that is, display humility toward them, both in word and deed. The believers are to one another compassionate and caring, just as Allah described the Prophet ﷺ and those with him: “stern against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves” (48:29).

The command, “And lower your wing to the believers” (15:88), proves that a person is required to humble himself before his fellow Muslims even if he occupies a lofty station—just as a bird, though it soars high on its wings, still folds them and comes down. Whatever his rank, he should lower his wing, show deference, and act modestly with his brothers. Let him remember: whoever humbles himself for Allah’s sake, Allah will elevate him.

A person may tell himself, “If I humble myself to a poor man and speak to him, or to a child and address him, I will demean myself and diminish my standing.” Such thoughts are no more than Satan’s whisperings, for Satan seeks entry into every matter. Allah relates his words: “He said, ‘Because You have led me astray, I will lie in ambush for them on Your straight path; then I will come at them from the front and from behind, from their right and from their left, and You will find most of them ungrateful’” (7:16–17).

Thus Satan approaches a person and says, “How can you humble yourself to this poor man? To that youngster? How can you speak to so-and-so or walk with so-and-so?” Yet whoever humbles himself for Allah, Allah will raise his rank—whether he is a scholar, an elder, or a wealthy man. He should humble himself to any believer. As for a disbeliever, one must not lower his wing to him; rather, he must submit to the truth by inviting the disbeliever to Islam. He must not disdain or shirk this duty, but should call him with dignity and honor, without