Conceit is jealous of the intellect

Feb 16, '13 2:18 PM for everyone

Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s) that God the Almighty said: "Some of My believers are such that their religious affairs will not improve unless they are affluent and healthy, so I test them by giving them wealth and health. But some other believers are such that their religious affairs will not improve unless they are ill and poor, so I test them by giving them disease and poverty. I am better aware of what will improve the religious affairs of my believing servants. Some of My believing servants are those who strive hard to worship Me. They get up from their warm beds and spend the night in worship, and suffer hardships for Me. Because I love them, I make them fall asleep one or two nights to safeguard their health. They fall asleep until the morning, and then blame themselves. But if I had left them to themselves to worship Me as much as they please, they might get conceited. This conceit would lead them to mischief in their 

deeds and this would cause their ruin. Because of their conceit and overestimation of their deeds, they would consider themselves to be superior to others, and think that their worshiping had exceeded the degree of insufficiency. Thus they would get distant from Me thinking that they are close to Me." 

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "No position is higher than humbleness, and no loneliness is more awesome than conceit. I am amazed at a conceited person who was only a sperm before and will only be a corpse in the future." 

Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Moses the son of Imran (a.s) was sitting and Satan approached him wearing a colorful hat. 

When Satan got near Moses, he took off his hat and greeted Moses. Moses asked "Who are you?" He said: "Satan." Moses said: "Is that you? God will not let you approach Him." Satan said: "I have come to greet you because of your position near God." Moses asked: "What is this hat?" Satan said: "I attract the people to me with 

it." Moses asked: "What sin will allow you to overcome men who commit it?" Satan said: "When man gets conceited and overestimates his good deeds, and underestimates his sins, I can overcome him." 

Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that God the Almighty told David (a.s): "Give glad tidings to those who commit sins, and admonish the honest ones." David asked: "How should I do this?" God the Almighty said: "O' David! Give glad tidings to those who commit sins that I accept their repentance, and forgive their sins. And admonish the honest people so that they fear being conceited due to their deeds, since whoever gets conceited will be ruined." 

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said in Nahjul Balagheh: "A sin which makes you upset is better for God than a good deed which makes you conceited." 

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The worst fear is of conceit." 

Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that his grandfather (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "If sin was not better than conceit for a believer, God would have never let His believing servants commit any sins."