to comb it and set it right. Likewise, one should cleanse himself and put on clothes that are not the dust-stained garments of travel, so that when he meets people they are not repelled by him.

From this we learn that a person ought to keep an eye on such matters and not be neglectful—even the elegance of one’s attire. When the Prophet ﷺ said, “No one who has in his heart even a mustard seed’s weight of arrogance will enter Paradise,” they asked, “Messenger of Allah, every one of us likes his clothes and shoes to be fine.” He answered, “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty,” meaning He loves adornment. So let your garment be fine, your shoes fine, and your whole appearance fine, for Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Arrogance is to spurn the truth and to belittle people: spurning the truth is when someone, out of pride, turns away from what is right—Allah’s protection is sought—and belittling people is to look down on them and treat them as nothing.

A man once said to his son, “My boy, how do you view people?” He replied, “I see them as kings.” The father said, “Then they will see you as a king.” Another man asked his son, “How do you view people?” He said, “I see them as nothing.” The father answered, “They likewise see you as nothing.” In other words, if you regard people as kings they will make you a king, but if you think nothing of them, you will be nothing in their eyes. People look upon you in the very measure that you look upon them.