“The origin of every sin, forgetfulness and lust is in being self-righteous, and the origin of every good, awareness and chastity is in being self-critical.”
After this step and looking within yourself, and trying to discover your flaws, it is very important to be self-critical, so that you go into the depth of yourself and discover the depth of your flaws.
The origin of the flaws in general, the sheikh is teaching us, is a false sense of self-righteousness. And being pleased and proud of yourself in the sense of being good and being righteous and so forth.
Many people say that they are good because they compare themselves to people who are less good. And this is false. They should compare themselves to a higher standard, not a lower standard.
And Allah (SWT) mentioned a kind of soul in the Quran, that is a soul that is accusing itself.
I call to witness the Day of Resurrection, and I call to witness the accusing voice of the human’s own conscience. (The Quran, 75:1-2)
That conscience that blames you and accuses you and makes you revise yourself is the fundamental basis of doing good and being aware and chaste. If you don’t have this and you are pleased with yourself, the sheikh says this is the fundamental basis of every forgetfulness and lust and sin.
Allah (SWT) has given us in the Quran the origins of this maxim. The sheikh is quoting here through different stories.
Prophet Joseph & Prophet Muhammad
Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) for example said:
I’m not trying to absolve myself, for verily one’s inner self does incite to evil except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed my Lord is forgiving and merciful. (12:53)
This self-critical statement from Prophet Yusuf is how he felt, even though he was at a high and a pure status. And we should learn from that example.
Blaming oneself and questioning it is what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught the companions.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would always ask them to look into themselves and blame themselves. To the extent that you find Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying that:
“I wouldn’t feel safe from Allah’s punishment even if I had one foot in Paradise and the other is outside, till both are in Paradise.”
And therefore, when you feel self-righteous, and you think you have secured a certain status with Allah (SWT), go back and blame yourself . Look for your mistakes once again.
And remember that this feeling is actually going to push you in the wrong way.
Finding the Right Balance
But the feeling of self-criticism and not being pleased with yourself and what you do is the right feeling for improving yourself and avoiding the danger of being too relaxed and too happy with yourself.
It doesn’t mean to take yourself all the way to desperation.
There has to be a moderate path here; not to blame yourself to the extent of desperation but to continue to blame yourself in a way that improves you and makes you discover your faults.