DO NOT BE ARROGANT ABOUT YOUR LINEAGE

Lineage, stock and descent are like a mine. If there is gold in a mine, the same gold will come out even after a thousand years. If silver, then silver; if iron, then iron; if gems, then gems; if coal, then coal. That is, it is perfectly natural for scholars to come from the people of knowledge, leaders from the line of leaders, and craftsmen from craftsmen.

Lineage is protected by marriage. A child born within the fortress of marriage preserves all the traits of his parents, passes them on to his descendants, and displays these traits in his own deeds. But a child born outside marriage preserves all the evil in his parents, passes it on to his future descendants, and shows it through his own deeds.

A person must not be proud and arrogant about his lineage. He should care about preserving his lineage, but taking pride in it is something outside of good morals. A person must bring out the good virtues in his stock and, with them, serve others and help people. Boasting of the greatness in one's lineage and looking down on others is called arrogance. And grandeur is an attribute of Allah; those who lay claim to this attribute will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.

It will be useful for us to read and reflect on these couplets of Hazrat Sufi Allahyar on this subject:

Do not be arrogant, O senseless one, Saying, “I am the son of So-and-so,” O So-and-so. If the slave before you becomes a governor, Keep your heart free of grudge against him. Do not look upon his former state — If my Lord has exalted him, what can be done?!

O senseless person! Do not fall into arrogance, saying, «I am So-and-so, the son of such-and-such a man.» If the employee who serves before you today is raised to a post tomorrow and becomes your superior, obey him, and keep your heart free of the grudge and resentment that says, «Yesterday you were a servant, and today you have become a ruler, have you?» Do not look at his former state; perhaps Allah the Exalted has honored him, and so the servant has no choice but to accept this decree.

Do not rely on your father, do not give up seeking, On the Day of Judgment none will be asked about lineage. Merit is above lineage, O you of good state, A well-worked woolen shawl surpasses a silken robe. The commoner's son is lower than the khoja's son, Yet if he is learned, he surpasses even a sayyid.

Do not rely on your father's merit and perfection and the standing he earned, and do not remain empty of seeking knowledge and of acquiring good character through righteous deeds, for on the Day of Judgment lineage and descent will not be taken into account. O person of pure character, know that merit (taqwa, good character) stands above lineage, just as a shawl made of wool, when woven with good workmanship, surpasses even a precious silk robe in quality. Or a «commoner», that is, a child of ordinary folk whose lineage is not tied to a noble line, though his descent is counted lower than that of a «khoja's» son, rises in rank above the unlettered descendants of khojas once he acquires knowledge and becomes educated.

(The commentary on these couplets from “Sabot ul-ojizin” is copied from pages 191 – 192 of the book “Ravoyih ur-rayhon” by the teacher Rashid Zohid)

These couplets are a good lesson for those who boast of their lineage, do not seek knowledge, and become captives of ignorance and arrogance. In the sight of the Real, the Exalted, the poor who fear Allah are far superior to the mighty who do not fear Allah.