Chapter: The Prohibition of Boasting and Transgression

Allah the Exalted says, “So do not pronounce yourselves pure; He knows best who is truly God-fearing” (al-Najm 53:32).

He also says, “Blame falls only upon those who wrong people and transgress in the land without right; for such there is a painful punishment” (ash-Shūrā 42:42).

1589 – Iyād ibn Ḥimār (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah the Exalted has revealed to me that you must humble yourselves, so that no one transgresses against another and no one boasts over another.” Reported by Muslim.

Linguists explain that al-baghy (transgression) denotes unjust aggression and overstepping one’s bounds.

Explanation

Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn: “Chapter on the prohibition of boasting and transgression.”

Boasting (iftikhār) is for a person to praise himself and to vaunt whatever blessing Allah has granted him—whether noble lineage, wealth, knowledge, status, physical strength, or the like—with the aim of exalting himself above others. As for mentioning Allah’s favor in order to acknowledge the blessing while remaining humble, there is no harm in that, for Allah the Exalted says, “But proclaim the blessing of your Lord” (al-Ḍuḥā 93:11); and the Prophet ﷺ said, “I am the master of the children of Adam on the Day of Resurrection.”