Disproving Iblees

Do you know why men always act like they've got a lot to prove? Why we even have the concept of being a real man. It's probably why we don't cry or show emotion very much. Men always act like they have to justify their existence. We go through life with a chip on our shoulder.

It's almost like men act like they have to prove someone wrong about us. Well, think about it. That's exactly what we're doing. We had our existence called into question before we were even created, and then we had our existence belittled, our value doubted. These were among the very first experiences of man in the story of the creation of Nabi Adam Alaihi Salam.

Yes. The angels made sajidah, but that was in obedience to the command of Allah not necessarily because they were so overwhelmed by Adam's greatness. The one independent assessment of man that he heard was I'm better than him. You made me from fire. You made him from mud.

Man's first exposure to the opinion of another sentient being with free will was Iblis' contempt. That didn't happen to Hawa. Her first experience with another being was Adam's relief at her existence and his love for her. Her creation was welcomed with unmitigated happiness. Adam's was not.

Men carry a sense of that with us, and that can be a good thing if we are aware of what makes us feel that way and then channel it appropriately and constructively. Because, yes, the whole motivation of Shaytan is to prove himself right, to prove that his refusal to make sajda was justified, and he wants our misconduct to absolve him from blame for his defiance. He wants to prove that we are unworthy. So we need to recognize that what drives us as men to prove ourselves is this primordial desire to prove that Shaitan was wrong about us, to prove that he was wrong to doubt us, and to prove that we deserved the honor that Allah gave us. If we can understand this driver in our nature, it can help us towards righteousness.

It can bolster our strength in avoiding sin. If we think of it in terms of disproving Shaytaan, the ultimate hater, the ultimate bias critic, and we can take pride in proving him wrong. Every time you worship Allah, time you reject sin, you are winning the argument and humiliating shaitan.