three to whom Allah will not speak, nor will He look at them on the Day of Resurrection or purify them, and theirs will be a painful punishment: a lying king, an arrogant poor man, and an elderly adulterer.”

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say:

“I am a servant: I eat as a servant eats and sit as a servant sits.”

Humility is therefore an inward quality: modesty, submissiveness, and gentleness—the opposite of arrogance. As Jesus, peace be upon him, said:

“And dutiful to my mother, and He has not made me a wretched tyrant.”

The poet’s words likewise illustrate this: